My optical dispensing digest

See colour like never before

Aloha! I was driving along enjoying the rare heatwave of Summer 2016. On the radio came one of my favourite tunes from the 80s. Cyndi Lauper’s ‘True Colors.’ It could not have been a more perfect moment.  I’m wearing my Maui Jim’s, driving through the countryside and the colours are truer than life!

So – what are Maui Jim’s? They’re my favourite sunglasses!  Why?  Well, to give you a bit of history they originate from Maui, Hawaii (incidentally, the founder’s pet parrot was called Jimmy – hence the name – get it?).

Why Maui Jim?

Quite simply, they put the quality of the lens first and the result is a good quality pair of sunglasses that protects our eyes by cutting out 99.9% of the glare that surrounds us and they also block out 100% of harmful UV rays. In fact, Maui Jim claims that no other sunglass lens offers the same crispness of vision, protection and intensifies colour like their patented PolarizedPlus2® lens technology.

Skin Cancer Foundation

All Maui Jim sunglasses have been recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation as an effective UV filter for the eyes and the surrounding skin. They are the only premium sunglass brand with the Skin Cancer Foundation’s seal of approval, so by wearing a Maui Jim sunglass you are doing the best you can to reduce the risk of skin cancer and reduce damage to the back of the eye.

The Maui Jim Strapline: Colour, Clarity and Detail

Maui Jim offers a variety of frame styles for active lifestyles and four unique lens colours to select from that will enhance your view in every light condition.

Frame Styles

Frame styles are designed for fit and comfort. The frames are made from lightweight, strong and high performance materials including nylon, cellulose propionate, Grilamid and in the metal collections, you can choose from titanium, stainless steel or bronze. There are frames which are made from MauiFlex – a metal that ‘remembers’ your fit and retains its shape.

Maui Jim styles range from aviators, wraps, fashion styles, rimless, wayfarer types, classic squares, cats eyes and rectangular shapes.

This year- as well as the traditional Wayfarer styles, the oversized trend continues as well as the combination looks, the cat’s eye shapes and the good old round eyes! However, dominating the celebrity scene this year is the aviator and it was ‘love at first sight’ for me when I saw the silver ‘Baby Beach’ with the NEW Blue Hawaii lens in it. I had to buy some of those!

Last year, I was wearing the very feminine, oversized nylon model Nalani as I loved the bigger, bolder acetate style and the protection it offered my eyes. This was a tortoiseshell frame, with the Maui Rose lenses – it offered me the most comfortable sun protection lens I had ever worn.

Knowing the Nalani is still a current best seller – I’ve now got the best of both worlds which suit different occasions and different conditions. I love the Nalani for feeling ‘more dressy’ but also for watching my son’s football matches on a Sunday morning when the sun is high and shining directly towards me. The ‘Baby Beach’ is for a more casual look, and I do feel very ‘cool’ in them!

3 different lens styles

BI-GRADIENT MIRROR

This is a lens with a gradient mirror, this means the top and bottom of the lens is darker than the middle section, this reduces the brightest light from above and below, so it saves you from “squinting”. I find this lens is very relaxing and comfortable to wear.

MAUIGRADIENT

This type of tint will offer you greater comfort from the sun when you are outdoors, as it is darker at the top, but because it is lighter at the bottom of the lens, this allows you to see more easily indoors. This is especially useful for reading if the lenses are varifocals.

BLUE HAWAII

The newest lens style is the Blue Hawaii – this is a stylish blue, fashionable flash mirror coating which is applied to the outside surface of the Polarized Plus 2 neutral grey lens. It offers all the same amazing glare reduction and makes the ‘colours pop’ just as the neutral grey lens does. I also love the mirrored effect for two other reasons – one is hiding those tired eyes and the other is to ‘people watch’ without getting caught! Especially all those beautiful, beached, bronzed bodies!

 4 different lens colours

The colour of the lenses that Maui Jim offers often depends on the environment and the lighting conditions you want to use the sunglasses for. There are 4 choices of lens colour, so to decide which one to go for, mainly tends to be based on personal preference and which lens you feel happier looking through. Each of us are different and some of us need more light than others. I prefer very dark lenses, but you may not. It’s very much a personal choice.

As a Dispensing Optician, I like to take the client outside without a pair of Maui Jim’s on, by doing this, you experience the normal level of glare and brightness and then, when a pair of Maui Jim’s are worn, the difference can be appreciated straight away. The comfort of the lens and the reduction of glare is noted.

A useful tip for DO’s after discussing the client’s lifestyle needs, is to take two different colour lenses that you feel would suit the client best, but it is very often down to which colour they feel more comfortable looking through.

If the weather is not suitable to take the client outside, stockists of Maui Jim’s have a wonderful Polage to try the glasses on and bring the colours to life.

GREY LENSES: The grey lens offers the highest available light reduction whilst still offering vibrant colour and sharp detail. They are for use in all outdoor conditions, especially for the brightest light conditions. This lens is a great choice for skiing. Not surprisingly, this lens is most popular with the male population. The image below shows the grey lens in a brand new, hingeless model called Kumu.

The Maui Rose lens colour is best in full sunlight to overcast conditions. This subtle rose tint is best for fast action sports with moving objects ie cricket, tennis, cycling or horse-racing. This lens colour aims to reduce overall brightness while preserving 100% normal colour recognition.

The HCL BRONZE is a subtle bronze tint and this lens can be worn in any kind of sunlight, including overcast days.  It is great for driving and really enhances colours making you safer on the roads. On a bright sunny day, the bronze HCL tint improves the contrast of the grass and the blue sky.  It is also a great lens for most sports. The image below shows a new hingeless frame called Kupuna. The two models, Kumu and Kupuna feature a beta-titanium bridge with adjustable nose pads and flexible beta-titanium cored temples with a rubber sleeve.

The Maui HT lens is a green tint and is perfect for times when most lenses are too dark.

This colour offers the greatest contrast which is good to give a brighter view on an overcast or partly cloudy day. It is the lens choice if you are a keen golfer and play in our various weather conditions here in the UK.  In an ideal world, this is where you could do with investing in the Maui HT tint for those variable light conditions and for the wonderful bright, sunny days, the HCL bronze or Maui Rose would let you see the golf ball better.

The Maui HT lens is also a great lens colour for the low sun in winter, early mornings and late afternoons. Try this lens if you are a keen fisherman.

5 different lens materials

Maui Pure

The perfect lens used in Maui’s non-prescription range of lenses. Ultra light-weight, Scratch and impact-resistant so great for every activity.

Maui Evolution

This has the best properties of superthin glass and polycarbonate for a thinner, light-weight, scratch and impact- resistant lens for great clarity in vision.

Maui Brilliant

This is the latest lens in the Maui Jim portfolio. It is the best combination of glass and polycarbonate technology but still gives us what we love from Maui lenses: Colour and polarization. The company have said it is their lightest lens yet at a third of the weight of glass and has twice the clarity of polycarbonate but is similar to glass. As it’s known from Polarized Plus 2 technology, it eliminates glare, 95% of HEV (blue) light and 100% of UV light.  Maui Brilliant – What a fabulous name for their newest generation of lenses – they couldn’t have chosen a better one!

There are two other materials which are polycarbonate and glass, but as a DO I tend only to recommend the above.

Memories of Hawaii 

Back to my daydreaming now, as I am remember such fond memories of the island of Maui, albeit 16 years ago on my honeymoon. Those carefree days, exploring the islands of Hawaii and appreciating the beauty of nature and the colours of the sea, the sky and the scenery. These colours were the inspiration for the founder of Maui Jim (Jim Richards), and of course, why I trust Maui Jim’s to give my eyes the best protection.
The Technical stuff!!

• Available in single vision or Progressive’s – known as ‘MAUIPASSPORT’ RX prescription’s can be fitted in many of the Maui frames if you are between +3.00 to -6.50 maximum cylinder power is -3.00 but there is a maximum allowable thickness of 8mm.
• Maui Jim has its own lab for the sunglasses, they are made in either Italy or Japan. The Maui Prescription lab is in America.
• There is a choice of 18mm or 15mm corridors for progressive lenses and the design has a built in base prism for curvature compensation.
• Fit 1-2mm lower than pupil centre example: if you measure 24mm then order 22mm
• A Graduated tint is recommended for PPL’s
• Warranty : Maui Jim offer a 2 year warranty against defects in material and workmanship. Nose pads and temples are FREE as long as the parts are available.
• 1 year scratch guarantee on the front surface for its prescription lenses. However, charges will be incurred if scratches are caused by improper use or care.
• 60 day non-adaptation
• PolarizedPlus2® lens technology also known as Sandwich Polarization – Material/clearlens /bi-gradient or mirror/9 layer AR / hydrophobic

Sources

www.mauijim.com

Maui Jim Training guide

Maui Jim UK

www.abdo.org.uk

Summary of Maui Jim:

Maui Jim sunglasses were born on the beaches of Maui and designed to protect eyes from the harsh rays of the island sun. Today, Maui Jim is recognized for unparalleled “ Aloha Spirit” and customer service as well as patented PolarizedPlus2® lens technology, which blocks 100% of UV rays and eliminates glare while enhancing color, definition and depth perception.  Maui Jim sunglasses have earned the Skin Cancer Foundation Seal of Recommendation as an effective UV filter for the eyes and surrounding skin.  For more information, visit MauiJim.com or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at @OfficialMauiJim.

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