Prescriptions and lenses FAQs

After having an eye test with any qualified optometrist, it is your optician’s legal obligation to provide us with a copy of your prescription.

Our Cubitts policy is to dispense a prescription as it is written; which includes the date of the examination, signature of the authorising optometrist, and date of expiry. We are not responsible for spectacles dispensed elsewhere.

During the checkout you have 2 options.

1. Select an existing prescription from your account (if you have one saved), or upload a photo or scanned copy at the checkout after the payment page.

2. Email the prescription later to info@cubitts.com

This is the distance between your pupils, measured in millimeters. We need this measurement to correctly glaze the lenses in your frame. You can ask your optician for the measurement, or use our online measuring app which you will receive access to upon order placement.

Online, we can cater between:

Sphere (SPH) between -.600 and +6.00

Cylinder (CYL) between -3.00 and +3.00

Values outside of this range require precise measurements and fitting adjustments for lenses to provide optimum vision. Therefore, we do not recommend ordering spectacles online for such prescriptions. If your prescription lies outside of this range we would recommend to buy the frame without prescription lenses and take it to your local optician to have lenses fitted.

Please note: In certain cases our ability to fulfil your prescription for the standard price may depend on the combined sphere and cylinder values in your prescription, as well as other factors such as PD measurements and frame choice. In such circumstances we may need to contact you to discuss lens options.

Unfortunately not. Online we offer single vision lenses only. The good news is that we do offer them in all of our stores. Precise measurements and adjustments must be made whilst you are wearing your chosen frame in order to fit varifocal or bifocal lenses. If our stores are not convenient for you, you can buy the frame without lenses and take it to your local optician to have the lenses fitted.

Prescriptions sometimes refer to the OD and the OS. These are the Latin initials for your right eye (Oculus Dexter) and left eye (Oculus Sinister). The right eye is always written before or above the left eye.

The Sphere

The SPH indicates the amount of lens power, measured in diopters. If the number has a minus (-) sign, you are short-sighted (you struggle to see objects in the distance). If the number has a plus sign (+), you are long-sighted (you struggle to see clearly up close). If your sphere says plano, PL, 0.00, ∞, or is simply blank, you are neither long nor short-sighted (and have zero power for the sphere).

The Cylinder

The CYL indicates the amount of lens power for astigmatism (when your eye isn’t completely spherical). It is only present if you have astigmatism. The cylinder number may be preceded with a minus or a plus.

The AXIS

The AXIS is the angle the lens is set at to correct astigmatism and is only present if you have a correspondent cylinder value. If there is a CYL there is always an AXIS. If you have no astigmatism the CYL and AXIS boxes will be blank, or it may say DS in the CYL box.

The ADD (addition)

The ADD, or NEAR ADD, is the additional magnifying power required for reading or near work. The ADD value is always a “plus” power, generally from a range of +0.50 to +3.00. If you’re buying online and your prescription includes an ADD, you will need to let us know if you’d like the spectacles for distance vision (DV) or reading (NV).

Prism

The prism is if you have a muscle imbalance in your eye and the base shows the direction of the prism in your lens.

Base

This shows the direction of the prism in your lens, for example IN, OUT, UP or DOWN.

BVD

Back Vertex Distance is the distance between the back surface of the lens and the apex of the cornea.

In most circumstances this is not a problem. Email us a copy of your prescription to info@cubitts.com - be sure it includes date of examination, expiry date, and optometrist's signature - and we’ll take a look.

Unfortunately not. Contact lens and spectacle prescriptions are slightly different due to the different proximity of the lenses from your eyes. We can’t make spectacle lenses from a contact lens prescription.

We offer prescription sunglasses with CR39 scratch-resistant lenses with green, grey, or brown tints as standard. More tints and finishes are available in our stores. If you’re interested in a different tint for an online order, please get in touch with us.

Not as standard, but you can select this option during checkout. There is a €60 charge for this service, excluding 1.74 index which we are unable to polarise.

Single vision lenses provide correction for one field of vision. For most people this will either be distance or near (reading). The area in between is called intermediate vision (computers).

Readers provide simple magnification power for reading, like the ones available off the shelf in pharmacies. No prescription is required.

Non-prescription clear lenses are ready to wear and can be changed by a local optician if required. These are also known as ‘plano’ lenses.

We also offer progressive, bifocal, and occupational lenses in our stores.

Our optical lenses have UV protection and come with a number of coatings:

Scratch-resistant – to protect from scratching

Anti-reflective - to reduce reflective glare

Water-repellent – to help prevent smudging 

Most prescriptions require standard 1.5 or 1.6 index lenses. Stronger prescriptions may require high-index lenses. High-index lenses are lighter and have flatter curvature. When cut to size they achieve a thinner finish. This is only necessary with prescriptions over +/-4.50.

Standard 1.5 and 1.6 included

Thinner 1.67 +€60

Thinnest 1.74 +€100

Prescription sunglasses

Our tinted sun lenses all come with UV protection and a scratch-resistant hard coating. All tints are 85% ABS (the darkest tint that is legal to wear when driving).

Standard 1.5 CR39 tints included

Thin 1.6 tinted +€60

Thinner 1.67 tinted +€90

Non prescription sunglasses

Our non prescription sun lenses are made from 1.5 CR39, a strong, durable plastic that is easy to tint. They are all 85% ABS (the darkest tint that is legal to wear when driving).

Polarised lenses

Our polarised CR39 lenses have a built-in filter to reduce glare caused by horizontal light. They are ideal for activities around water, where light reflection causes glare, but they may cause difficulty when looking at screens or driving (as many windscreens are already polarised). Our polarised lenses cost €60 extra.

Our sunglass lenses come standard with either grey, green, or brown sun lenses, as pictured on our product pages.

We have a wide range of tints, gradients, and mirrors available both in store or on request online. To request a lens colour change online, simply contact our customer services team here before ordering.

Polarisation for sun lenses

Our polarised CR39 lenses have a built-in filter to reduce glare caused by horizontal light. They are ideal for activities around water, where light reflection causes glare, but they may cause difficulty when looking at screens or driving (as many windscreens are already polarised). Our polarised lenses cost €60 extra.

These are available for our spectacles, and filter the blue light from excessive screen use. Digital eye strain can be an issue, although there's no scientific evidence that blue filter lenses can actually help with this. Indeed, we actually get more exposure to blue light from the sun than we do from computers and smartphones. It's not the blue light that's making your eyes feel bad, it's staring at the screen for hours without a break. One of the main causes of eye strain is actually glare, so it's important you have lenses with an anti-reflective coating. Thankfully all Cubitts’ lenses come with this as standard. Blue filter lenses can potentially be useful at night, when blue light from screens can disrupt natural sleep patterns. Our bodies associate blue light with daytime, so being exposed to it when you're trying to go to sleep can push our internal clocks later, meaning it's harder to doze off. Our advice is that if you have trouble sleeping it might be worth trying blue filter lenses. This isn't dissimilar to ‘Night Mode’ on an iPhone, we do suggest trying that first. Or even trying (brace yourselves) to reduce your screen time before you go to sleep. Blue filter lenses are available at the checkout for an additional cost of $65 for this service.

These lenses are available for our spectacles to order both online and in store, and are light adaptive depending on changing light conditions.