Doctor Oculus Opticians in Digbeth, Birmingham, offers professional lens replacement services for your existing frames. Our relensing service uses premium Metaform lenses with anti-reflection coatings and scratch warranties, breathing new life into favourite frames. Serving Solihull, Harborne, and across Birmingham with expert lens fitting and honest advice about frame suitability.
Love the frame? Keep the frame. If your prescription has changed, your lenses are scratched, or your current glasses just need to work better, we can often fit new lenses into the frame you already own.
If you already own glasses you love, there’s no sensible reason to replace the whole thing just because your prescription has changed, the lenses are scratched or you simply want something better. Bring them to us and we’ll fit new lenses, properly chosen, measured and tailored around you.
No reglaze penalty. Obviously.
Some opticians charge extra for putting lenses into a frame you already own. We don’t. The lenses require the same expertise whether the frame came from our shelves, another optician, the internet or the back of a drawer. You’re paying us to make great lenses, not for permission to keep your own glasses.
Book some time with a dispensing optician and bring the frame, your prescription and any glasses you currently wear.
We’ll make sure it’s suitable for new lenses, check the fit and flag anything that needs adjusting or restoring first.
We’ll work out what you actually need the glasses to do, choose the lens design and take the measurements around you and the frame.
Your new lenses are fitted into the existing frame, checked properly and the finished glasses adjusted back onto you.
Whenever the frame is still doing its job. Your prescription may have changed, the old lenses might be scratched, you may want prescription sunglasses or perhaps the lenses were never particularly good in the first place. If the frame fits, suits you and you still enjoy wearing it, replacing perfectly good eyewear just to get new lenses is a bit daft.
Some frames really have reached the end. Acetate can become brittle, components can fail and occasionally fitting new lenses would put too much stress through an already damaged frame. We inspect everything first and we’ll tell you if we think re-lensing it is a bad idea rather than discovering that halfway through the job.
Most full-rim acetate and metal glasses, sunglasses and plenty of vintage or unusual frames can be re-lensed. We also work with frames bought elsewhere and frames bought online. If yours needs a little more love first, the workshop means we can often adjust, polish or restore it before the new lenses go in.
The frame might be old. The lenses don’t have to be.
Re-lensing isn’t about putting the cheapest possible replacement lenses into your old glasses. We approach the dispensing exactly as we would with a new pair: understanding how you use your eyes, fitting the frame properly, choosing the right lens design and taking the measurements needed to make it work properly.
We mainly use Rodenstock because we genuinely believe they make some of the best lenses available, but the important bit is choosing and tailoring them around the person wearing them.
Bring us the frame and we’ll work out what can be done with it. New prescription, better lenses, proper sunglasses, varifocals or simply replacing a pair that has become scratched to death. The frame doesn’t need replacing just because the lenses do.
Usually, yes, if the frame is suitable.
Bring it in and we’ll take a look. If it’s a good candidate, we’ll talk you through lens options. If it’s too worn, too fragile, too twisted, or wrong for your prescription, we’ll tell you.
No. We do not charge a separate fee just because you are using your own frame. You pay for the lenses you choose.
If the frame needs repair, refurbishment or extra workshop work before new lenses can go in, we’ll quote that separately. But there is no penalty just for already owning glasses.
Often, yes, because you are not buying a new frame. But it depends on the lenses you need and the condition of the frame. Sometimes re-lensing is the obvious choice. Sometimes new glasses make more sense. We’ll tell you which camp your frame is in.
We handle frames carefully, but any time old lenses come out and new lenses go in, there is some risk.
If we think that risk is higher than normal, we’ll tell you before we start. If something can be repaired in house, we’ll usually do our best to sort it without fuss. That is one of the benefits of having a workshop on site.
Often, yes. We do not care where the frame came from as much as whether it is suitable for the job. If it is badly made, badly fitted, too fragile, or wrong for your prescription, we’ll say so.
Typical turnaround is around 7 to 10 working days for many prescriptions.
Complex prescriptions, varifocals, specialist lenses, sunglasses, repairs or unusual frames can take longer. We’ll give you a clearer idea once we’ve seen the frame and chosen the lenses.