What You Should Know About the Time It Takes To Have New Glasses Made?

When it comes to the daily routine, our vision plays an important role in getting things done. Many of the things we do would be very difficult or nearly impossible without eyesight. In the United States, over half the adult population, an estimated 166.5 million people wear prescription glasses to take care of their personal and professional responsibilities. The time it takes to get new prescription eyewear can be especially critical for someone who has to wear prescription frames. It's important to know the typical timeframe for a new set of prescription frames.

Building New Prescription Glasses

There are several factors that affect the time it takes for you to receive a new order of prescription eyewear. For most patients, these are the most common factors:

• Prescription: A unique prescription can take longer to fill.
• Lens material: Lenses can be made of standard glass, plastic, polycarbonate, and Trivex, all of which have different availabilities and requirements for use in eyewear.
• Coatings: Some lenses require special coatings such as UV protection or scratch resistance to make them practical for use.
• Frames: Prescription glasses frames come in various materials, shapes, and availabilities.

Creating a set of frames depends on the time it takes to match a lens shape with material, coatings, and frames.

Waiting for New Glasses

In most cases, it will take between 7 and 14 days for a new set of prescription eyewear. This timeframe is also impacted by where you get your prescription filled. Brick-and-mortar vision stores typically deliver orders in one to two weeks. When you pick up your order, a professional can check your prescription glasses for fit and make adjustments as necessary. Even with stores, you can have your order sent directly to you, but you may have to go in for adjustments.

If your prescription is processed at a doctor's office, timing will vary, but the one to two-week window applies in most cases. It's important to check with a provider for average delivery times, especially if you're under a time crunch. Similar to vision stores, the doctor will check your frames to see how they fit and if any fine-tuning is needed.

Online stores usually take one to three weeks to fulfill your prescription based on the standard or default shipping option. Delivery time will also be affected by whether orders are processed in-house or outsourced to another provider, which in some cases may be located overseas. Online stores usually ship directly. You may be able to take your frames to a vision store for free adjustments.

Enjoying Your New Glasses

Today, glasses deliveries are faster than ever. Even with a 7 to 10-day window, it's quite common to receive notification that an order is ready within 3 to 4 days. Be advised that special orders such as safety prescription glasses or prescription sunglasses may require extra time, especially concerning making the lens. The comfort and confidence you feel when you have a new set of glasses that correct your vision with the perfect fit and ideal style make the wait worth it. You may only have to go through the process once every few years, instead of annually.