Varifocals · five levels · made to fit
Varifocals: one pair for distance, screen and reading, made to feel natural.
If you’re holding your phone at arm’s length, or swapping between your distance glasses and your readers, varifocals end that. Five levels, from Bronze to Platinum, made to your eyes and explained in a way that makes sense.
The problem
What people tell us about varifocals.
- “I tried them before and couldn’t get on with them.”
- “It felt like walking on a boat.”
- “I have to tip my head back to see the screen.”
- “Stairs and kerbs look blurry.”
- “The reading bit is too small.”
- “I’m not ready for varifocals yet.”
All of these are common, and nearly all of them come down to the lens or the fit, not to you.
Why us
Our team fits lenses every day across five practices. We use Zeiss, Hoya, Rodenstock and Essilor, with Hoya our first choice, and we can get almost any lens you need.
4.9 ★ from 600+ Google reviews
“I was sceptical about the varifocals but it was the best decision ever. A complete game changer.”Patient survey
How varifocals work
How do varifocals work?
One lens, three zones, and a smooth path between them. No line.
- 1 Top: distance
The road, the television, the sea. You look straight ahead through the top of the lens.
- 2 Middle: arm’s length
Your computer, the dashboard, a menu on the table. A narrower band in the middle of the lens.
- 3 Bottom: reading
Your phone, a book, a tablet. You lower your eyes, not your head.
The sides of the lens are softer by design. The better the lens, the wider the clear part and the less you notice the edges.
1 · Distance2 · Arm’s length3 · ReadingYour eyewear journey
Why your glasses change as you get older
Your eyes keep changing after forty, and your glasses have to keep up. Here is what happens, and what it means for your lenses.
The lens inside your eye starts to stiffen, and close work gets harder. You hold your phone further away. The extra power you need for reading, which we call your “add”, starts small.
This is the easiest time to start varifocals. The add is low, the difference between the top and bottom of the lens is small, and most people settle in within days.
Your add gets stronger. The distance you can see clearly up close, your working range, gets shorter, and the difference between the top and bottom of the lens gets bigger.
A basic varifocal starts to swim more at the edges. A better design handles the stronger add more smoothly.
Your add is at its strongest, and your working range at its shortest. The clear zones in a basic lens get narrower.
This is when a better level, or a second pair for the screen or reading, makes the biggest difference to how comfortable you are.
Why it pays to start varifocals early
The weaker your add, the easier varifocals are to get used to. Start in your forties and your eyes learn the lens while it is gentle, and each change after that is a small step. Leave it until your sixties and you are learning a strong lens from scratch.
Why the lens that suited you at forty-five may not suit you at sixty
As your add goes up, a varifocal shows more distortion, because the stronger reading power magnifies the difference between the top and bottom of the lens. That is the “swim”. A higher level handles the extra power more smoothly, so your vision stays comfortable and natural. We check your add at every eye test, and tell you when it is worth stepping up.
Every pair has a purpose. One varifocal does many things well. A pair built for one job, the screen, reading or driving, does that job better. As your add gets stronger, most people find an everyday varifocal plus one pair for the thing they do most is what keeps them comfortable.
See it for yourself
What the soft edges of a varifocal look like
These are maps of three varifocal lenses. The white is where you see clearly. The blue is the soft area at the sides, darker where it is stronger.
Look at what happens as the reading power, your add, goes up from +1.00 to +3.00. The blue grows, and the clear path down the middle gets narrower. That is the swim people feel, and it is why a stronger add needs a better lens.
A higher level doesn’t remove the soft edges, no varifocal can. It pushes them further out and keeps the clear path wider, so you move your head less and it feels natural sooner.
Why ours are made for you
What we measure, and why it matters
Every varifocal is measured by our team. For the higher levels, back vertex distance, pantoscopic tilt and wrap angle go to the lens maker, and the lens is built for your face in that frame, not an average face in an average frame.
Where the centre of your eye sits in the frame. A millimetre out and the reading zone is in the wrong place. This is the measurement that decides whether a varifocal works.
The distance from the centre of your nose to each pupil, measured for each eye separately, because most faces aren’t perfectly even.
How far the lens sits in front of your eye. It changes the power that actually reaches you, so we measure it in your chosen frame.
How much the frame tilts down in front of your face. It changes how the lens performs when you look down to read.
How much the frame curves round your face. A curved frame needs a lens made for that curve, or the edges blur.
Where it helps, we adjust your add slightly so the lens is easier to get used to and your working range suits what you actually do.
How we fix each one
Six worries, six answers.
“I couldn’t get on with them before.” Usually the wrong height, a basic design or a shallow frame. Bring them in and we’ll tell you which, free.
“The best optician I have dealt with.”
“It felt like walking on a boat.” That swim is the soft edges of a basic lens. The higher levels have far less of it, because they’re made to your eyes.
“I tip my head back for the screen.” The middle zone is set too low or too narrow for you. A better lens, fitted at the right height, fixes it. For long days at a desk, an office lens alongside.
“The optician explained everything really clearly.”
“Stairs and kerbs look blurry.” You’re looking through the reading part. Dip your chin, not your eyes, for the first week, and it soon becomes natural.
“The reading bit is too small.” The reading zone widens with each level. And if you read for hours, a dedicated reading pair alongside is complimentary with Gold or above.
“A thorough eye check. Never feels rushed.”
“I’m not ready for varifocals.” If you’re swapping glasses or holding your phone at arm’s length, your eyes are. One pair is simply easier.
Five levels, priced on paper before you choose. Half today, the rest over up to 10 months, interest free.
The five levels
Every varifocal has some blur at the edges. The better the lens, the less blur and the wider the clear view.
The stronger your reading prescription, the more the level matters.
The same view through four levels. Watch the white lines: at each step up they move further out, and the clear part in the middle gets wider.
Made to your eyes and your frame from extra measurements we take. Driving, reading and the screen all feel natural, with less head turning.
Who it suitsAnyone who wants the best, and stronger reading prescriptions.
Also made to your eyes. Wider and sharper than a standard lens, far less blur at the edges, kinder on screens.
Who it suitsMedium to strong prescriptions, busy lives.
Clear vision, with a narrower clear zone. Often the right start for a first varifocal or a small frame, because settling in matters more than the widest view.
Who it suitsSimpler prescriptions, first-time wearers.
For occasional use, or to try varifocals before stepping up.
Who it suitsOccasional wear.
The simplest we fit. We tell you plainly if your prescription needs more.
Who it suitsThe tightest budget.
What a better varifocal gives you
What you notice when you step up a level
A more precise design means you don’t tilt your head to find the sweet spot, so long spells of reading or screen work feel relaxed.
A wider clear view, so driving, parking and looking around a room need less turning.
Distance, screen and reading blend into each other, so it feels less like switching gears every time you look somewhere new.
Driving, reading or the computer, with fewer headaches and less tiredness by the end of the day.
Clear, stable vision at every distance gives you a better sense of depth, so stairs, parking and busy places feel safer.
No fiddling with your glasses and no blurry patches, so you are present in the conversation rather than in your lenses.
Tailored to you. Every varifocal does the same job: it blends your vision from far to near. The difference is how closely it is made to you. The higher levels are built from precise measurements of your eyes and your frame.
Newer isn’t always necessary. Lens makers update their designs all the time, and newer does not always mean better for you. You won’t miss out by choosing the lens that fits your needs.
To be straight with you. How well any varifocal works also depends on the health of your eyes, how well the lenses are fitted, and how well you adapt. If you have dry eye, your vision will vary through the day whatever the lens, and treating the dry eye helps.
It depends on you
The right varifocal depends on you, not on a price list.
How much of your day is screens, driving or reading. That decides how wide each zone needs to be.
The stronger your reading prescription, the more a better lens helps.
Tell us what you want to spend. We show you what each level gives you for the money.
Your face, your frame, and how you want your glasses to look. The frame has to be deep enough for a varifocal, so we choose it together.
We take all four into account, show you each level, and you choose.
Spread the cost
Interest free: half today, the rest over 4, 6, 8 or 10 months.
On any glasses and lenses, at every practice. Pay half on the day you order, then choose how many months to spread the rest over. No interest, and nothing added.
Multiple pairs
Why many people end up with two pairs, and never regret it
Different tasks and environments need different lenses, just as you would not wear the same shoes to run and to a wedding. One pair for everything can mean giving up comfort or clarity in the situations that matter most. Think of them as tools: each pair designed for a specific job.
Varifocals are great all-rounders, but a dedicated reading lens has a larger near zone and less distortion, which is perfect for long spells of close work. If you read for hours, you feel less strain with a pair optimised just for near, without hunting for the right zone. With a Gold varifocal or above, the reading lenses in your second pair are complimentary.
Polarised sunglasses cut the intense glare from wet roads, bonnets and water that a photochromic tint alone cannot. It is not the tint, it is the polarisation. For driving, and for bright winter days, a deeper and more relaxed view outdoors.
An indoor lens gives a wider intermediate zone for the screen and the desk, plus a comfortable reading area, so the working day stops being a fight with your varifocals. Together the two pairs cover your whole day properly.
Members of our care plans save up to 20% on glasses. About the care plans →
The plan
How it works
- 1Book an eye test
Forty-five minutes with the optometrist, then we take your measurements: fitting height, pupils, and for the higher levels how the frame sits on your face.
- 2We explain each level, and you choose
With pictures of the difference, every price on paper, within your budget.
- 3Fitted, and settled in
Point your nose at what you want to see. We check at two weeks, and within sixty days, if they’re not right, we change them.
Other options
Other ways to see near and far
At a screen all day
A screen and office lens beats a varifocal at the desk, as a second pair.
You like a big reading area
Bifocals: a visible line, but a large, stable reading zone.
Rather not wear glasses
Multifocal contact lenses, for sport, going out, or every day.
Get it wrong and your varifocals end up in a drawer.
Get it right and you forget you’re wearing them.
Five practices
Book at your nearest practice
Varifocals at all five practices. Bring any pair you can’t get on with, and the check is free.
CheadleAbra & Co · 19 Wilmslow Road★ 4.9 · 106 Google reviewsOpticians in Cheadle → Also near: Cheadle Hulme · Gatley · Bramhall · Stockport
MiddletonAbra & Co · 36 Long Street★ 4.9 · 164 Google reviewsOpticians in Middleton → Also near: Heywood · Chadderton · Blackley · Rochdale
Heald GreenAshworth Opticians · 214 Finney Lane★ 4.9 · 131 Google reviewsOpticians in Heald Green → Also near: Gatley · Wythenshawe · Sale · Altrincham
WinsfordWinsford Eye & Footcare · 27 Delamere Street★ 4.9 · 75 Google reviewsOpticians in Winsford → Also near: Northwich · Middlewich · Knutsford · Crewe and Nantwich
HeckmondwikeArmitage Opticians · 14 Market Street★ 4.9 · 133 Google reviewsOpticians in Heckmondwike → Also near: Dewsbury · Batley · Mirfield · Cleckheaton
Free on the NHS if you qualify, £55 privately, at every practice. All five, with the towns each one serves →
Frequently asked questions
How do varifocals work?
Distance vision at the top of the lens, a middle zone for the screen and the dashboard, and reading at the bottom, with a smooth path between and no line. You move your eyes, and sometimes your chin, to look through the right part. The edges of the lens are softer by design; the better the lens, the less you notice them.
Why couldn’t I get on with my last varifocals?
Usually one of three things: fitted at the wrong height, a design too basic for the prescription, or a frame too shallow to hold a proper varifocal. All three are fixable. Bring them in and we’ll tell you which, free.
Why do I need stronger varifocals as I get older?
After forty the lens inside your eye keeps stiffening, so the extra reading power you need, your add, keeps rising into your sixties. A stronger add shortens your working range up close and makes a basic varifocal swim more, which is why a better level, or a second pair for the screen, helps more as the years go on.
How long do they take to get used to?
A few days for most people. Point your nose at what you want to see. We check at two weeks, and if something isn’t right we change it.
What are the five levels?
Platinum and Diamond are made to your eyes and your frame from extra measurements we take, which gives the widest clear view. Gold is a good standard lens. Silver is entry level. Bronze is the basic varifocal.
Can I have contact lenses if I wear varifocals?
Yes. Multifocal contact lenses do the same job, and many people wear them for sport or going out and varifocals the rest of the time.
Can I pay monthly?
Yes. Half today, and the rest over 4, 6, 8 or 10 months, interest free, with nothing added.