Everything in-house.
Everyone, including you, has some input into what makes it on the shelves.
We start by looking at the current range - we gather feedback from customers, our sales teams, and all departments, from the CEO to marketing to understand where we currently stand and to forecast what exciting new eyewear trends are emerging. Full transparency throughout the process is integral.
We then run range review sessions including people from all around the business, these sessions are built around three key questions.
- Is there something for everyone in our range?
- Is there enough excitement in colour and shape?
- Is each individual frame as good as it can be?
From this point, the product team busies themselves designing and putting into manufacturing a set of samples to improve the range in the next release. These samples are fed straight back into more sessions focused around the three questions above, and we ask the question of each sample - what is this doing for the range?
Once everyone’s happy (this can take a while!) These designs are coloured by the product team and, as a nod to the collaborative nature of the process, named after the legends in our stores.
Bulk production then begins with our frame suppliers. There are over 100 stages to producing acetate eyewear and we are continually updated throughout the process, on the progress of our products. From initial CNC cutting, right through to frame polishing & alignment.
Finally, our in-house designed frames are quality control checked and then shipped to our independent lab manufacturer.
We don’t believe in monopolies, we only believe in quality.
We don’t believe in monopolies because they push prices up and quality down at your expense. This is why we’re partnered with an independent lens laboratory called Plastic Plus which operates just a short drive from our Yonge Street store.
They use top of the line machinery to glaze, coat and tint your lenses, and we only purchase the best quality lenses they have available for us to buy. Some of these machines are worth a small fortune!
From premium digital progressives to high-end anti reflection/anti glare coatings (all included by the way) and UV-blocking, polarised lenses; we are constantly making sure to stay at the forefront of the optical industry when it comes to our lenses.
We have even incorporated two cutting edge technologies in Avulux anti migraine lenses and autofit varifocal lenses. Avulux anti migraine lenses are made with a high tech colour filter which can alleviate migraine symptoms and also aid in preventing them. Autofit lenses are a special wide perspective varifocal lens which are able to be ordered remotely, without the need for in-store measurements.
Imepccable Standards
We are constantly working with our partner lab to make sure the standards of quality are as high as they can be through lab visits and quality assurance procedures.
Once they’ve made it through quality assurance and to our stores, they undergo even more checks to make sure everything from the prescription to the tightness of the screws is exactly as it should be. From there - they’re all yours!
If your lenses don't pass our quality checks at the store, they always make it back to the lab where together OQ representatives and the lab technicians go through them to understand what went wrong. That’s some level of detail!
Great Aftercare
Don’t worry, we won’t love you and leave you. You’re always welcome back to have a quick spruce up of your glasses - whether it’s a refitting, tightening of the screws, or just a quick clean, come back and we’ll sort it out at no cost.
If anything is faulty, you’re covered there too. All our frames and lenses have a 1 year manufacturer’s warranty - any faults should become apparent within that time. Otherwise, they should last a great deal longer than that. (Mine are still going strong at 5 years!)
If there’s prescription issues, just pop in to see us. Even if your eye exam is from elsewhere we can book you in for a recheck to make sure what has been put in the glasses is what your eyes need. We just ask that you let us try to solve the issues before we do anything else.
Finally, if you have a dog with a hunger for stylish eyeglasses or a particularly destructive child, we can help there too - as long as your frame or lenses are workable we can always replace what we can’t repair for less than a new pair.