One of the things that I have to accept as a person that’s getting older and that has bad eyesight is the fact that I can’t read books with small fonts anymore. I’m not yet at the point where magnifying glasses are actually needed but I know we’ll eventually get there. There are more convenient ways now of using magnifying lenses instead of the old school way of actually holding a lens in one hand with the reading material on the other hand. This concept for magnifying glasses is something I may eventually want or need.
Designer: Jongcheol Yang
The VAN magnifying glasses concept fixes the problem of unnecessary parts that may cause inconvenience or even dizziness to those that need to use this kind of glasses. The idea is for this to be similar to reading glasses in a sense that you only wear them when you need to use them. The magnifying part is only placed on the lower part where the magnifying lens is located. And when you’re feeling dizzy or you need to rest your eyes, you just have to look straight ahead since the lens part will not be there anymore.
The other cool thing about this concept is that if you don’t need to wear the glasses, you can just fold up the front and then the “legs”. It will then turn into the classic magnifying glass that we’re used to and then you can store it in your bag. They don’t show it in the product renders but maybe if you just rotate the lens itself away from the stem, then you can use it like a regular magnifying glass without having to wear it as actual glasses.
It’s an interesting concept for sure, particularly for people who already have a hard time reading things that have small prints. Of course it’s another thing to add to things you need to bring and to mind. But at least it solves some of the issues that come with current magnifying glasses.
Most regular sunglasses only block UV rays, but not infrared rays from damaging your eyes. Kolari hopes to change that with their cutting-edge IR-blocking sunglasses that protect your eyes from the sun, and your face from unwanted facial recognition systems. Pretty cool, right?
When you wear regular sunglasses, the tinted lenses help cut the bright glare of the daytime sun. This does two things – it helps you see clearly without needing to half-shut your eyes, but it also makes your pupils dilate to let more light information in. Conventional sunglasses don’t do much to protect your eyes while they’re dilated in the daytime. The most glasses will ever do is block UV, blue light, and glare… but there’s one culprit that nobody focuses on, infrared. Humans don’t see infrared rays, but they can have long-term effects on your eyes. Sure, one can argue that you’d need high exposure to infrared rays, but think about how often you step out into the sun on a daily basis and all that begins adding up. While your regular Sunglass Hut shades won’t do much about IR rays, one company’s trying to make sunglasses safer for your eyes. Kolari Vision started its journey designing IR-protective accessories for cameras, but is now looking at the bigger picture by designing protective eyewear for everyone. The Kolari Shades are made from actual glass, and can block UV and up to 99% of infrared light from making its way into your eyes. This doesn’t impact the clarity with which you see, but it does help protect your vision… just like any sunglass should!
Designer: Ilija Melentijevic, PhD (founder of Kolari Vision)
Styled to look like a stylish pair of sunglasses, the Kolari Shades give your eyes the comfort and protection they need in the outdoors. “Our goal was to maximize clarity, eliminate color shifts, and block all unwanted wavelengths in order to give your eyes the most rested, neutral experience possible to minimize eye fatigue. Our beta testers are calling the result a breath of fresh air for your eyes,” say the folks at Kolari Vision. Originally founded as a photography company, the folks at Kolari realized that the gear made for cameras seemed to be better in quality than anything the eyewear industry produced. The irony being that your eyes are so much more precious than a $500 camera… so why is it that only camera sensors get taken such good care of, but not the original human cameras – our eyes??
Bridging that gap, the Kolari Shades offer a one-of-a-kind IR and UV protection to your eyes. The sunglasses are fitted with lenses that look just like your average tinted lenses, but they possess the unique ability to block anywhere between 90-99% of all infrared rays and 100% of all UV rays shining through the glass and into your eyes. The benefits of this are two-fold – there’s an obvious health benefit, given how eyes (just like skin) can respond adversely to excessive exposure to certain wavelengths of infrared light. However, a second benefit comes in the form of privacy protection. Most cameras rely on capturing some form of IR to ‘see’, and the shades can effectively block this ability. This prevents unwanted cameras from capturing facial recognition information without your consent. In fact, the iPhone relies on an IR blaster to power its FaceID unlocking feature – which can be disabled with the Kolari Shades. Sure, that means you need to either take off your sunglasses to unlock your phone (or just use the pattern lock instead), but the privacy implications are far-reaching too, as people like law enforcement can’t maliciously unlock your phone by holding it up to your face.
Kolari Shades are truly color-neutral and protect your eyes from all damaging wavelengths of light.
The beauty of the Kolari Shades is that their spectacles are made from actual glass – a distinction that sets it apart from even luxury eyewear. Most eyewear companies use a form of clear plastic for their lenses; a sensible choice because they’re scratch-resistant and they don’t shatter… but the one big caveat with these lenses lies their imperfections. Micro-imperfections in these lenses (even in the ones found in high-end tinted eyewear) can warp the way you see the world, which is why glass offers a MUCH better alternative. Kolari Vision’s lenses rely on industry-leading Corning Gorilla Glass (yes, the same durable one used in your phone) coupled with 51 layers of anti-reflective and anti-smudge coating. While Gorilla Glass can often be 10x more expensive than your standard plastic lenses, Kolari Vision’s still managed to keep their costs competitive, offering cutting-edge materials for the same price you’d pay for a pair of Ray-Bans.
Corning Gorilla Glass and titanium frames make the Kolari Shades extra tough.
The glasses aren’t the only durable part of the Kolari Shades either. The aviator-inspired eyewear sport frames are made from titanium, enhancing the overall durability to a level you’d probably find in smartphones (hint: the titanium iPhone 15 Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra). You can choose between silver or gold-plated frames, while Kolari offers three lens options – a basic tinted-black (90% IR blocking), a bronze-tinted ultra lens (99% IR blocking), and an ultra gradient lens (with the same 99% IR blocking). The company’s working on newer frame designs and even plans on offering mirror-finish lenses that should take your eyewear’s swag to an entirely new level!
