FAQs

We offer a range of prescription and non-prescription glasses, to suit many needs! Here's a quick run-down but, if you can't find what you're looking for, please do get in touch:

• Non-prescription sunglasses
• Non-prescription glasses
• Single vision glasses
• Single vision sunglasses
• Multifocal glasses
• Multifocal sunglasses
• Screen Glasses

To understand the cost of each, check out our pricing page.

All of our glasses are designed in-house at our Amsterdam HQ, and all of our frames are handcrafted with great care from the highest quality materials, in specialist factories in either Italy or China. You can read more about design and manufacturing processes, here.

All our lenses are made in laboratories from lightweight, impact-resistant plastics, adjusted to each unique prescription. They come in different indexes (thicknesses) from 1.5 to 1.67, all of which are included as standard in our pricing model. Our expert team will always chose the lens that looks most elegant in your chosen frame.

All of our lenses come with anti-reflection and anti-scratch coatings, plus UV protection, for no additional cost to you. If you'd like to benefit from our blue light filter, this can be added for £20.

As for our sunglasses, all our standard lenses come with a sunlight filter of 3, which is perfect for sun protection in modern day-to-day living. We have a few exceptions in our range, which have a lesser sunlight filter of 2. These tend to be those with light-looking, tinted lenses, such as Sofia or Vince. We don't advise that these are worn for sun protection.

Read more about our lenses and coatings, here.

All of our multifocal lenses are produced with the innovative freeform digital surface technology. From this, we are able to achieve highly customised and exceptionally accurate lenses for your unique prescription. Depending on your prescription, the index (thickness) of the glass will be adjusted for optimal results. Our lenses are more precise, comfortable and less vulnerable than traditional mineral lenses.

Our multifocal glasses are available up to a maximum sphere between -8.00 or +8.00 and up to a maximum cylinder of -4.00 or +4.00.

Read more about our multifocals, here.

Blue light is a colour in the visible light spectrum with a short wavelength, meaning it produces higher amounts of energy. We’re exposed to it every day, particularly those of us who spend long periods outdoors, or behind a screen.

Because of this, we offer a special filter that protects your eyes from this blue light.

Adding Blue Light Filter to a pair of new glasses costs £20 above the price of the frame. If you already have a pair of Ace & Tate glasses, the cost to reglaze to blue light filter lenses is €/£68. Note that we've a small selection of frames whereby our Blue Light Filter lenses can't be added, such as Jimi & Sofia.

Find out more about Blue Light Filters, here.

Don’t need glasses? No problem! Our Screen Glasses are non-prescription frames fitted with BLF lenses to block those misbehaving blue rays.

Yes! We offer free eye tests, always. Book online or in store; get tested using top notch equipment and buy your frames (or not, no biggie). Take a seat with one of our qualified optometrists and let us do all the hard work.

Read more about our Free Eye Tests, here.

No, this isn't a problem. We make prescription lenses with a sphere (SPH) up to -10.00 or +10.00 and a cylinder up to -6.00 or +6.00.

Prescriptions with a cylinder higher than -4.00 and +4.00 can only be ordered in one of our stores, as it is necessary for us to measure your pupillary height.

We make multifocal glasses with a maximum sphere of -8.00 to +8.00 and a cylinder of -4.00 to +4.00.

We offer a range of lens indexes, which are free of charge; 1.5, 1.6 & 1.67. When we manufacture your bespoke lenses, our expert team will assess the most appropriate index for your requirements. We always opt for something that will look elegant in your chosen frame.

Read more about Prescriptions, here.

We offer two main types of lenses, depending on your prescription needs:

Single vision lenses are designed to correct either nearsightedness (myopia) or farsightedness (hyperopia). These lenses are designed to have the same prescription over the entire surface of the lens.

Multifocal lenses perfect for those who need both near and distance corrections. Instead of constantly changing between two pairs of glasses, you can opt for a pair of glasses with our excellent multifocal lenses.

Read more about our multifocal lenses, here.

Absolutely. In 2019, we improved our multifocal product even further, now offering high-quality lenses from one of the industry's best producers.

A pair of multifocal glasses, including prescription lenses, costs £298. The price for our multifocal sunglasses is £348.

We offer multifocal glasses up to a maximum sphere between -8.00 or +8.00 and up to a maximum cylinder of -4.00 or +4.00.

If shopping multifocals, we always recommend visiting one of our stores if that's possible. Find your local store, here.

Again, that’s no problem. We charge no additional costs for this – you will never pay more than the price that is stated on our website.

We offer free shipping and returns in some countries, and free shipping with paid returns in others.

See here for more details on our Shipping & Returns.

If you are not completely satisfied with your new glasses, you can always return them to us within 30 days – no questions asked. This also includes prescription (sun)glasses.

Read our 30 Day Returns Policy, here.

Do you feel great in them? In our opinion, that’s what truly matters. However, if you still need a little more assurance, there are a few basic rules which you can follow in order to find the perfect pair of glasses for you.

• Your pupils look through the middle of the lens
• The lenses are not much wider than your face
• We recommend you pick a frame that does not sit in front of your eyebrows, so you can still see all of your facial expressions
• The glasses should not slide off your nose

Of course, if you’re still stuck, we’d love to help you pick something out.

There are several ways to receive personal style advice – you can pop by the store and speak to our staff, or send us pics via Whatsapp or email and we’ll give you some tip-top advice as soon as we can.

You can also try your hand at our Virtual Try-On feature as well as Home Try-On to help make your decision a little easier.

Can’t get to one of our stores? Stay right where you are, we've got this.

We offer a home try-on service in The Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Austria & Belgium.

1) Pick four optical frames and we’ll send them to you to try for free! If you’re struggling to narrow it down, you can always take some specs for a spin with our Virtual Try-On.

2) Your frames (with placeholder lenses) will be delivered within a few days. You’ll have five full days to give them a road-test.

3) Quite a few selfies later, pick a winner and send all four frames back to us for free with packaging provided (just note down which ones you liked best).

4) Order your glasses online — make sure you know your prescription. We’ll get your brand spanking new specs to you within 10 working days. Wasn’t that easy?

Read more about Home Try-On, here.

This online service allows you to virtually try on different frames and record yourself while you’re at it. To give it a go, simply select the ‘try online’ button found on the right hand side of each product page. Want to know more? Head over here!

If you want a new pair of glasses, we can have them ready for you on the same day you order them. As long as you have a written copy of your prescription, or are an existing Ace & Tate customer, we can help you out in any of our stores.

We can produce same day glasses for single vision opticals and sunglass lenses between -6.00 and +4.00 and a cylinder of up to -2.00. We cannot produce multifocal glasses on the same day, nor those that require lenses with an index of 1.6 or higher.

If we don’t have lenses with your prescription in stock, we can’t make your glasses that same day - sorry! You can always call ahead to check we have them.

We charge an additional £20 for this service, which we think is a small price to pay for the instant gratification of getting your glasses so quickly. It’s worth noting that, if you decide to return your glasses, the same-day fee is non-refundable.

Read more about same day glasses, here.

Sometimes your glasses won’t fit perfectly when you’ve just received them. Here are some signs of poorly fitting frames:

• You get dizzy when you wear them
• They slip down your nose
• The arms don’t fully sit on your ears
• You feel pressure on the wrong points – e.g. on your temples (too tight or too loose)
• The nose pads aren't dividing pressure evenly (they don’t sit straight)

These can all be easily fixed with small adjustments. If you buy your glasses in one of our stores, our retail staff will make sure they fit properly (but don’t be afraid to come back if you need a few tweaks).

If you purchase your Ace & Tate frames online, we can still adjust your glasses free of charge, and without an appointment, in all of our stores. Pop by any time.

If you don't live close to one of our stores, we suggest you visit a local optician - most will be happy to help for a small fee.

Read more on glasses adjustments, here.

Sometimes, you just want new lenses, instead of a whole new frame. Replacing old lenses with new ones is called reglazing. You may need to reglaze your glasses if they are scratched, or if you've got an updated prescription.

Our retail staff can reglaze your glasses in all of our stores, but it’s best to call ahead to check if we’ve got your prescription in stock — it saves you coming by for nothing. We can also order the right lenses for you in advance.

If you don’t live nearby, get in touch with our customer services team and, together, we’ll arrange for your frames to be returned to us for reglazing.

Read more on reglazing, here.

We've got lots of stores! Not only can you shop our collection IRL, but you can enjoy a free eye test (always), benefit from complimentary style advice from our friendly store team, plus have your glasses adjusted at no cost. You can even have new glasses made in the very same day.

Find your closest store, here.

Your health insurance may cover eye care. Before you purchase frames at Ace & Tate, it's best to check with your insurance provider whether these would be covered for reimbursement. This is completely dependent upon your insurer and the policy you hold.

Before you flash your cash, keep in mind that we only accept payment with credit and debit cards.

Our glasses need a little TLC every now and then, to help them look good and even extend their life. They go through a lot, sitting on our noses every day, so why not show them some love?

Our cleaning kit is complete with all the necessary tools to keep your glasses looking as good as new, for as long as possible. The kit includes: a cleaning cloth, spray bottle with a bamboo fibre cap and 100% natural cleaning liquid — plus, we offer free unlimited refills in all of our stores.

Read our guide to cleaning and caring for your glasses, here.

When you first receive your new frames, you may find that looking through the lenses feels a little strange. It can take up to two weeks for your eyes to fully adjust to your glasses. However, you know your eyes better than anyone else and, if you're experiencing more than on-boarding issues, do get in touch with us and we'll advise best next steps.

Note: Don’t wear your frames if they are causing blurriness, since this could be dangerous.

As every frame fits an individual face shape differently, it's common for us to carry out a few adjustments to get the lenses in the correct place in relation to your eyes and ears.

Read more about how to adjust your glasses, here.

We are not a sustainable company. We are, however, a company that is actively and steadily working on reducing the environmental footprint we leave behind. By making small and major changes in our product, supply chain and company we work towards our goal of becoming a driver for positive change in the eyewear industry.

Follow our journey on Medium.

Honestly, we cannot claim our frames are truly sustainable, as the production, shipping and retail process all require fossil fuel-based materials to be used. We are making major progress in producing frames of 100% biodegradable and recyclable acetate. In 2019 we began introducing this “bio acetate” for the first time, and we are continuously rolling out more colours. You can now filter all of our frames on the webshop to see which of our frames contain biodegradable acetate. Browse here.

Packaging made up 50% of our total environmental footprint in 2017, so it became immediately clear that we had to do better here. We made some major changes, redesigning our cotton tote bags, eyewear cases and cloths. Furthermore, we cut out unnecessary packaging materials and switched to recycled and recyclable materials.

Read more about this packaging design process, here.

These are our humble design principles for packaging, where protection and functionality take the lead:

• Reduce and eliminate all packaging that’s not functional
• Re-use and swap single-use for multiple-use packaging
• Recycle: find waste or surplus materials from other value chains to feed our packaging, and reduce the material complexity to simplify recycling after use.

Read more about our packaging, here.

No animals were harmed in the making of our frames, cloths or packaging. We are designing a new glasses case without glue to be introduced in 2020, to make sure all products are truly vegan. In 2020, we hope to become a PETA-approved vegan company.

When cutting out frames from acetate slabs, up to 80% of the acetate is leftover and traditionally thrown away. Luckily, we are finding solutions by partnering with great organisations that research alternative uses for this acetate and other rest material in our value chain. For example, we have turned the acetate cut-outs into keychains and hope to introduce elements of our own recycled material in our stores next year.

This is all part of our commitment to the principles of circular economy, a system in which products and services are traded in closed loops or cycles. The aim is to retain the value of products and materials beyond their traditional end-of-life. We want to turn our waste into a valuable resource and are excited about the possibilities for innovation. Stay tuned for this!

A great example of our sustainable and creative ambitions coming together was our collaboration with DGTL Festival and creative studio ATL Model Art. We created an installation using 15.000 surplus lenses that was shown at DGTL festival in April 2019 and has been displayed at different locations in the Netherlands since. Read more about this project, here.

Regular acetate is made from cellulose granules, that have a base of wood pulp or cotton. The cellulose is mixed with a pigment and an oil-based plasticiser to create the sleek looking, durable acetate sheets that most our frames are made of.

Bio acetate, on the other hand is made with a bio-based plasticiser. This makes the material biodegradable (after 115 days in industrial setting), but not compostable. It has a lower carbon footprint and that it reduces our reliance on non-renewable resources.

Lastly, the material is more easily recyclable than regular acetate. Neat, huh?

Shop our bio acetate frames, here.

Is your frame broken? Depending on the issue, it might be within the two year warranty. Please reach out to the customer experience team, our speak to our retail team in store - they will help you further.

If your prescription needs updating but you still love your current frame, you can simply reglaze your lenses from €48/GBP.

Simply have no use for your frames anymore? We don’t have a solution for this yet, so keep hold of your specs for now if you can. We’re exploring possibilities to recycle our old frames and will keep you posted.

There’s a lot of information about our responsible practices out there:

• Have a look at our Medium blog, where we post detailed articles about our journey
• The Responsibility page on the website will give you a lot of facts, figures and reports
• Feel free to reach out to workingonit@aceandtate.com, we’d love to hear from you!