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

• Varifocal glasses

• Varifocal 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 1.74. 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 £25.

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 varifocal 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 varifocal 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 varifocals, 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 £25 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 £50 + £25. Note that we've a small selection of frames whereby our Blue Light Filter lenses can't be added, such as Jimi and Sofia.

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

Find out more about Blue Light Filters, here.

Our Ultra Thin Lenses (1.74 high index) are our thinnest yet, packing all your needs in a slimmer, lighter lens, so you can forget jam jars that bulge out of frames and slide down your nose.

You won’t need them if you’ve got a lower prescription, but we think you’ll appreciate the slender look if you need lenses above +/-4 dioptres. They cost £50 extra and you can read more about them here.

Yeah, we do! Our Ultra Thin, 1.74 high index lenses cost £50 on top of the price of a frame and are best suited for prescriptions above +/-4 dioptres. If your prescription is lower, our team will pick the lenses that best suit you, from 1.5 to 1.67 and it won’t cost you anything. Read more here.

If you’ve got a prescription above +/-4, then you might like the slimmer look of our Ultra Thin Lenses. If you’ve got a prescription above +/-6 and you want a metal frame (or above +/-7.5 for an acetate one) then yes, you’ll need to add Ultra Thin Lenses to your order.

If you’re not sure what your prescription is, get a free eye test or reach out to our customer experience team, we’ll be happy to help!

Get your loved ones something they’ll actually use (and is good for their eyes) with the Ace & Tate Gift Card.

Pick a gift card value, and add it to your basket to order. Sent digitally to your inbox, you can then forward it on — or, print it out and pop it in a card. If you're a little more old school, traditional gift cards are also available in our stores.

All versions are valid forever and can be spent online and in-store — hurrah!

Introducing our new Contacts — premium hydrogel daily contact lenses, for crystal-clear vision and expressive eyes. Made by one of the world’s leading lens suppliers, our 57% water Contacts keep your eyes soothed and hydrated. All. Day. Long. Plus their super-smooth profile makes it feel like you’re wearing nothing at all. Available to order online as a six day trial pack, or a 30-day pack. Read more here.

Our Contacts are available to buy online only (not within our stores, yet), for experienced daily contact lens wearers with a valid prescription less than 12 months old. If you’re not experienced in wearing daily contact lenses, we strongly advise that you visit a registered contact lens Optician for your prescription and initial lens fitting. Read our guide on how to order contact lenses online, here.

Say buh-bye to pesky glare, with our Polarised Lenses. Working with one of the world’s leading lens suppliers, we’re able to guarantee a 98% polarisation efficiency with our Polarised Lenses. Basically, they’re as good as it gets.

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.

Following local guidelines, we now offer eye tests in selected countries and stores. We are taking strict safety precautions where eye tests are being carried out. Read our COVID-19 page for more information or go to our store finder to find a location near you.

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 varifocal 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.

Shop high prescription glasses.

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.

• Varifocal 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 varifocal lenses, here.

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

A pair of varifocal glasses, including prescription lenses, costs £300. The price for our varifocal sunglasses is £350.

We offer varifocal 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 varifocals, we always recommend visiting one of our stores if that's possible. See here for more information on our varifocal glasses.

Again, that’s no problem. We charge no additional costs for this.

Read more about common eye corrections, here.

Wanna get your glasses just right? Then it’s important you know your Pupillary Distance — or PD for short. Simply put, it's the difference between the centre of your right pupil and the centre of your left pupil, measured in millimetres.

If your PD isn’t right, it can cause eye strain, fatigue, or simply not being able to see properly. The higher your prescription, the bigger the effect an incorrect PD can have.

If you're visiting one of our stores, our lovely team will measure your PD in a few seconds.

If you're shopping online, use our online tool for the quickest way to figure out your PD.

Yes. These are two very different prescriptions and they are not interchangeable. For a glasses prescription, please book a free eye test in one of our stores. Whilst we can’t offer contact lens prescriptions in our stores right now (it's something we'll be introducing in the future — stay tuned), we recommend that you visit your local registered Optician for support and guidance. Read more on prescriptions here.

If it’s been a while since you’ve worn daily contact lenses, read our tips on how to apply and remove contact lenses here. If you’re not experienced in wearing daily contact lenses, we strongly advise that you visit a registered contact lens Optician for your prescription and initial lens fitting. For additional advice on the dos and don’ts of wearing contact lenses, have a read of this.

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.

Due to the spread of COVID-19, some of our policies have changed. Please check here for the latest information.

The delivery time of your glasses will depend on your prescription. The higher and more complex it is, the more time our specialists may require to create your bespoke lenses.

On average, we deliver within a 6-10 business day period for all single vision prescription lenses. Varifocal products can take up to 14 business days, as can particulalry complex prescriptions.

Non-prescription sunglasses and gift cards are quicker, of course! We aim to have these with you within 5 business days.

Read more about Shipping & Returns, here.

If you're 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.

Due to the spread of COVID-19, some of our policies have changed. Please check here for the latest information.

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.

Book an online appointment to receive personal style advice, pop by one of our stores 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, Austria, Belgium, Spain and France.

Due to the current situation with COVID-19 some of our policies may change. Please see here for the latest information.

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?

Please note that home try-on is not currently available for our sunglasses collection. We hear your feedback and are looking into options for the future!

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 the following, within the same day:

• Single vision opticals lenses between -6.00 and +4.00 and a cylinder of up to -2.00

• Single vision sunglass lenses, but for a lesser range of prescriptions. We suggest calling the store ahead of vistings, to see if we can help you

We cannot produce:

• Varifocal glasses on the same day. These require specialist production skills, managed by our lens supplier

• Single vision glasses if we don’t have stock of your prescriptions lenses. You can always call the store ahead of visiting, to check we have them!

We charge an additional £25 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.

Check your visual acuity (sharpness) with our online Vision Screener — offered in partnership with Easee — to discover if you need glasses or a prescription update.

We only offer the Vision Screener in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

If you have glasses and want to find out what your prescription is, have a go with our Prescription Checker. Scan your glasses using your phone and computer and, hey presto — we’ll tell you all the important numbers.

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.

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.

More than a hundred steps goes into making one of our frames, each of which have a different impact on our overall footprint (read more about it on our Medium blog). When cutting out frames from acetate slabs, up to 80% of the acetate is left over and normally, that’s thrown away.

Luckily, we’re partnering with great organisations that research and implement alternative uses for acetate and other waste materials. For example, we use recycled materials in our store design and have even turned the acetate cut-outs into keychains.

This is all part of our drive to create a circular product, retaining the value of products and materials beyond their traditional end-of-life. Visit our Reframe page to read more about our initiative to achieve circularity — and don’t forget to sign up for more news.

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 our customer experience team, or 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 £50.

Simply have no use for your frames anymore? Visit Reframe.

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!

With Reframe, you can shop quality eyewear, at a lower environmental cost. It’s one of the steps on our journey to becoming a more responsible company #wereworkingonit.

Reframe has two halves — first, we collect your worn Ace & Tate frames, refurbish and polish them up so they’re ready for a second life. Then, we resell the refurbished eyewear in selected stores.

To participate, bring your old Ace & Tate frame(s) to one of our stores (see list of applicable stores), and we’ll give you a gift code for each frame that can be resold. You can use the gift code on your next purchase with us, see our terms and conditions for more info.

We’ll refurbish and clean your frames, so they get a second chance to find a new owner.

We accept any original Ace & Tate frame that’s fit enough to reuse. A member of our team will inspect the frame to check it qualifies. We won’t provide a gift code for frame(s) which are heavily damaged (broken temples, broken nose bridge, etc.), or are chipped or dented. We can collect them for recycling research.

Can’t find your nearest store on the list? Reframe is only available in selected stores at the moment, but we’re hoping to launch it in more locations soon, so keep an eye on our newsletter!

It’s one of the steps we can take towards a more responsible future. By collecting old frames and refurbishing them for reuse, our production and shipping costs, as well as CO2 emissions are minimal.

To produce our Neil frame from scratch, we usually use 3.96kg CO2, and 6.73kg CO2 for Pierce (more details in our Life Cycle Assessment Report). By refurbishing pre-worn frames, we avoid emitting all that CO2 and throwing used products away.

Due to the composition of our frames, it’s currently not possible to fully recycle them. Don’t worry though, we’re working hard on coming up with solutions and will keep you in the loop.

Due to the composition of our frames, it’s currently not possible to fully recycle them (but stay tuned for updates).

Depending on the condition of the frame, we either refurbish the entire frame for resale or take it apart, to help us research new methods of recycling.

The Reframe collection consists of refurbished eyewear carefully selected and checked by our internal quality team. The frames are functionally perfect, but might have slight imperfections, including:

• Minor scratches that can’t be polished out,

• Some discolouration due to wear and tear,

• Product information that has rubbed off the temple inscriptions.

When we receive a used frame, to get it back into shape for resale, we do the following:

• Remove small scratches,

• Tighten any loose screws,

• Add new lenses,

• Clean, polish and properly sterilise the frame.

Get access to a carefully curated collection of pre-owned frames and discontinued designs from our archive on Depop. 

Shop refurbished opticals and sunnies that look as good as new, in super limited numbers. We drop new frames on Depop all the time, so keep coming back for updates.

Only available in the UK and EU. 

Doing our part to help stop COVID-19 from spreading is naturally at the top of our agenda. We have taken many steps to protect our staff and customers and are constantly reviewing our measures. You can find out more on our dedicated and regularly-updated COVID-19 page.

We did it! With your help, we surpassed all expectations and donated over 16,000 pairs of safety goggles to frontline medical workers and volunteers in Europe. A big thank you to everyone who has supported this initiative. We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved together <3

Why safety goggles?

The spread of COVID-19 affects all of us. Internationally, there are shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical workers and volunteers, who are risking their lives on a daily basis to care for us. An important part of PPE is safety goggles, shielding the eyes from contact with the virus.

As a response to this shortage, we worked with our key suppliers to manufacture and donate safety goggles. We then collaborated with regional Red Cross entities and local government organisations to get them to frontline medical workers and volunteers in Europe.