Varifocals are lenses that allow you to see close-up, far away and somewhere in between, all through the same pair of glasses. Originally known as Varilux lenses, they were invented by engineer Bernard Maitenaz at a French spectacle company in 1959.
Modern varifocals combine different prescriptions within a single lens, usually with near vision at the bottom, distance vision at the top and intermediate vision in the middle. While in bifocal lenses, the change between the near vision and distance vision prescriptions is clear-cut, in varifocals, there’s more of a smooth transition, which gives the wearer a more seamless viewing experience.
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Asked by: Milly O’neill, Canterbury
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