Worcester – Step into Magay & Barron Eye Center for new glasses and you’ll have an unimaginable choice of frames, plus advice on the very latest in lenses.
Jim and Eddi Magay continue the family business started by Jim’s grandfather in Worcester in 1912 and passed down to Jim’s father. (The Barron partner died in 1935, but the Magay family kept the original name.)
Jim Magay is an optician, making the glasses for customers who come in, while his wife, Eddi, is office manager and also advises customers on frames.
“We are known for our very unusual frames,” said Eddi Magay. “You won’t see yourself coming and going. And we have frames in all price ranges.”
Among the interesting styles are frames handmade by artisans in France, Italy and Japan in striking colors and materials such as cloisonne enamel and Venetian stained glass.
When a customer comes in, Eddi said, she and Jim pick out an assortment of frames to consider, based on the demands of the prescription, the person’s bone structure and hair, eye and skin coloring and their style preferences.
“We don’t just say ‘Here are our frames, choose one,’” she said.
With training in color analysis, Eddi, who was wearing bright red frames, is often able to suggest colors that complement the customer, who may not even have thought of a colored frame.
“Many people today have more than one pair of glasses. It’s like shoes; you match frames to the occasion,” she said, holding up frames that appeared in the television show “Sex and the City.”
On the technological side, “we are at the watershed of an amazing new cycle of development in lenses,” Jim Magay said.
“My grandfather would have been familiar with how lenses are ground until about five years ago. Today, computer algorithms are used to design the lens, which is machined from a block of plastic. Each pair is more nearly a customized lens for a specific person, and there’s so much less distortion,” he said.
New coatings make lenses clearer to look through and easier to clean, and they repel oil, dust and water and are almost impervious to scratching, he said.
These coatings also eliminate glare and reflection, greatly improving night driving ability, he noted.
“In Europe and Asia, about 90 percent of the population uses anti-glare coated lenses, while in the U.S., it’s only about 15 to 20 percent.”
There are also exciting new lens technologies coming on the market.
Superfocus brand glasses with manual zoom lenses let wearers adjust the focus of their eyeglasses to any length with a tiny slider button on the bridge of the frame, so the wearer can focus on a book, a computer screen or a distant vista at will.
Coming later this spring, em- Power brand glasses will provide an electronic, self-focusing lens to bring an object into focus almost instantly. The glasses are powered by a tiny, hidden battery.
Magay & Barron expects to continue offering its customers the latest styles and technologies.
“We aggressively seek things you won’t find anywhere else,” Jim said. “But not everything is perfect for everyone. We specialize in tailoring our offerings to the individual coming through the door. Our job is to edit the process and bring the best products to you. We sit in classrooms learning about the latest developments so you don’t have to.”
Dr. John Dadah, a primary eye care specialist, sees patients at Magay & Barron and offers complete eye care services. Magay can fill eyeglasses prescriptions from him or from other providers. Peter Kazanovicz, an ocularist, and his daughter, Lindsey, also work out of the office, fitting prosthetic eyes.
Magay & Barron is located at 460 Lincoln St. in Worcester. For information or an appointment, call 508-852-3760.
Editor’s Note: the preceding is not an endorsement and is presented for informational purposes only.
