Do you stock Ray-Ban?

This is a question that we hear in Ocean Optometry a couple of times a week and the simple answer is "No".

Of course, there is a great more detail to the answer than just those two letters and perhaps it would be best to give the complicated answer, rather than just the simple answer.

It is undoubtable that Ray-Ban is a popular eyewear brand, just as D&G, Prada, Versace and others have become.  Compared to some other fashion brands, likes those others mentioned, Ray-Ban is slightly different in that it has a heritage in eyewear and ophthalmic optics.  It has long been associated with fashion since its launch in 1939 and Ray-Ban classics like the Wayfarer, the Clubmaster and the Aviator have been popular with celebrities of music and screen throughout the decades.  It would be difficult to imagine the Blues Brothers poster without the classic sunglasses in it!

Ray-Ban was sold by its founding company, Bausch & Lomb, to the Italian Luxottica Group in 1999 and the brand has since been successfully re-launched and expanded to include ophthalmic frames as well as sunglass frames.  The success of having the power of the huge parent company behind them has been undoubtable and if you simply look around at any current eyeglass wearers you are sure to see a good number of them will have the Ray-Ban italicised logo on the side of their frames.

So being a trendy and stylish office you may think that we would be excited to have a hugely popular and current brand amongst the frames that we stock, not to mention that it would be a commercially obvious choice, but we are not.

If you go into virtually any eyewear office you can choose from a selection of Ray-Ban glasses, surf to many websites and the choice seems to be endless.  To our eyes, Ray-Ban has become somewhat generic and perhaps lacking in any sense of style, fashion or individualism.

So, if we get asked the question "Do you stock Ray-Bans?" our reply is, "Did you have a particular shape or style of frame in mind?".  More often than not, when someone is looking for Ray-Bans they have a particular image in their mind of a style of frame or a particular look.  Taking some time to find out what is the perfect solution for any individual is the only sure-fire way to achieve this and produce a beautiful pair of glasses that surpass the original desire of the Ray-ban seeker; surpass it with a sense of style, flair, elegance and most importantly individualism.

Be yourself, not a brand.

Our local outlook

It may seem a strange thought to hear Ocean Optometry talking about loving things local, especially when you hear our accents!

Although it is true that Dr John Wilson and Dr Euan McGinty are "from away", they bring with them a global perspective and a broad reaching level of experience and importantly a deep rooted understanding of why local is so important.

One of the main reasons that using local businesses is vital for any community can be seen from cold hard statistics.  Recent studies have demonstrated that generates 3.5 times more wealth for the local economy compared to chain owned business.  What does this mean beyond the statistics?  That the money spent within the community stays within the community - it is used in other local businesses, it is used to support local community projects and activities, it creates jobs and opportunities within the community and it enables the community to grow and flourish.  With chain owned business a good proportion of the same money is syphoned off to support the very existence of the chain itself, it's corporate needs and offices, the corporate staff and perhaps on activities such as national advertising, etc.

What may be thinly hidden from the general public, however, is where the ownership of an office lies.  At times offices can be owned by national or multi-national chains.

This is one of the reasons that Ocean Optometry takes its responsibility as a local business seriously, we try to work with other local businesses first and foremost.  We recognise that this isn't always possible and we also need to consider where the ethos of local is.  So we very much look at our local responsibility on a global scale.  Having a desire to bring the best products to the local community we have ensured that we look at the companies we work with and, where possible, will choose a company with a local ethos similar to our own.  We like to work with independent companies who share the same ideals and principles as ourself.

We encourage you to share our love of local, consider where you make your purchase and take on a local outlook, with a global twist (funny accents optional).

A great source for all things local in Halifax is I love local Halifax:



Keep up to date with their website and follow them on twitter, you'll be amazed as to how busy the local scene is.

More info on local V's chains can be found here:

Click to Enlarge Image



Why Buying Local is Worth Every Cent Infographic by CustomMade

Spin & Stow

One of the things that we loved about the götti range was a clever feature, designed by Sven Götti, called Spin & Stow.  This allows for the temples to be reversed 180° and then fit snugly into the natural curve of the frame front.  The result is a frame that is bowed, but quite flat and slim.  These unique frames come with a case to easily slip into and can then be carried in a suit or jacket pocket without spoiling the line of the clothes.

This picture shows both a frame from the range and the case for the frames:

Pictures are all well enough, though, what we need to really demonstrate it is a video demonstrating the system (which, of course, has beautiful people in a beautiful setting with some beautiful weather - perhaps it's just a coincidence!):