Hi,

I note that you use the word 'ripped off'. Yes, this is the accurate
terminology to describe the deceptive and lucrative businesses of the
eyecare profession!

So then, since you are intelligent and you know that you have being
ripped off, then you should also begin the rest methods and cure
yourself, then you will no longer be ripped off by the optometrist
because he will not be able to give you glasses because you will not
need them anyway.

Many high-end lenses come with factory AR coating these days, which if not
Crizal Alize, is something equivalent. Although Crizal Alize may be
available on some Lenscrafter models, I doubt they use it if you just ask
for AR coating without mentioned Crizal Alize.

I know that Wal-Mart sells a Nikon Progressive Lens with Crizal Alize
applied at the factory. The lens is really the Essilor equivalent of the
Varilux Physio 360 (Essilor owns Varilux and they also own the Nikon name in
the USA).

You are more likely to get Crizal Alize on an Essilor/Varilux product since
Crizal is an Essilor product. AR coating applied at the factory by Seiko,
Pentax, Zeiss, etc is usually just as good (if it is their high-end AR
coating).

The better coatings are much easier to clean and rarely degrade over time,
whereas the cheaper coatings are more difficult to clean and on average have a
much shorter lifespan. They cost me more, and I charge you more in return. No
thievery involved, just simple economics.  

In the long run, you'll probably be better off skipping the AR if the cost of
the better coating is going to break your eyeglass budget, especially if your Rx
is stable and you change your glasses infrequently.  

Robert Martellaro
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Optician/Owner
Roberts Optical
Wauwatosa Wi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself."
- Richard Feynman