The usage of eyeglass frames that are not original can damage the eyes, some eye care professionals have said.

The experts made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at an event to mark the Final Draws of the Vogue Eyewear Styling Trip Promo in Lagos on Tuesday.

The event was organised by Luxottica Group S.P.A. and totalspecs Ltd., Nigera. Luxottica is the world’s largest eyewear company based in Milan, Italy.

A vogue brand of eyeglass Frame

Mr Anil Agarwal, Area Manager, Luxottica, Sub-Sahara Africa, said: “If the eyeglass frame is not rightfully set on the face, one may not see properly.

“If it is not centred properly or it losses balance, it can create more problems than one had been experiencing.

“I advise Nigerians not to play with their health, especially the eyes with which they see; eyes give human beings balance.

“If they need to use eyeglass frames, be it for corrective or aesthetic purposes, they should endeavour to buy original ones like the Vogue brand.

Another of the Vogue brands of eyeglass frames

“This is because they have been specifically manufactured to fit peculiar structural physique of diverse races; the frames fit well with the lenses and they don’t distort the positioning of vision.’’

He said that at Luxottica, they want to add value to the optical care sector in Nigeria.

“For whatever reason one may want to wear eyeglasses, we want them to wear them with frames that are effective, durable and yet fashionable.

“That is why this kind of promotion was held, to give clinics and people opportunity to buy and use good quality and known brands, purchased at an affordable amount,’’ Agarwal said.

Dr Nkem Okoroafor, Managing Director, totalspecs, said that people wear glasses for two major purposes; one might be for fashion and the other for fitting corrective lenses.

“So, for those reasons, an individual will need to wear corrective lenses and since the lenses cannot be held in position, may be with their hands or anything, they will use frames.

“That is where the frames and eye glasses come to play; also, before, people who wear glasses were seen as uninteresting looking people.

“Eye companies decided to incorporate beauty factor in the corrective nature of lenses; now people who use eyeglasses have a choice of being fashionable by using frames such as vogue brand.’’

Okoroafor, who is an optometrist said: “Luxottica is the biggest eye wear company in the world and they are accountable for close to 70 per cent of eye wears sold globally.

“Our uniqueness is in the fact that we produce based on research and proper statistics available to provide targeted frames for different parts of the world.

“This is because, for example, people in Asia have different kind of face structure from people in Africa and Europe.

“Through research, we are able to provide frames that will satisfy all different faces in the world,’’ Okoroafor said.

Mrs Pat Obaseki, General Manager, totalspecs, noted that the company wanted people to know that there was a genuine eyewear with an affordable price; the vogue eyewear is it.

“The frames are fashionable, they fit our facial structure and they come affordable.

“Our customer base in terms of patronage has increased since its introduction into the Nigerian market and our clinics, through which we mostly drive traffic, attest to the functionality and quality,’’ Obaseki said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that a trade and consumer promotion of the Vogue Eyewear, ran from June 1 to Aug. 31.

The star prize winner in the consumer category was Mr Fredrick Michael in Abuja and in the trade (clinic) category was TrueVision Ltd, Lagos.

The promotion required eye clinics partnering with totalspecs to achieve minimum sales of 100 units of Vogue eyewear within the promo period.

The star prize for the clinic with highest sales of Vogue Eyewear brand was a return ticket to Dubai on a styling trip for the star clinic; the prize admits the winner and partner.

Ten other clinics with the next highest sales after the star winner won consolatory prizes.