Your dad’s dorky transition lenses are cool now — thanks to technology

These ancient accessories have been transformed into the most beautiful decorations of designers.

Transition lenses have become some of the latest high-tech accessories on the market.

Photochromic lenses – also known as transition lenses, named after Transitions Optical, the company that launched the first plastic versions in 1991 – are transparent when indoors and darken when exposed to UV from the sun.

But the glasses, invented in the 1960s, usually had a slow and uneven transition from dark gray or brown to a translucent yellow tint, making them more about function than fashion. (Sorry, Dad.)

Now, new technology has given glasses an upgrade — one that will likely be greatly appreciated by the half of the world’s population expected to need glasses by 2050, warns a recent study published in Opthalmology.

In March, Transitions Optical launched their Gen S lenses that change from clear to full sun protection in about 25 seconds and back to clear in less than two minutes, offering 39% faster vision recovery from intense bright lights versus clear lenses, the company. the claims.

Quick change plus color options – including ruby, amethyst and gold – have taken lenses from dark to designer.

“I’m 100% a reformed skeptic,” Simon Anderson, 54, a real estate broker in Brooklyn, told the Wall Street Journal about his Eyevan transition lenses. “I get compliments on them every day.â€

His two-in-one glasses fade seamlessly from a beautiful blue to clear in seconds, adjusting to light exposure to protect his eyes.

Even more high-tech, Meta and leading eyewear brand Ray-Ban teamed up to introduce the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses last year. The accessories feature quick-transition lenses, along with AIÂ technology to ask questions, capture photos, make calls, send messages, listen to music, stream live and more.

Brands are expected to announce their augmented reality glasses this week.

“They’re practical and they’re stylish,” Michael Miraflor, chief brand officer at venture capital firm Hannah Gray VC, told Business of Fashion about his Ray-Ban Meta glasses.

Manhattan optician Anthony Aiden agreed, noting the WSJ, that transitions have become “more of a fashion statement now” and “really piqued the interest of the younger generation.”