What’s the best place to get glasses made in Taipei?
I’m nearsighted, -8.50 and -8.75. 
Thanks!
伯爵光學眼鏡公司 bo2jue2 eyewear co.
Mr. 劉祥瑞 Liu2 Xiang2-rui4
台北市中山北路二段178號 Taipei, Zhongshan N. Rd. Sec. 2, #178
2596-0440
My wife broke her glasses while here, and went for the radical option of LASIK laser treatment. It cost $NT 50,000 and she is really pleased with the results
Great being a bachelor again isn’t it? 
[quote=“Dragonbones”]伯爵光學眼鏡公司 bo2jue2 eyewear co.
Mr. 劉祥瑞 Liu2 Xiang2-rui4
台北市中山北路二段178號 Taipei, Zhongshan N. Rd. Sec. 2, #178
2596-0440[/quote]
What kind of price range are you looking at in getting an eye exam and purchasing glasses? Is it dirt cheap relative to prices in the U.S.?
You can get a perfectly good exam at a public hospital for only the US$6 or so in registration fee; the cost of the glasses will, as in the US, vary greatly depending on the frames and lenses you pick, and is not necessarily cheaper in my experience. Dragonbabe got a pair of titanium frames with custom-bevelled polycarb lenses which minimized the appearance of thickness (the lenses are thick due to a high degree of myopia and astigmatism, I gather) and I think it was around $5-6k. Mine were a bit less.
You can get a perfectly good exam at a public hospital for only the US$6 or so in registration fee; the cost of the glasses will, as in the US, vary greatly depending on the frames and lenses you pick, and is not necessarily cheaper in my experience. Dragonbabe got a pair of titanium frames with custom-bevelled polycarb lenses which minimized the appearance of thickness (the lenses are thick due to a high degree of myopia and astigmatism, I gather) and I think it was around $5-6k. Mine were a bit less.[/quote]
Thanks!
Just to clarify…the public hospital provides a selection of frames as well? And if so, is there a wide selection of frames to choose from?
I get our prescriptions written at Ren-Ai hospital in Taipei then take them to a glasses shop to be filled. I’m not aware of any frame selection or ability to make the glasses themselves at the hospital. Eyewear shops will also write a prescription, I think, but I prefer what I assume to be the greater experience and better equipment at the hospitals (at least that at Ren-Ai), and besides, it’s a good excuse to say hi to an old pal of mine, Dr. Wang2, Tai4-yuan2 at Ren-Ai. His English is superb, btw. We used to be language exchange partners, many years ago.
In this thread:
forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.ph … c&&start=0
I wrote:
[quote]just bought my first pair of glasses ever last week. I was at Adventist hospital for something else entirely and I noticed they had an oculist office so I first got the eye check for the prescription and then went next door to their glasses shop.
The check-up cost about NT$300 and the frames I liked best just happened to be the cheapest at about NT$850. They then offered me a couple of levels up for the lenses starting from cheap scratchable plastic up to unsctrachable glass. I forget what the increment was in each level but I took the top level unscratchable glass. Total was $3,750.
I did not comparison shop because I had no idea anywhere else I could get it all done in English and I figured Adventist, being a reputable hospital, wouldn’t rip me off. I checked with Taiwanese friends who say I did not pay too much and some have paid upwards of NT$5,000 for light, frameless glasses. All in all I am very pleased with the service and glasses I got at Adventist. They are very good for healthcare also, btw.[/quote]
In hindsight their selection was fairly limited so if you want something more styish the hospital shop might not be for you.
Thanks for posting the information on Dr. Liu Dragonbones. I am now ready to get a second pair with better frames so I will pay him a visit. Does he speak English also?
Btw, I am interested in getting bifocals so I can stop taking my glasses on and off when I teach. I want to get a lineless pair. Does anyone know if this is an expensive option? Thanks.
[quote=“Dark Horse”]Thanks for posting the information on Dr. Liu Dragonbones. I am now ready to get a second pair with better frames so I will pay him a visit. Does he speak English also?
Btw, I am interested in getting bifocals so I can stop taking my glasses on and off when I teach. I want to get a lineless pair. Does anyone know if this is an expensive option? Thanks.[/quote]
Um, it’s Mister Liu, not Dr. Liu, afaik. He or his father also fitted the President with glasses.
I don’t know whether he speaks English, honestly. Since I always speak Mandarin, I often don’t have the opportunity to find that out.
He has fitted me with invisible (lineless) bifocals, and they were a bit more expensive. My regular pairs cost around $3500 I guess (a wild guess based on poor memory) and the bifocals cost more ($5500???). He spent a great deal of time patiently showing me what the results would be like (some people are NOT happy after they get lineless bifocals), and he didn’t put any pressure on me to buy. But I don’t think you’d get the same quality of info even if he does speak limited English (and I’m not sure he does), due to the complexity of that particular topic.
As for why some don’t like their lineless bifocals after they get them, you get a lot of blurry areas as a result of the graduation needed to make them invisible, and you have to get used to the same thing traditional bi or trifocal wearers do, that is, having to reposition your head to see, rather than your eyes. Plus, when you turn your head side to side, the distortion of the side areas can make the world rock back and forth, upsetting your balance or making you dizzy. But if you persist in wearing them for a few days or weeks, you get used to it all.
Thanks for the detailed info on invisible bifocals Dragonbones. I’ll check them out.
anyone ever order glasses online? lifehacker.com/5157425/save-bund … ses-online it sounds so cheap to order it online, however my nearsightedness is very high, I also have high astigmatism not sure if order online will be a good idea since my glasses will need to be custom made.