Flexible, Bendable Titanium Eye Glasses

A couple of months ago, my dad took a worse-than-usual tumble and reconfigured — maybe ‘destroyed’ is a better word — his glasses. Repair was not an option, so we went looking for new ones.

The clerk at the store took one look at my dad’s rather battered face and asked if we’d considered flexible frames. Dad thought this was a good idea, but I (silently) wasn’t too sure. My last pair of bendable glasses were made of wire; they were pretty flimsy. By the time I’d replaced them I couldn’t remember exactly what shape the bows had been originally.

My old wire frames weren’t what she had in mind. “Titanium,” she said, twisting the new frames into the shape of a rather convoluted pretzel. Dad and I watched in amazement as they sprang back into shape posthaste. Dad thought the style looked fine, and I liked the idea that the next fall wouldn’t involve rigid plastic breaking near Dad’s eyes.

He’s had them for several months now. Happily, they haven’t been tested with a fall quite as bad as the one that did in the old glasses, but they have survived some rough use without a glitch.

I admit that I also like the idea that a fall (or glasses dropped or sat-upon accidentally) doesn’t automatically mean a new pair. Dad’s prescription wasn’t in stock and had to wait about ten days for the new glasses which was no fun for him at all.

We got Dad’s at Lenscrafters because he’d liked them out west, but a quick check on the web suggests that titanium frames are widely available.