Welcome aboard David. I've heard different views on the optics of custom-cut Juliet lenses - what is your opinion? Are they optically correct and will the wearer suffer any vision problems while looking through them over the short and long term?

Thanks for the welcome Oak & Rick! Most of you know more about Oakleys than I do, but I'll try my best to leave something where it could be useful.

Lenses cut from any 8.75 base curve (curvature in the front surface of the lens), which most Oakley lenses are, would be no different optically than original Juliet lenses, unless, of course, the cut is bad and severe internal stresses are introduced when mounted on the frame. This is still not much different than original Juliet lenses, since most Oakley and CNC cut lenses are identical, but it's the x-metal frames that have variations.

Lenses cut from M Frame lenses, Wrap 6.0 & Rake 4.0, are a different story. These actually have to be bent slightly to insert into a Juliet, Penny, & X-met XX, so theoretically there would be an optical distortion. In reality, it depends on the wearer. I wore +Red mounted in an X-metal Penny today, and I could not notice any distortion or experience any long term effects. However, I have had a customer who ordered +Red Juliet lens (now discontinued) that complained of some type of distortion.

Whenever lens is mounted in a metal frame, there is usually some internal stress that may cause visual distortion. One way to see the internal stress is to wear polarized sunglasses and hold a test sunglasses between you and an LCD monitor. You should see a stress pattern in your lenses, but unless it's really severe, it's usually harmless.

Image is internal stress pattern on a stock Oakley Big Square Wire Chrome Titanium Clear sunglasses.

That is definitely useful to know!! Welcome to the site David & thanks for sharing =)

very nice to know, and welcome to the review!! Thanks for the clarification on the HJ lenses as well.

Very informative. Thanks, David. Does initialtech have a website of available customs?

Welcome David....

now i understand why you are no longer doing +red Juliets lenses...It is a pity though....if you get what i mean....

blimey, if that's on a stock pair, do you think they spout on about hdo nd xyz when the lens is out of a frame in a test lab? if so, i guess the majority of sunglasses made will all be stressed hence not as optically correct as they make out...

never noticed it or thought of it until daves post though! hehe,

welcome david.

Sorry if my replies are slow, and they will get slower, since I need to spend more time researching & creating products and less time online, so I can meet collectors' demands. Currently, I have lens cutting and Oakley Rx glasses/sunglasses capability. I will start to expand the custom business and will invest into lens etching, frame coloring, and lens coating equipments over the next year or two. I will need a website and a newsgroup system to make this work, and currently plan to use Google's beta features, but this could change. Currently, I just have eBay InitialTech and keystone_corporation for distribution, but eBay does not allow any Rx products and charges quite a lot. To preserve spirit of o-review, I will not be posting any available items here for advertisement, but rather leave a newsgroup link when the newsgruoup becomes available. Eventually, the business will be divided into two separate divisions with InitialTech serving those who want genuine Oakley and Oakley Rx items for good prices, and Keystone Corporation serving those who want custom/unique hard to find items. I look forward to serving the o-review community.

Quick note on +Red Juliet lenses: These were discontinued to preserve the value/exclusivity for those few that purchased them when it was available. Less than 20 were produced and unlike Oakley, we won't be bring it back just because it makes financial sense. All of our custom products will be Limited Edition/Special Edition with limited quantities with serial numbers linked to original owners.

Quick note on X3: We are currently taking pre-orders for Oakley's Juliet & Penny Ruby's (contact us for pricing). Still no reliable word from Oakley regarding whether they will have serial numbers. After watching the movie last night, I decided Oakley's versions don't look much like the glasses in the movie, so we will be producing some with darker frame color, Ruby, and Ruby Quartz replica (only time replica isn't so bad, since the real ones are not available). Also, we will produce the Chain Ophthalmics (Nurse) exactly as they were shown in the movie (polycarbonate without AR coating), and Split Thread (Beast) with special half-moon lens shape (edge polished with AR coating) shown in the movie. This is just a sneak peak, as they won't be available for about a month, and it gives those who are looking to get Oakley's version an option.

BTW, the stress pattern on the Big Square looks bad, but isn't really that bad. IMHO, Oakley lenses have the best optics among high impact lenses.

Thank you all for the warm welcome! If you live in the Bay Area, please stop in sometime!