Cambridge Spectacle Co. has become the new owner of Glimpse opticians in Birmingham’s Great Western Arcade.
Offering free eye tests along with glasses to suit a range of budgets, it’s a fast-growing British eyewear company billed as shaking up the market. Glasses including lenses start from £95.
Its CEO Ahmed Ejaz is an optometrist from the Midlands, who wants to sell affordable glasses to the public and make sure people don’t overlook their eye health due to cost.
He was even invited to Downing Street to talk about social mobility and his career in optometry in 2022, a year after he launched burgeoning Cambridge Spectacle Co. with his brother.
This Birmingham store, incorporating Glimpse, is the third Cambridge Spectacle Co. branch in the UK, following on from ones in Cheltenham and London.
Store manager Sianna Forster said: “We want to make sure everyone has access to eye examinations so we do free regular eye tests on the premises, or it is £25 for a contact lens test.
“Glasses come in different styles including sunglasses and the frames and lenses are made by us at our lab in Halesowen.
“They are in price ranges of £95, £125, £175 and £225 and include the standard lenses. We do the price brackets that include everything as some people want to budget for it, as glasses aren’t cheap.
“We do stock Zeiss, Essilor and Seiko as we consider these the best brands out there, but other than that we don’t have designer glasses.
“We don’t do fashion brands as we are all about eye health. People can get carried away with brands over their eye health. We are focusing on the practicalities and long term health.”
Rows of glasses in various price ranges are shown in our photos above. You can find Cambridge Spectacle Co. at 18 Great Western Arcade in Birmingham city centre. More information is at the website here.
It is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm and closed on Sunday and Monday. For eye test appointments call 0121 389 0841.