Hi guys, today I’ll be reviewing some replica glasses that I got from the seller known as Vincent. I ordered a pair for myself (EyeRepublic) and for my mom (Chanel).
Yes, I’m a dude, but having introduced my mom to replicas and seeing how she devoured this sub until she ended up buying a 187 King Chanel bag using Heidi, and given that I actually stumbled on an earlier review of Vincent here, which encouraged me to buy (thanks u/9lasgow; her review can be found here), I figured I’d share my own experience. Vincent offers both male and female frames but for privacy reasons I’ll only be sharing my own fit pics.
This review is not sponsored, and Vincent never asked me to write one, nor did I use it as a bargaining chip to try and get a discount from him. If the mods want proof of my WA convos with Vincent, I’ll happily provide them. I am simply passionate about saving money for other people and it makes me happy to help others both get a good product as well as value in their purchases, doubly so when the “normal way” of buying prescriptions in any western country sees you getting fleeced for multiple hundreds of dollars. Not to mention that this practice is normalized and unquestioned when it comes to prescription glasses.
Yes, I have reposted this review to other subreddits. No, I’m not shilling, I’m just a uni student with a stupid amount of free time on my hands who wanted to write an in-depth product review for a niche product. Imo there isn’t enough good information available on other replica subs about prescription glasses. This is my attempt at fixing that and saying thank you to a community that allowed me to get a great pair of glasses for incredibly cheap. Enjoy the review!
Quick Facts
Shipping time to Germany: 10 Days
Shipping Method: DHL; others available (I didn’t use an Agent; Direct Buy)
Shipping Cost: USD 28
Package Weight: <1kg
Vincent’s Product Album: https://www.szwego.com/static/index.html#/shop_detail/A2017111600500601108
Seller Contact: WhatsApp (+86 189 0229 2112) // WeChat: cvs2016
Note: If you contact him on WhatsApp, which I recommend you do, it may take some time before WhatsApp actually recognizes his number as a valid contact. At first WhatsApp told me I had to invite his number to WhatsApp, and only later did it automatically let me chat to him. I think this has something to do with how frequently Chinese WA is updated, but that’s just speculation).
Final Product & Fit Pics
Mine: https://imgur.com/a/qwuPYYW
My Mom’s (mom not included for privacy reasons): https://imgur.com/a/yPloiUs
Unboxing: https://imgur.com/a/hrL7WHv
Why Replica Glasses?
Eyewear is expensive. While those in the replica community are already well aware of the fact that high fashion items are absurdly expensive when compared to the materials and techniques used to manufacture them, the same can largely be said for prescription eyewear.
Prescription lenses, as opposed to what your optometrist will tell you, do not cost upwards of USD 250+ per lens, or even more if you opt for thinner lenses and transition coatings. Neither do the Gucci frames you see in their store have that same value in terms of material and manufacturing costs.
Just like buying high fashion from a store when instead you could learn how to find and order 1:1 replicas, you are letting yourself be fleeced. Here, though, most people tend to play it safely: Who wants to mess around with their eyesight, right? Better to spend USD 600+ on a new pair of glasses every couple of years. A valid sentiment, considering that nobody wants to spend money on an experiment that they believe could damage their vision permanently because it’s “Chinese” and therefore “cheap”. The more something costs, the better quality it is, right? We ask ourselves this question while dubiously looking at (insert literally any popular and expensive shoe name here), but somehow forget it when considering eyewear.
The solution is to find a seller who has good reviews, can read an eyeglasses prescription, and knows how to communicate in English. From previous reviews I found online, Vincent seemed to fit the bill, and I decided to place an order with him both for me and my mom.
Seller Experience
Vincent is easy to talk to and understands English sufficiently to discuss your order, ask questions, and offer recommendations before you pay him. Vincent has enough experience with eyewear because he talked my mom out of ordering the thinnest lenses he has (1.74), when he could’ve instead just taken my money and not said a word about it. He also tried to insist that she didn’t need the next thinness down, 1.67, because her prescription simply didn’t make sense for that. She could’ve saved money and gotten 1.54, and Vincent was confused why we didn’t want that. I had to insist that my mom is a bit of a princess and despite such thinness being unnecessary, and it costs extra money that we didn’t need to spend, that he please go ahead and do it anyway. He was happy to oblige, and I am very satisfied to see that he tried to save money for me despite my knowing nothing about lenses and prescriptions.
You can probably order glasses from him using an agent, but since I wasn’t buying anything else at the time, I decided for a direct order. I would probably get in touch with him and discuss your order before using an agent to buy them for you.
Product Selection
Vincent mostly has “recent” frames. I don’t know what exactly I mean with recent, but the frames that he listed in his szwego album a year ago aren’t in production anymore. That means, that rather than searching for a specific frame you like, you have to scroll through his front page and look at the most recently added frames. You can also of course browse by the categories he has (sorted by brand), and ask him if he has them, but he seems to focus on new releases rather than keeping old models in stock. There are enough different types of frames to find something that you like; if you’re looking for a very specific, older Chanel model like my mom was at first, you may be SOL.
He has both normal frames and sunglasses. You can make a sunglasses frame fit your prescription lenses if you want. I don’t doubt that this is doable but probably risky fashion-wise unless you know what you’re doing.
A fair few of his frames are fantasy models. I tried to find some Tom Fords using the model number he gave for a specific pair, and it turned up a different one. My mom’s are real Chanel, though.
What Vincent Needs from You
You need to go to your optometrist and ask for a prescription. He also needs your pupillary distance, and I strongly recommend you let your optometrist do this as well, rather than experimenting in front of a mirror at home. This is important both for the prescription and the fit of the glasses. You don’t want your glasses squeezing your skull together.
You also want to measure your current glasses or get some suggestions from your optometrist. Vincent notes the measurements in his szwego listings in the name of the products via a three number group as shown in the image.
Timeline
- 15th December: I message Vincent on WhatsApp and he tells me to go get a prescription.
- 21st December: I decide for a different frame and Vincent tells me that they are no longer in stock. My mom finds one she likes, but this is also unfortunately no longer in stock.
- 28th December: My mom and I get our prescriptions written out by the optometrist.
- 30th December: My mom and I decide on the frames that we would like. Both are in stock. I transcribe our prescriptions into text and send Vincent a picture of our prescriptions so that he can check them over. I made a small mistake when copying my mom’s prescription strength into text. Vincent reached out to me a few days later, asked about the discrepancy, and asked me to confirm which was correct. Plus points for attention to detail, doubly so because it makes a large impact on the end result. We place the order and pay Vincent via Wise.
- 10th January: Vincent messages me that the glasses are finished and provides the tracking number. No QC photos are given (I didn’t ask for any).
- 19th January: Package is delivered.
(Personal) Advice on Style and Choice of Frames
I discovered that eyeglasses are not like shoes or belts or any other replica item floating around. They’re an accessory, yes, but they’re very different to something like a ring or a necklace. You can window shop for jewelry quite easily, but this approach goes out the window for glasses.
You HAVE to try out different frame shapes, colors, and sizes IN PERSON AT A STORE. I would also highly recommend that you take pictures from multiple angles of everything you try on and then ask your friends and family for feedback. Blindly (ha!) shopping for glasses (via google images or “your imagination”) is VERY RISKY!
The frames that I ended up ordering surprised me when they came in, despite seeing pictures of them beforehand in Vincent’s album. I like them a lot, they’re very unique, and that’s what I was going for, but I never would’ve decided on them unless I went around and tried on what was available, asked for advice, and generally tried to understand why specific frames work with my face shape (probably the most important part of why certain glasses look good on you and others don’t), hair color, eye color, and so on. I slept on my selection for several days before I ordered them. Despite, at first, being convinced of my initial choice that ended up not being in stock anyway, I warmed to my final choice over a couple of nights of having slept on it. Now that it’s here in person, I really like it!
In short: Take your time! You will be wearing your prescriptions most of your day anyway, and you don’t want to look hideous doing it. It’s better to order something that sits well on you and complements your natural features rather than sporting thick, goblin-like Louis Vuitton frames because they have a recognizable logo. Proper fitting glasses also can really add something to your style, and I think this is largely slept on, at least for men, because most of us are too lazy to experiment with eyewear so we just get the same frame shape/style that we’ve used since we started wearing glasses. Experiment!
Pricing
Incredibly cheap given the quality of the end products, the accuracy of the prescription, and the value for money. Vincent’s frames cost anywhere between USD50 and USD60. The lenses (for both eyes; not price per lens as with your local optometrist) can cost anywhere between USD50 and USD90, depending on the thinness you choose, and the coatings applied. The thinner the lenses, the more expensive they will be. Thinner lenses are only necessary for higher prescriptions; Vincent will advise you on what to choose. You’re not going to be walking around in huge nerd glasses if you order 1.54 instead of 1.72; something I think my mom didn’t understand. Here’s the price breakdown for the glasses:
Mine (EyeRepublic)
Frame USD 55 + 1.67 Lens, Blue Light Filter, and Grey Transition Coating USD 55 = USD 110
My Mom’s (Chanel)
Frame USD 50 + 1.67 Varifocal Lens, Blue Light Filter, and Grey Transition Coating USD 90 = USD 140
Vincent can make single-strength prescriptions, or varifocals, and add coatings to them such as grey or black transition coatings (your glasses dim automatically in the sun under UV and revert indoors), as well as a blue light filter. Varifocals take a bit more time as they are custom made and my mom’s decision for a thinner lens made the order more difficult and hence pricier. Otherwise, you are probably going to be within the USD 110 range per pair, excluding shipping.
Build Quality, Coatings, Prescription Accuracy
Fantastic all around for both pairs. Mine are super light and sit very well on my face. My mom’s are very solid feeling, but squeeze a tiny bit on her head because we measured the pupillary distance at home with a tape measure as she forgot to ask her optometrist to do it (our fault, not Vincent’s). I don’t know anything about genuine EyeRepublics (I just like how they look), but I’m very happy with them. The build quality is superb and there is nothing cheap about them. Mom is also very satisfied; for her, they are 1:1.
The coatings work! Even in winter both of our glasses fully transitioned to a dark grey color (from the outside) which is incredibly soothing to the eyes. From the inside, it’s like a very soft orange/grey filter slowly passes over your vision and you can see everything very clearly, without the harsh brightness of the sun and snow. I’ve never had transition lenses before, and I’m surprised by how much of a difference they can make. They’re not full-on sunglasses, but for USD10 extra, you can’t go wrong. After having these for two days I can say the blue-light filter definitely works; even if I stay up late and then go to bed after staring at my monitor for a long time my eyes feel much less strained and I can fall asleep faster compared to if I did the same thing with my previous pair. A no-brainer for 1USD extra.
Prescription strength is on point too. I am just far-sighted but have a slight cylinder; different in both eyes. I put the glasses on out of the box and my sight improved noticeably; I had a very slight tension around my eyes and in my head for the first few hours wearing them as my vision adjusted. No headache now. My mom’s prescription is more complicated, where she requires varifocal lenses (both near and farsighted), and she has a cylinder as well in both eyes. No problem here either, although it took her longer than me to adjust to hers. She notes a slight distortion / inward curvature around the corners of her vision towards the top of the glasses, and had difficulty reading text close to her face when she first put them on. The latter problem is gone after a few hours, while the former took longer to clear up. Towards the evening she notes that the distortion dissipated. I’m chalking it up to the eyes adjusting to a new prescription, though I’m no doctor.
Neither of us took them to an optometrist to get them tested professionally for their “true” prescription strengths. We’re happy with what we have; if we let them get tested, at some point, I’ll update this post. I had my doubts about “China’s” ability to create accurate prescriptions (how haughty of me), and I’m very pleased to have been proven wrong.
The packaging was very discreet and came in a bunch of bubble wrap. Vincent advised me that he is aware of how to deal with customs. I don’t think anything is going to get broken during transport or confiscated by customs.
Final Thoughts
This was the first replica item I’ve ever ordered from China. I’ve been around FashionReps for a while, but I never could convince myself to buy clothes just to have them because they’re cheap and look similar/identical to the expensive stuff. I wanted to buy something that I needed and that had a lot of utility for me during my day-to-day life, eventually stumbling upon other people saying that they ordered their prescriptions from China. I did some snooping and eventually found Vincent. I’m very happy with what I got, and pleased by how something that always made me insecure (my choice of glasses that I never cared to change), I managed to change into something that fits me well for a good price and great quality. Source
