Essilor launches Bolon eyewear to the Philippines

Italian-designed leading affordable luxury eyewear is now in the Philippines! Introduced by Essilor, the world’s leading ophthalmic optics company, Bolon premium eyewear, known for its elegance, high quality and functionality, has been launched in Metro Manila and is now available in select optical shops.

Bolon is recognized for its unique and stylish designs as well as its ingenuity in protecting the eyes against harmful rays of the sun. The Bolon brand redefines the modern aesthetic to meet the standards of today’s chic consumers, at the same time maintaining its functionality and elegance.

“We are pleased and enthusiastic to launch Bolon in the Philippines,” remarks Dr. Emelita Roleda, Essilor Philippines general manager. “With Bolon®, Filipinos now have access to premium, affordable luxury sunglasses and eyewear.”

Combining both science and art in each eyewear, Bolon is not only a fashion statement because of its exquisite designs. Its high-definition polarized lenses have E-SPF technology to ensure the highest level of comfort and protection. It is also made from Italian “Mazzucchelli” acetate, renowned for its outstanding colors and textures, as well as from Swiss-made memory resin, well-known for supreme resistance and lightness.

Bolon is indeed a top-notch eyewear that captivates even Oscar and Emmy award winner, Anne Hathaway, who is its brand ambassador. Epitomizing youth, style, and glamor, the Interstellar actress perfectly embodies the high quality of Bolon sunglasses and prescription frames.

With 85% brand recognition level and 30% market share in Asia, Bolon already has a strong presence across the region. It has also been massively distributed to major global hubs and airports, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, and Tokyo. Recently, the brand made a successful move to expand to the Middle East and UK markets.

Learn more about Bolon by visiting your preferred eye care professional or leading optical shop nationwide.

Essilor Vision Foundation supports Phil.delegates for Special Olympics Brina Maxino and Sashi Montana

Special Olympics is a global movement of people who want to improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.

The most inspirational event for the people with intellectual disabilities will happen on July 23-28 at Los Angeles, California.


Essilor Vision foundation supports the World Games Special Olympics 2015 on July 23-28, 2015 which will take place at  Los Angeles, California and features the  lead Philippine delegates Brina Maxino and Sashi Montaňa as co-chairs last July 15 at Contis, Greenbelt 1.


 The summit aims to gather youth leaders who will generate and implement actionable ideas that can educate, motivate and activate individuals, particularly the youth, towards accepting and including people with intellectual disabilities in community life and activities.

“Eye Can Play: A Healthy Eyeffair,” which uses an “edutainment” approach to help Special Olympics athletes, their caregivers and their families learn more about the importance of healthy vision. “Eye Can Play: A Healthy Eyeffair” will make use of vision test and hand-eye coordination activities like interactive computer games, puzzles, giant word search, like ring toss and balloon darts to help discover any eyesight problems in the athletes that may require vision solutions

Essilor Vision Foundation, in support of the World Games Special Olympics 2015, emphasizes the importance of healthy vision in sports and in helping intellectually challenged individuals work towards making critical social changes, fighting discrimination and intolerance; and generating acceptance in the community.

“Healthy vision is critical for every individual, including intellectually challenged persons who, like many of us, have aspirations and goals in life.  Helping them see the world better can make a huge difference in what and how much they can achieve. This is the reason why Essilor is a huge supporter of Special Olympics. We’re happy to support the Special Olympics Social Impact Summit where our Philippine delegates can participate and share ideas on how to achieve critical changes in society,” says Dr. Emelita Roleda, Essilor Philippines general manager.

During the Social Impact Summit, 12 mentors—including professional athletes, entrepreneurs and social innovators—from Special Olympics partner organizations will train the youth leaders of Generation Unified on interviewing, public speaking and presentation. These youth leaders will gain an in-depth look into the challenges facing people with intellectual disabilities and how to equip themselves to influence change. As the finale of this six-day Summit, the top projects will be pitched to a star-studded panel of judges, who will select a project to execute based on the level of innovation and potential impact on generating acts of acceptance and inclusion in their communities. The Summit will end with a presentation of the Generation Unified Manifesto, which is a declaration of social change by the youth leaders of Generation Unified.

For the Social Impact Summit, Sashi and Brina are presenting . This project will be one of many to be presented during the 2015 Social Impact Summit that will integrate Special Olympics’ Opening Eyes program, which gives vision and eye health screening for Special Olympics athletes. Support for Sashi, Brina and their project “Eye Can Play: A Healthy Eyeffair” can be seen in social media, through fan signs with the hashtag “#EyeSupportSashiBrina”, the official Social Impact Summit hashtag “#SOGenUin”, and the hashtag for key supporter “#EssilorPH”.

Brina and Sashi’s “Eye Can Play: A Healthy Eyeffair” shares the same thrust with Essilor Philippines in improving lives by improving sight. The focus of “Eye Can Play” is on Special Olympics athletes who rely heavily on their eyesight during competitions. The games and activities of the fair are geared towards identifying and solving any vision problems they may encounter, given that research shows that people with intellectual disabilities are 10 times more likely to develop long-term vision problems. In the same way, the global Essilor campaign ‘Seeing the World Better’ seeks to raise public awareness on the importance of healthy vision and make everyone act upon protecting and valuing their eyes.

With the help of Essilor Vision Foundation, the 2015 Special Olympics-Social Impact Summit will change the way people see individuals with intellectual disabilities, and make a great leap towards universal social acceptance and inclusion in schools and communities.
Essilor has been supporting Special Olympics for more than 10 years by providing athletes with prescription eyewear, protective sports eyewear and important health counseling on proper eye health and vision care to more than 100,000 athletes. Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization that fosters acceptance and inclusion of all people, regardless of ability or disability, through the power of sports.

Essilor Ambassador Piolo Pascual joins inauguration of Sight Center in MCU

Essilor, the world leader for corrective lenses, recently launched its very first Sight Center in the Philippines at Manila Central University, College of Optometry in Caloocan last June 9.  The inauguration was attended by Essilor Ambassador Mr. Piolo Pascual and joined by his son Inigo Pascual and guests from media.

Essilor, launches Sight Center in the country to provide optometry students access to the most advanced and updated technology in optical studies and vision solutions. The sight center features fully equipped vision screening rooms complete with clinical refraction equipment, and access to Essilor Academy’s advanced tools and practical trainings in optometry practice.

The first Essilor Sight Center offers optometry students a venue where they can perform hands-on eyesight examinations and diagnoses in an ideal clinic set-up used by actual optometrists.

“We are happy to open our very first Essilor Sight Center in the country, with Manila Central University as our initial partner. Through this project, we hope to support optometry students in their field of specialization by giving them the opportunity to study within an ideal clinic setting, using state-of-the-art technologies and equipment in optometry,” said Dr. Emelita Roleda, Essilor general manager.

The Manila Central University-College of Optometry is one of the top optometry schools in the country. It is, in fact, the only optometry school in the Philippines recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as a Center of Development. It has been granted Level III Accreditation status by the PACUCOA, in 2011. The college currently has more than 200 optometry students enrolled who will have the privilege of using the very first Essilor Sight Center in the Philippines.
 
“We are truly honored to be chosen as the initial beneficiary of the very first Essilor Sight Center in the Philippines. Through this partnership project, we can provide a better avenue for our students to learn and master their skills in optometry using Essilor Sight Center’s advanced state-of-the-art technology,” said Dr. Aristotle Malabanan, MCU President.

According to Dr Christine Rodriguez, dean of MCU’s College of Optometry, the opening of the Essilor Sight Center is a boost to the reputation of the College as one of the best in the country. “We hope that, with the enhanced facilities and better technology that the College now offers, more students will be inspired and motivated to pursue and specialize in Optometry, “she added.

Essilor helps you Seeing the World Better

Top global opthalmic lenses manufacturer Essilor launched a public campaign for healthy vision last February 16, 2015 at 55 Events Place, along with its new brand ambassador Piolo Pascual.

 Essilor conducted an eye exam for bloggers and media at the event for free. Surprisingly, I still had a 20/20 vision for distance and was glad that my reading vision is still the same at R.0.75, L 0.50. I was advised by the optometrist to have a spare reading glasses so I ordered one and should wait for a call from Essilor.   I admit I cant live without my reading glasses, I always use it for  (blogging) work,  signing documents and reading a book. I always have my eyes checked yearly or if my vision blurred me due to headache. I am afraid of having cataract, myopia or glaucoma for that matter. Prevention comes first for me to achieve better eyesight and prevent eye problems in the future.

“Across the globe, 4 billion people need visual correction, and in the Philippines, over 20 million individuals need visual correction. As a leader, we feel it is our responsibility to do something to alleviate the situation and this is the reason we are doing this campaign,” said Dr. Emelita Roleda, Essilor general manager. 

“Essilor's ‘Seeing the World Better’ campaign is our company's way of helping the world see better by raising awareness about the importance of healthy vision and address the alarming number of visual impairment cases in the country. We also hope that through this campaign, Filipinos will start paying more attention to their eyes so they can see the world in a clearer and brighter view,” Dr. Roleda added.

Essilor is the world leader for corrective lenses.  The success of the company, which is present in more than 100 countries, is the result of a strategy that has been driven by innovation for more than 160 years.  It has been awarded by Forbes magazine as “The World’s Most Innovative Companies” for four consecutive years.

Headlining the campaign is top actor Piolo Pascual who appears in Essilor’s latest TVC and educational materials. A sportsman and a known health buff, Piolo believes prevention is the first step towards healthy vision.  “Good eye health is a serious matter because it is essential to performing practically all our daily tasks. Without good vision, we can only do so much and this limitation can stand in the way of achieving our goals.” 

To effectively raise awareness, Essilor launched its latest infomercial featuring brand ambassador Piolo Pascual performing various activities – swimming, reading, driving – and how good vision helps him accomplish these tasks effectively. The newest TV ad will air on March 1, at primetime slots on select cable channels.


The campaign will drive three important messages: Prevention: Essilor lenses help prevent age-related eye diseases, 2) Protection: It also helps provide everyday protection from ultraviolet (UV) rays and harmful blue light 3) Correction: promote the initial purpose of Essilor which is to help correct eyesight.

Dr. Roleda cites the plethora of electronic devices that we are exposed to everyday, which emits harmful blue lights that damage the retina. “Repetitive exposure to blue light posts threat to our eyes. It may cause oxidative damage, and may be responsible for causing age-related macular degeneration, which can result to blindness.”   Wearing protective lenses like Crizal Prevencia, she adds, can do a lot in preventing the detrimental effects of harmful blue light. Crizal Prevencia is the only clear lens that selectively filters harmful blue light from gadgets, LED and UV light while letting through the healthy blue light.

Ultraviolet (UV) rays, on the other hand, contribute to the development of cataracts. Wearing Crizal Forte UV lenses can protect our eyes from these harmful rays.

For those starting around age 40, our eyes can gradually lose the ability to focus on nearby objects; this is an unavoidable condition but it can be corrected, says Dr Roleda. “Essilor Varilux progressive lenses offer a smooth transition from distance vision through intermediate vision to near vision.  This means that instead of having just two different viewing zones (near and distant), like with bifocals, Varilux provides the most natural vision correction,” said Dr. Roleda.