Got two pairs of glasses fitted 2 months or so ago - a regular pair and a pair of sunglasses. While the staff’s service is great, the product itself is pretty inferior and not practical if you’ll be wearing your new glasses daily, and don’t really pass by their store for regular service.
I paid a lot more than what I would have if I made my glasses at a chain optometrist like Owndays, due to my high prescription. I understand that this is ultimately due to different economies of scale between an MNC with a parent company that owns multiple eyewear brands, and a small local company.
Additionally, the frames made of “Italian cellulose” become bent out of shape fairly quickly. I got my glasses adjusted two weeks ago, but their hinges are too loose and they’re sitting weird again. The sales staff mentioned that this is normal, but it borders on impracticality to me, especially as I’ll be leaving Singapore for half a year and have no idea how I can wear these glasses when they inevitably get bent out of shape again and need to be serviced.
All in all, I suppose you are paying a premium to say you’re supporting local. I would think twice if buying from Monocle would mean double of what you’d pay at Owndays, especially if you don’t have the time to go down to their store and get your frame adjusted often.
Lut Mustafah
5
Monocle has one of the best looking eyewear store catering to different fit, colours and style. I’m a repeated customer owning 2 progressives from them with the amazing help from team members Mervyn and Jason who were very professional, friendly, courteous and delivered nothing but the best. They were willing to listen and gave the best advice and choice to cater to your needs. Highly recommended!
Jas P.
5
Runa was really patient and great with her service. She also meticulously adjusted my spectacles and I must say that she’s the best optometrist I have met. Highly recommend and their frames are trendy too.
Nicholas Chia
5
I made my current pair (Woolf) of spectacles at their Keong Saik outlet in Feb 2024 and I’ve enjoyed wearing them since. Was pleasantly surprised to see that they’ve moved to Wheelock Place. I walked in and asked if they could tighten the screws for the arms. Runa attended to me and she also gave the glasses a good clean and kindly replaced the nose pads. Now my specs are as good as new; great customer service!
May Petry
5
Amazingly friendly service and a great selection of frames. The lovely Monocle guy also cleaned my embarrassingly dirty glasses while I looked for a new frame. He knew what he was doing and helped me find a good frame—an unexpected find!
Calum Lim
5
Great eyeglasses and reasonable prices. With designs and colour ways for everybody, you won’t be disappointed.
One thing however is that wait time can drag which might be a bother for those used to same-day collections. That aside, no complaints from me.
Howard
3
Wanted to support local but disappointed with Monocle’s quality. Slightly over a year ago my wife and I purchased one pair each. It was a hit and miss. While I was fairly happy with mine, my wife’s prescription lenses were of the wrong power and we only realised after the fact. We came back a few days after to fix it and the other optometrist was really great and apologetic in trying to remedy it on the spot with new lenses. It helped but she felt the vision was not as good compared to her old glasses and gave her headaches.
For myself, I was fairly happy but found my frames to be quite flimsy compared to my previous metal frame spectacles. Quality seemed suspect: the eye pads corroded quickly. The right and left temple hinges were also gradually misaligned and couldn’t close properly after a while. And today after slightly more than ONE YEAR, my spectacles snapped suddenly when I took it out of my case. To be fair, I think I subject my glasses to rougher handling than most. But then again, I have never experienced this with all my years of wearing glasses, and within such a short time!
I was willing to splurge more money on higher quality lenses and frames (than at Owndays etc), and was very happy to spend it on a local brand, but am quite dismayed by the quality and price here.
Gifford Tan
5
Monocle's after service is stellar! Never have I had optometrists check in on my spectacle fit weeks and months after adjustment!
Jason was instrumental in helping me make further adjustments to make sure the spectacles fit just right! If you're lucky enough to be visiting the store when he's around, he will definitely blow you away with his incredible knowledge about the different lens offerings as well as his skills in adjusting the frames till they are just right!
Runa has got to be one of the most patient, conscientious and meticulous optometrist that I had the good fortune of meeting to get my spectacles done. She possesses an unflappable well of calm and patience and went above and beyond what I think any customer might reasonably expect to repeatedly adjust the alignment of my spectacles so as to make sure everything was just right. Very grateful and satisfied, thanks!
SRL
3
Unfortunately, the lens coating doesn’t hold up well with time. I have had many pairs of glasses over the years and have had my pair from Monocle for over a year and a half.
The frames are lovely! But I’m so appalled by how quickly and how badly the lens coating rubbed off. Quality of the lenses frankly seem questionable.
Wei Quan Mu
5
A new outlet at Haji Lane. Firstly the staffs are friendly and also experienced in introducing their items and how to differentiate the differences. Prices are transparent as well. A great local startup company and definitely worth to support. Gotten my Prescription Sunglasses here and look forward to it.
Update on my prescription sunglasses:
Received my goods in a week+ due to my order being customised. Item was nicely made and the parcel was very nicely protected.