Ritesh
Local independent specialist, Aristone Opticians, has been nominated in the 2021 industry awards
Ritesh, the owner of Aristone Opticians in Fulham, always seems an unflappable character. No doubt, that calmness helps reassure his more nervous patients when they are being fitted for contact lenses. But even Ritesh was taken aback to discover that his team had been nominated for the Covid Hero prize at the national 2021 Optician awards.
‘The shortlist of just seven UK opticians had been out for a while,’ he smiles. ‘However, I only realised that we were one of them when someone rang to ask if I would be reserving a table for the event at the Grosvenor House Ballroom in December. At first, I couldn’t work out why they were contacting me!’
During the pandemic Ritesh delivered supplies to his elderly customers, gave iPad lessons to help them keep in touch with their families and even bought and fitted a Ring doorbell for a vulnerable lady. ‘The organisers of the awards wrote to patients and asked for their independent feedback about us,’ he explains. ‘It’s very pleasing to be recognised for both our customer care and community work.’
Aristone was established over five decades ago and Ritesh has owned the business for the past 12 years. Recently, he has expanded the stock to feature a wide choice of frames, including stylish designer ranges from Tom Ford, Lindberg, Ray-Ban, Gucci, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana, as well as a huge variety of prescription lenses.
If a prescription is not available, new glasses can be made on-site. ‘Few independent opticians or chains have a workshop,’ says Ritesh. ‘We carry out repairs in our upstairs lab and we’ve also invested in machinery which allows us to cut, grind and polish a lens to 0.1 degree accuracy in a minute.
‘Whether it’s an eye test, glaucoma screening or fitting a lens, we provide a fast, reliable service and tailor what we do to the individual. And it’s always a pleasure to get to know and look after generations of so many Fulham families.’
Aristone Optical
356 North End Road
Fulham SW6 1LY
+442073859772
aristone.opticians@gmail.com
https://www.aristoneopticians.com/
https://www.instagram.com/aristoneopticiansuk/
https://en-gb.facebook.com/aristoneoptical/
Photography: #AnnabelMoellerPhotography
https://www.instagram.com/annabelmoellerphotography
