Magnifying Glasses for TV and Film

Many people ask us for magnifying glasses as seen on TV and to be honest we’ve usually got no idea what programme they are talking about.

How to get magnifying glasses as seen on TV

But during lockdown, like everybody else, we found ourselves watching TV more than ever. It was remarkable how often magnifiers would appear in a scene. They featured in all sorts of programmes, including Amazing Spaces, Bridgerton and The Detectives. We even saw them in top French series like Lupin and Call My Agent too, and spotted someone wearing a pair of Opera Glasses in Squid Game, the worldwide Netflix hit from South Korea.

In many cases we find that a magnifier shown is one that we can supply, such is the size of our range and product knowledge which goes back more than 25 years. This also puts us at the forefront of companies able to supply magnifiers to TV programmes and films.

That’s probably also one of the reasons why we are frequently approached by runners, and prop departments to supply of magnifying glasses, often at very short notice. Mission impossible? Not for us, we’re more than happy to help.

(Talking of Mission Impossible, did we mention that we supplied promotional magnifiers for that film?)

Last-minute London magnifier company

Being a London-based magnifier business definitely has its advantages. It seems there is no shortage of companies in and around the capital that need magnifiers at a moment’s notice, sometimes within hours of the request being made. We are based in Pinner, just 15 miles from central London, and barely half an hour’s drive from large studios at Pinewood, Shepperton, Leavesden, Elstree and Windsor.

We have supplied magnifying glasses to film crews, TV production teams, model shoots, advertising agencies and promotional marketing firms just about anywhere in London. The person asking us for help has typically been given the unenviable task of getting a magnifier at the very last minute. Often such companies have their own driver, who can be sent out to collect from us on the same day but even for the biggest companies that is not always possible…

Magnifiers for photo shoots and fashion

A case in point was when we got a call about 6 pm one Friday evening from Clinique, part of the Estee Lauder perfume company: “we desperately need 38 executive quality magnifying glasses for an event in London Fashion Week – oh, and is there any chance we could have them for Monday morning?”…

We had the stock immediately available but Clinique could not send anyone to collect them. We also knew that Fedex, our preferred courier company, would not be able to pick them up from us till Monday morning itself.

Magnifico goes the extra mile

Luckily the trains were running properly that weekend so we came up with another solution: first thing Saturday one of our team hopped onto the Metropolitan Line with a large box of magnifiers that were delivered to Clinique’s offices just round the corner from Oxford Circus – well in advance of their deadline.

Magnifying lamps for tattoo artists

We have mentioned how our magnifiers are often supplied to TV production companies and it is always fun to see a product from our range featured on a television programme.

Magnifying glasses as seen on TV programme Tattoo Fixers

The Channel 4 show Tattoo Fixers features a team of talented tattoo artists who get called upon to fix all kind of tattoo mistakes and nightmares. Often they manage to turn the most embarrassing or bad tattoo into mini works of art but talent alone is not enough: they also need the right tools of the trade and a high quality magnifying lamp is essential.

The one featured on Tattoo Fixers looks like it could be our Classic Magnifying Lamp with round 5-inch lens and a fluorescent daylight bulb. This provides the artist with a shadow-free light offering accurate colour rendition and with low heat emission, making it comfortable for all parties during the most intricate (and occasionally intimate) tattoo tasks. An extending long-reach metal arm and grab handle by the lens head enables the artist to easily pull the magnifying lamp down and over the working area or push it away when not required, after which the protective sun cap can be closed down over the lens to protect it from dust.

Apart from being widely used in tattoo parlours such lamps are also found in all kinds of artist, beauty and dental studios, either with the standard desk clamp supplied or with other available accessories like the table base, floor stand or wall bracket.

Head-mounted magnifiers for repair shops

Meanwhile BBC’s Repair Shop is another great show with a talented team of a different kind. Members of the public bring in treasured personal items that have fallen into disrepair or have simply aged over time. Jay Blades leads a highly skilled team of professional restorers, often using traditional craft techniques to bring the objects back to life. The personal stories are what makes it such compelling viewing, along with the loving care from the restorers themselves.

Like most art or craft tasks, it’s mostly the case that both hands need to be kept free for the repair work to be done properly. We’ve observed our Optivisor Pro Headband Magnifier being one of the chosen ‘tools of the trade’ on more than one repair job. This magnifier incorporates a pull-down visor, helping protect the eyes, with an interchangeable lens system to accommodate different working distances.

We offer many other head mounted magnifiers, frequently used by modellers and other craft professionals for repair and refurb work.

Detective magnifying glass

How many TV crime shows do you watch, where magnifiers feature in some of the scenes? Often it’s a magnifying lamp in the forensic lab, but also linen testers for fingerprints, to say nothing of the trusty old traditional Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass.

Film fans may remember the actor Peter Cushing appearing with a magnifying glass as Sherlock Holmes and in Hammer’s The Curse of Frankenstein.    

It wasn’t just through the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that the idea of a detective’s magnifying glass was brought to the public’s attention. The famous Home Office pathologist, Sir Bernard Spilsbury created the so-called ‘murder bag’ of essential forensic kit for Scotland Yard back in the 1920s. One of the items was a 2.5” inch magnifying glass, which is still used by crime scene teams today.

Need magnifing glasses for your production?

We offer one of the largest ranges of magnifiers in the UK, and can usually supply stock for your production or promotion. If your company is based in London and need magnifiers at very short notice then please email or give us a call – we’ll be happy to pull out all the stops to try and help you.