About Torga Optical
Frames and lenses, made by one team
Torga Optical designs its own frames and makes its own lenses. That lets us offer the latest styles and German precision lenses at a price that makes a second pair for another part of your day affordable.
1984our first practice opens
1998our own lens lab is set up in Cape Town
800+frames to choose from in our stores
Up to 100new frame styles a year
What we do
Everything for your visual day
Nobody lives at one distance or in one light. We build the recommendation around your day: home, the office and screens, driving by day and by night, outdoors and sport.
Frames that let you be you
We design our own frames in the latest European styles, with the label inside the frame, so you can be you.
See our frames
Lenses from our own lab
We make our lenses ourselves in Cape Town, with German precision technology, for your prescription and your frame.
Lens technology
A pair for every part of your day
Like shoes, one pair will not do. We make a second pair for the office, the screen or the road affordable.
Find your lens solution
An eye test that starts with your day
Your optometrist asks about your work, your screens, your driving and your hobbies, and talks you through what each lens would mean for you.
Book an eye test
Our story
Where the name comes from
Torga grew from a Sotho name meaning "happiness", given to our founder, Maria Christina Buchanan, when she was a child. She adopted the name as she grew older, and over the years changed it to Torga.
- 1984Maria Christina Buchanan opens her first optometry practice.
- 1988The practice becomes Torga Buchanan, then Torga Optical. There are three practices by then. The name was chosen because it was unique and suited fashion and image.
- 1998Torga sets up its own lens laboratory in Cape Town. It starts in a couple of double garages.
- 2019Glasses go on sale online, at torgaoptical.co.za and torga.com.na.
- 2024Our lab starts making Flexi-Tint, Torga's own light-reactive lens, itself.
The strategy has not changed: design and make beautiful frames, and keep investing in our lenses.
What we believe
Five values that spell TORGA
TTorga One Team
OOptometry
RRespect yourself and others
GGo the extra mile
AAlways do what is right
After you collect
Looked after, long after your eye test
Every pair comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee on vision, comfort and fit, a one-year manufacturer's warranty on all materials, free adjustments and minor repairs for the life of your glasses, and 40% off a replacement pair after accidental breakage.
Read the guarantees in full
Tell us about your day
Book an eye test and your optometrist will talk you through the lenses and frames that suit it.
Book an eye test
