Yes. Last summer eclipse glasses were sold at pharmacies and opticians, according to EFE, the Spanish news agency, and on the eve of the eclipse the newspaper El Español reported stock “running out at opticians, supermarkets and pharmacies all over Spain”. Where they are sold doesn’t certify them: they are valid if they meet the EN ISO 12312-2 standard and carry the CE marking backed by their EU type-examination, and you ask for that at a pharmacy just as at any other shop. On Monday 2 August 2027 you’ll need them all morning: the partial phase lasts more than two hours, and only in the 105 towns in the path of totality are there a few seconds without a filter, around the maximum, which comes between 10:46 and 10:51 Spanish time (CEST, UTC+2).
What the pharmacists said
In July, Spain’s General Council of Pharmacists’ Associations (Consejo General de Colegios Farmacéuticos) warned in a statement that the only safe way to watch the eclipse is with approved glasses. It asked people to check two things, that they meet ISO 12312-2:2015 and that they carry the CE marking, and explained that these glasses reduce direct solar radiation “about 100,000 times”. It ruled out sunglasses (“even if they are dark, they let dangerous radiation through”), X-rays, smoked glass, CDs and photographic negatives, and also glasses that are “scratched, have defects or damaged parts and/or are bent”. The materials, with videos and two infographics, were prepared by its section for pharmacists in ophthalmic optics and audiology.
The statement doesn’t say that pharmacies were going to sell them. It is about the advice given at the pharmacy.
What the optician-optometrists said
The day before the eclipse, in a statement reported by Europa Press, the General Council of Optician-Optometrists’ Associations (CGCOO) asked people to check that the glasses are made specifically for looking directly at the Sun, that they meet ISO 12312-2 and that they are in perfect condition, “with no scratches, holes or damage”. It pointed out that meeting the standard “does not depend solely on how dark they are or on a filtering percentage”, and put “the labelling and the instructions for use” among the things to look at. It also asked people not to use them to look through cameras, telescopes or binoculars, and not to move them, lift them or take them off while looking towards the Sun. If in doubt, it recommended asking an optician-optometrist.
What to ask for at the counter
Ask to hold the glasses, with their box and papers, and look for this:
- The EN ISO 12312-2:2015 inscription, on the glasses, on their packaging or in the instructions, as the Trío de Eclipses website from Spain’s Ministry of Science explains. If it only says ISO 12312-1, they are sunglasses and they won’t do (why, in Spanish).
- The CE marking and its papers. As they are category II PPE (personal protective equipment), Spain’s Consumer Affairs ministry points out, they go through an EU type-examination and come with an EU declaration of conformity. Ask for the examination certificate, which a notified body issues, and for the declaration or the web address where you can read it.
- The manufacturer, with its postal address, and the importer if they come from outside the EU. The EU regulation on PPE requires them on the product or, if they don’t fit, on the packaging or in a document that comes with it.
- Instructions in a language you understand, and the batch number, which is what will tell you if your glasses appear in an alert.
If the staff can’t show you any of that, look elsewhere. The full checklist is in our guide to certified glasses, and how to wear them over your own glasses in eclipse glasses with prescription glasses, contact lenses and cataracts.
Why the pharmacy or the optician is no guarantee
Last summer, the Consumer Affairs ministry’s alert network for non-food products recorded the recall of six models of eclipse glasses, according to OCU, Spain’s consumer organisation, and two carried optician brands: Opticalia’s GP0247, reported by the regional government of Aragon, and the Mó 2508-RS003, from Multiópticas according to the newspaper Diario de León, reported by the government of the Balearic Islands. They didn’t fail by letting through too much light, but the opposite: OCU explained that their transmittance was “below the established minimum” and that all you could see through them was “total darkness”, which leads people to take them off to look for the Sun.
Even so, the surveillance campaign that the ministry coordinated with eight of Spain’s regions concluded that the glasses on sale showed “a high degree of compliance as regards eye safety”, with failings in the paperwork of some models. The whole list, and how to check whether a pair is in an alert, is in fake and recalled eclipse glasses.
When to go
Go early: in mid-June, two months before last summer’s eclipse, two opticians in Zaragoza told El Español that they had sold out “as soon as we put them on sale”, and that they kept restocking. What happened next is in when to buy eclipse glasses.
On Order your glasses you can ask for ours: cardboard, with the EN ISO 12312-2 certificate, along with the phone filter and packs for groups. We reply with the price and the delivery time. And if you run a pharmacy or an optician’s in the path, you can hand them over to your customers as a pickup point.
Sources: General Council of Pharmacists’ Associations — statement on the eclipse (in Spanish: approved glasses only; ISO 12312-2:2015 and CE marking; “about 100,000 times”; what not to use; materials from its optics section); Europa Press, in Diario Estrategia — the CGCOO statement (in Spanish: the optician-optometrists’ checks, the labelling and instructions, darkness and the don’ts); EFE, in Valencia Plaza — demand for approved glasses (in Spanish: sold at pharmacies and opticians); El Español — where to buy glasses at the last minute (in Spanish: sold out at opticians, supermarkets and pharmacies); El Español Aragón — the Zaragoza opticians in June (in Spanish: sold out as soon as they went on sale); Trío de Eclipses, Ministry of Science — Salud visual (in Spanish: where to look for the inscription; ISO 12312-1 won’t do); Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda — press release (in Spanish: category II PPE, EU type-examination, declaration and CE; results of the campaign); Regulation (EU) 2016/425, text in La Administración al Día (INAP) (in Spanish: manufacturer, importer, instructions and declaration: Articles 8 and 10); INSST — Organismo notificado (in Spanish: the EU type-examination certificate); OCU — recall of eclipse glasses (in Spanish: the models, the reason, and the batch number among the things to check); Diario de León — seven models recalled (in Spanish: Mó, from Multiópticas); totality times: eclipseando data (skyfield engine + DE440s).
If you would like something to keep from the eclipse, the shop prints T-shirts, mugs and posters with the name of your town, the time of its maximum and its seconds of totality. See the merchandise →
Remember: never look at the Sun without proper eye protection (filters made to EN ISO 12312-2). The official reference for safe viewing in Spain is the IGN (in Spanish): eclipses.ign.es.