A facile route for the synthesis of PHEMA hydrogel incorporating anatase nanoparticles is presented. The hydrogel features a refractive index of 1.527 and high transparency throughout the visual spectral range. Saturn rings have been machined in order to investigate the workability of the material and its potential applicability as intraocular lens implant. The resulting lenses feature high surface quality, foldability, and shape memory which makes them suitable for implantation via extracapsular cataract extraction.