Magnifier or loupe

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hello mates,

I wonder if you use magnifier or loupe. I used a common magnifier (bought from Amazon). After some time, my eyesight dropped sharply. So I stopped to use it and searched some information. A dentist or other professional loupes jumped out. After comparing some items (it’s hard to buy those stuff in the UK right now), I found this one:

Eschenbach ridoMED (Shorter Working Distances)
https://www.theloupestore.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?categories_id=0&keywords= Eschenbach+ridoMED+&inc_subcat=1

Today it arrived and I tried it on. When I wore it and looked at the item which was on the soldering board, it’s hard to see the jump ring clearly.

So, I raised my head and picked one jump ring in front of my eyes. At some distance, the jump ring looked much bigger. However, I still couldn’t see the joint point of the jump ring clearly!

I have two questions:

  1. Do you guys use magnifier or loupe in your workshop? For me, I don’t dare to use normal magnifier any more, as I am afraid my eyesight will be hurt permanently.
  2. If someone uses loupe, what I chose, Eschenbach ridoMED, it’s a correct one?

Thanks for your help.

Best regards!

Youfang

2

I have two optivisors in my shop and usually have one or the other on at most times. I also have a lighted magnifier over my engraving vise. Finally, I have a microscope built into my PUK. I do crave a proper microscope. Start with the optivisors…Rob

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I’m a big fan of my microscope. It’s a Chinese one but it works great. At some point I’ll upgrade to a lieca but I couldn’t go back now.

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Hi Rob,

Your eyesight is not affected by your optivisors? Curiously to know it, as my experience is so bad.

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Hi Brennan,

When I searched information before purchasing this loupe, I noticed there are some microscope in use. If convenient, can you give me some details about your microscope? If I search microscope for jewellery making, all results are for non-jewellery purpose.

Best regards!

Youfang

6

Definitely. I got this one to set small diamonds. I was trying to bead see 1mm stones with an optivisor… that was not going well.

After getting it, I use it for everything. Even bezel setting large cabs. It’s just so much easier. It does take a bit of setup because the work is held lower to allow the microscope to work.

I purchased this one:

They were great to buy from. Actually good customer service which is rare. They themselves said that all the cheap microscopes are just rebadged to sell at different stores, Vevor…
They are a knockoff of a classic design (maybe Meije??)

Here’s a photo of my bench with it installed and you can see my diy benchmate installed lower than a benchpin would be placed.

IMG_1343
IMG_13433516×2304 1.98 MB

Hope they helps! Feel free to ask any other questions.

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Hi Brennan,

Thanks for the details. I like your bench!

Currently I only do some silver work and haven’t started stone setting yet. Now I know how a microscope works. I will buy a similar one when I go to stone setting.

One more question: what do you use when you do soldering? You use common optivisor, or something else?

Best regards!

Youfang

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Just so you know, I’m definitely a beginner compared to many of the folks here so take everyone’s advice in addition to mine. I use an optivisor for soldering right now. But I haven’t even thought about using the microscope for it.

I can’t imagine the heat would be good for the scope.

Thanks for the bench compliment - it’s all created from free discarded furniture I’ve found around the city.

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They take some getting used to…Rob

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Chimi,
Re: Optivisors… I have used the Number 4 Optivisor for well over (25+) years now and it’s still is doing a great job for me, though I am getting to the point of where I need more Magnification for anything much smaller than a .10 Diamond (Approximately 3mm). I’m (56) now and every year my eyesight gets just a little worse, that being said, I still haven’t been prescribed Glasses, though I am getting to the point of where they would be helpful…

When talking about Optivisors and Magnification I like to give an example of how my eyesight has changed since I started out as an Apprentice - After a year or so of being an Apprentice and having looked at probably a few thousand Diamonds, many of them while I mounted them, I could look at a .005 Diamond (Approximately 1mm) and I could count the Facets on it with my naked eye. Another (10) years as a Bench Jeweller, I could still do this, though only as long as I was wearing my Number 4 Optivisor. Another (5) years in, I could see that the .005 Diamond was a “Diamond” with my Optivisor, but unless I used a Loupe, I couldn’t count the Facets. Another (5) years in, I could see the .005 Diamond as something “sparkly” with my Optivisor, but that was it, a Loupe allowed me to see it better, but I could no longer count the Facets anymore. Another (5) years in and I could still see the .005 Diamond as something “sparkly” with my Optivisor, though only barely, and the same with a Loupe, though a little clearer. Now, another (5+) years in, my eyesight is pretty much where it was (5) years ago, though I very rarely work with .005 Diamonds anymore, so I would imagine that I would have more difficulty in dealing with them today, without a Microscope.

Like Rob said, Optivisors do take a little getting used to, but once you do, you’ll probably never want to take them off - they have been the number 1 Jeweller’s Magnifying Head Gear for many years now, for a reason. I will probably still be using mine in another (10-15+) years, though I imagine that I’ll also be wearing glasses with them… :wink:

Just a funny: when I’m out and about antiquing or even just looking at something small or very detailed, I will almost always reach my hand up to Tilt my Optivisor Down so I can see it better, even though I know that I’m not wearing it… (shaking my head) Unfortunately, I do this ALL the time and I’m sure that I’m not the only one on here that does this either… :wink:

Lastly, like Rob and Brennan, I also use my Optivisor for Soldering, Fusing and Annealing, though for anything hotter, you really should use Rated Welding Glasses or Goggles. I would never use a Microscope for any of these processes, as you would probably end up seriously hurting your eyesight, due to the Magnification.

I hope that some of this may help. Good luck!
Jonathan

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Jonathan,

Thank you so much for all of those contents! Waaa, you are a platinum user! Glad to have you in this topic.

I have a few more questions:

1, Definition of optivisors:
Your guys rarely use the term ‘magnifier’. In the UK, we often use this term. When you guys talk about optivisors, it means magnifier, or loupe? Sorry, I want to clarify the meaning first.
As I feel common magnifiers I bought (from Amazon UK, or other UK online website) really hurts my eyesight, I think optivisors must be different from what I bought.

2, What I just bought, Eschenbach ridoMED (Shorter Working Distances), is optivisors?

3, Thanks for your recommendation for Rated Welding Glasses or Goggles. I searched some information online. There are different glasses shades. Green or blue, which one is suitable for a bench jeweller?

Best regards!

Youfang

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One more question:

4, I just use soldering, not any kind of welding. So, welding goggle is still necessary for me?

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Chimi,
Thank you… Here is the Optivisor that I was talking about, Donegan Optivisor with Magnifying Plate Number 4 or “DA-4”:

I have used an Eschenbach Headband Magnifier in the past and really liked it, they are very high quality, but the one that I used they no longer make - the only real difference of the one that I used and the Optivisor, is that there wasn’t a “Hood” to attach the Lens to, so your Field of Vision was wide open and I like the Closed-In Hood that really Focuses your Vision better.

Now as far as wearing Welding Glasses/Goggles, if you’re just doing Soldering, then no, you don’t need to wear Welding Glasses/Goggles, well unless you’re Soldering Platinum, then maybe you should… I think that you said that you were just working on Silver, if that’s correct, than you’re fine not wearing them, though you should at least wear Safety Glasses or an Optivisor like I do…

I hope this helps to clarify what some of us were talking about… Good luck!
Jonathan

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Regarding welding glasses, not needed for soldering silver or gold. In fact, they would be detrimental for silver and gold as those metals do not glow enough at soldering temperatures for the joint to be visible through a welding lens.
For soldering or welding platinum, absolutely necessary. Platinum is soldered at much higher temperatures than silver or gold, glowing white hot, producing damaging levels of UV light.
Welding lenses come in several densities. For soldering platinum, medium dark ones are fine; for welding or melting, darker lenses should be worn.

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Thanks for your explanation, Jonathan. It really clarified a lot. Thanks a lot.

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Hi Elliot,

Thanks for that. I will not play with platinum in the long future. I got it.

Best regards!

Youfang

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Hi,

here is an interesting article on protective lenses

i use a green shade #3 for soldering…it is a bit hard to see when the silver gets a faint glow…under the lenses, what looks like a faint glow is really a brighter orange (hotter)…so it takes more discernment.

julie

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Hi

optivisor magnification and working distance chart

IMG_9618
IMG_96181284×2778 313 KB

i find the #4 to be my most used…most comfortable…in terms of my head and eyes moving and focusing around my bench area

i find the #7 to be good for closer work with not too much sacrifice of working distance

the the #10 is good for really close up work but the sacrifice is a very short working distance…which i find a bit disorienting after short use…perhaps because my eyes and head are moving and focusing on more…versus just focusing on one spot…

julie

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Hi Julie,

The PDF is pretty useful for me. Thank you!

Due to your description, I may think of buying a Donegan optivisor too.

Have a good weekend!

Youfang

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I like my optivisor, but I’ll add here that I bought the light and it’s terrible. Poorly made, falls apart easily so I had to attach it with electrical tape - I had to use the tape both to hold the battery pack top on, and to hold the pack to the optivisor itself). I then found that the batteries last an incredibly short time (perhaps the one I got had a poor connection, to give the benefit of the doubt).