I’m looking for a source for an inexpensive gem microscope. I’m at
the very beginning of collecting equipment for gem identification,
so I’m pretty much looking for the bare essentials when it comes to
microscopes. I’ve seen different ones from around $160-180, and they
come in ranges from 5X " 45X, 10x-60x, 20x-60x, and 20/40/80x. And a
few others in between. Any advice on what ranges would be most
advantageous for me at my limited price? Any and all advice
appreciated.
El
I've seen different ones from around $160-180, and they come in ranges from 5X " 45X, 10x-60x, 20x-60x, and 20/40/80x. And a few others in between. Any advice on what ranges would be most advantageous for me at my limited price?
You better off without a microscope than a cheap one. A single
mistake will cost you more than top notch gemological microscope. If
all you can afford is $180, than I would buy good 10x loupe.
Schneider makes excellent loupes for jewelers.
Leonid Surpin
look at the GemOro Elite; any must have 10x, then either 30 or 40 is
nice.
but all evaluation must be done at 10x Federal Regulations, if it
isn’t visible at 10x, it doesn’t exist.
John
Hi Eleanor,
If you are going to do any diamond grading, you will want exactly
10X, as some of the grades are based on what can be seen at 10X. You
would probably also want a higher magnification, say 20X or 30X for
looking more closely at inclusions and striations. There are a few
gemological uses for magnifications as high as 60X, but I cannot at
the moment remember what.
Most of what you do can be done with 10X and 20X. If you can get a
microscope with two sets of objectives for the two powers, you can
then get a set of 20X eyepieces to replace your 10X ones and double
your magnifications.
You need to remember that lighting is as important as magnification
and you really need to try to get a microscope with darkfield
illumination, as it is so useful for seeing inclusions. Many
microscopes have it built in. If yours does not, you can use fiber
optic illumination to duplicate it. You may be able to find two of
those small LED lights on flexible arms to more or less duplicate
fiber optics. I have not tried this, but they look like they would
work pretty well. You can get these in the Dollar Store, so it is
really lighting on the cheap. You would need some clamps like a
third hand to position them, or perhaps a little weighted base in
which the battery cartridge of the light would fit.
You could actually use a good 10X loupe for a lot of your ID and
grading work and possibly use one of those cheap 30x hand microscope
for more magnfication. There is also a dark field magnifier that look
like a flashlight that many use in the field. It really is good to
develop your skills with a loupe, as most of us do not have a
microscope in our portable lab and make do in the field with a loupe
and a few other instruments.
Microscope sure make the job easier and are great fun to look
through, but you need to give some thought to what other instruments
you feel you need.
A spectroscope is a good thing to have, a polariscope with a
strainless sphere and quartz wedge substitute allows you to determine
optic character and sign and a dichroscope is also good to have. not
to mention the Chelsea filter and maybe a set of the other Hanneman
filters. You could probably get most of this stuff for the price of a
microscope and do without it for a while. A refractometer might also
be something you’d want to consider before a microscope. And a
portable UV light.
What you buy may be determined by what approach to ID you take. Many
never use optic character and sign, but they are a great help and the
instruments are very portable. If you fool with rough and unmounted
stones a lot you may want to have a specific gravity balance. This is
really such an interesting and complex subject that doing some
reading before buying much would be a great help. I’d recommend
Antonin Maitlins’ book and Hanneman’s Affordable Gemmology, if you
can find it.
Good luck on a fascinating journey!
If you are going to do any diamond grading, you will want exactly 10X, as some of the grades are based on what can be seen at 10X. You would probably also want a higher magnification, say 20X or 30X for looking more closely at inclusions and striations. There are a few gemological uses for magnifications as high as 60X,.......
Thank you very much Roy. This is some great I’m not so
interested in working with diamonds yet (I’m probably the only woman
in the world who could give a rat’s rear about diamonds), but it’s
probably best to get the 10x because it’s so common. My mom has
promise to get me a spectroscope as a late birthday present, and
I’ve already been eyeing some of the other instruments. One of my
biggest things is being able to learn how to tell natural or man made
(unless it’s obvious, which some are). But in part, I really think I
will enjoy learning this stuff. And that book sounds very
interesting. I’ll look inot that. Thanks again.