jewelry loupes

Jewelry is usually pretty at first glance. Unless the piece is hideously designed or the gem has an obvious flaw, women will ooh and aah over anything that contains precious metals and gems. However, a closer inspection may reveal problems that cannot be seen with that first cursory glance. A jewelry loupe allows you to get a closer look and see what the piece is really worth. You can see what color the gem really is and the jewelry loupe will also highlight any blemishes that may affect the gem’s value. When a piece of metal is looked at through a loupe, nicks and scratches are suddenly visible. Last but not least, the jewelry loupe can help you see any sort of indentations or markings, such as the stamp of a designer or other information about how, where and when the piece was made.

1. The Federal Trade Commission requires a magnification level of 10 for jewelry loupes.

2. If a blemish isn’t seen at the 10x level, it doesn’t affect the grade (and therefore the price) of the stone.

3. A jewelry loupe is usually handheld.

4. Typically, the loupe has a 20mm lens, but it may vary between 18mm and 25mm.

5. It the piece you are looking at is too far away, it will appear upside down when looked at through the loupe. The jewelry should be about one inch from the loupe, and the loupe should be about an inch from your eye.

6. The jewelry loupe is usually a triplet loupe, which simply means that it has three lenses.

7. The loupe should be held with the hand on the same side of the body as the eye you will be using. If you are going to use the loupe with your right eye, hold it in your right hand.

8. If the body of the loupe is made with silver, or any other reflective substance, it may reflect light and interfere with the way the image is viewed.

9. When looking at a diamond through the loupe, look for the 4 Cs of the gem that determine its quality: Color, Carat, Cut and Clarity.

10. Though diamonds generally appear white to the naked eye, with a loupe you can see that they may actually be any number of different colors. There are very few gems that are actually pure white.