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Am I using the loupes the wrong way?

l_ode

l_ode

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 13, 2022
Messages
30
Hi,

A while back I was really curious to see if I could find the GIA inscription on my diamond so I bought a loupe (10x).
Tried reeeally hard but could not see it. Thought I might need higher magnification so I ordered another one with 40x.
Was quite puzzled when it arrived and seemed to only magnify to the very same level as the previous one?! Could not notice any difference at all.. gave it one last shot and ordered a third loupe with 30x. It arrived today. Same with this one. The magnifications is no different than the other two! So now I’m thinking maybe it’s me who’s doing it wrong somehow? Although, how hard can it be? I’m just very, very confused. Is it possible that I’m using the loupes wrong somehow which only lets me get the same magnification in all of them? 24C4B579-59FD-4ACB-A408-6655177B526A.jpeg
 
Are you looking through it with both eyes open?
 
Are you using the loupe like you would a pair of glasses? Meaning, you bring the loupe up quite close to your best eye with one hand and hold it steady, then you bring up the stone in the other hand moving it closer and closer to your loupe/eye until it is in focus & magnified.

I wear bi-focals, and I actually remove my eyeglasses before I use my loupe.

Keep both eyes open, even though the loupe is very close to only one eye.
 
marymm said:
Are you using the loupe like you would a pair of glasses? Meaning, you bring the loupe up quite close to your best eye with one hand and hold it steady, then you bring up the stone in the other hand moving it closer and closer to your loupe/eye until it is in focus & magnified.

I wear bi-focals, and I actually remove my eyeglasses before I use my loupe.

Keep both eyes open, even though the loupe is very close to only one eye.
Click to expand...

Yes I believe I’m doing exactly as you described… but when diamond/girdle is in focus it is not big enough. It should be a significant difference between 10x, 30x and 40x right?
 
A lot of low cost loupes and even some $$ ones are not what they say they are.
Its not shocking that they are all the same.
 
marymm said:
Are you using the loupe like you would a pair of glasses? Meaning, you bring the loupe up quite close to your best eye with one hand and hold it steady, then you bring up the stone in the other hand moving it closer and closer to your loupe/eye until it is in focus & magnified.

I wear bi-focals, and I actually remove my eyeglasses before I use my loupe.

Keep both eyes open, even though the loupe is very close to only one eye.
Click to expand...

Like marymm said. My addition is to have your elbow steadied on a flat surface (of whichever hand is your non dominant hand) that will hold the loupe. You grip the loupe by putting your index (pointer) finger through and pinching your thumb on the outside. Your thumb is your guide (stabilization) for the distance from your face. So you rest your thumb on your face under your eye and that is the distance the loupe should be from your eye. Then you bring the diamond toward your face until the girdle is in focus.

This is best done with a 10x loupe and some kind of backlighting such as your computer screen in the background. Have PS up, since it is a white background LOL.
It is too hard to focus with anything higher than a 10x for this because the magnification is so great. Also, with cleaning your diamonds, the original black of the serial numbers will have faded, so you will see the ghosting of the inscripted numbers instead. You need diamond tweezers to securely hold the stone and the light in the background. The numbers will become discernable if you do this. Of course, this is the best way if you do not have a microscope.
 
@luvmysparklies thank you for you advice, thought I was doing this but I will definitely give it another try tomorrow! Fingers crossed! But you think it will be possible to see the inscription with my 10x loupe? (Any three of them )

@Karl_K thank you for your reply! So it might not be me who is crazy, it might actually be possible that all three of them are crap and actually only magnifies 10x? I will try once more (40th time) tomorrow and if I still don’t see it I will try to buy one of your recommendations! Appreciate the links since I’m not very inclined to buy a fourth 10x
 
Sometimes those inscriptions are VERY hard to see with 10x. But, also sometimes, instead of aiming the loupe at the girdle straight on, it seems to work best (for me) when I move the stone and angle it a little bit toward the side, it provides just that much more contrast, that l am able to see the engraving that way.

And yah, the online 30, 40, 60x loupes are all 10x :cry:

You could download a magnifying app (like Mag. Light) onto your phone, which can help magnify things while you’re trying to hold your loupe over the lens and the diamond still. Super fun times! Play around a bit. I have taped my loupe to my phone camera before. Haha, then i got a “clip on macro lens” but also did bring my diamond to a jeweler with a microscope and asked if they could find it. They easily did so.
 
l_ode said:
@Karl_K thank you for your reply! So it might not be me who is crazy, it might actually be possible that all three of them are crap and actually only magnifies 10x?
Click to expand...
If even that, many of them are only 5x and a lot are around 8x.
Grading usable 10x loupes with the Nikon having the best optics but has a smaller lens:
and b&l but at this price just get the Nikon.

Bausch & Lomb Hastings Triplet Magnifier, 10X, 0.62" Diameter from Cole-Parmer

Buy Bausch & Lomb 81-61-71 Hastings Triplet Magnifier; 10x Magnification and more from our comprehensive selection of Bausch & Lomb Hastings Triplet Magnifiers
www.coleparmer.com
 
HI:

Lots of you tube videos on this subject.

cheers--Sharon
 
5-8x works for many consumer needs, its enough to check prongs and for cracks in a setting and most damage to a stone so buying a high priced loupe just for checkups isnt that critical.
Finding inscriptions really needs a microscope if a cheap "10x" loupe can not find it.
 
ringo865 said:
Sometimes those inscriptions are VERY hard to see with 10x. But, also sometimes, instead of aiming the loupe at the girdle straight on, it seems to work best (for me) when I move the stone and angle it a little bit toward the side, it provides just that much more contrast, that l am able to see the engraving that way.

And yah, the online 30, 40, 60x loupes are all 10x :cry:

You could download a magnifying app (like Mag. Light) onto your phone, which can help magnify things while you’re trying to hold your loupe over the lens and the diamond still. Super fun times! Play around a bit. I have taped my loupe to my phone camera before. Haha, then i got a “clip on macro lens” but also did bring my diamond to a jeweler with a microscope and asked if they could find it. They easily did so.
Click to expand...

Oh! I Will definitely try that! Sounds like a lot of fun! That will be tomorrow though since it’s 1am here now but thanks, now I have some fun to look forward to tomorrow! ☺️
 
Make sure that you are using the correct side, the writing should be on top ie the side you are using to look through.
Use a desk light that you can focus the light at the diamond.
loupe needs to be up near your eye like an inch or so off your eyeball,
Hold the diamond with gem tweezers, keeping in mind you may have to rotate the diamond to locate the engraving on the girdle. Tilt the diamond girdle so you are getting the light source reflecting off the girdle.
All that said, these are tiny tiny numbers, you may need a microscope to read them properly.
 
@Karl_K, ah, I see! Thanks for your reply! I’m a little upset thought that they are allowed to sell loupes as 10x, 20x, 40x, whatever when they are not. But well, lesson learned

Another question while you’re here.. in the cert the clarity characteristics were crystal and feather. (The diamond is a vs2). The feather is nowhere to be found with my loupes haha but I can spot some super tiny black… “pine tree needle”? Looks like the tip of a black hair. I thought crystals would be.. more round? And that the longer ones would be needles? Am I mistaken?
 
l_ode said:
@Karl_K, ah, I see! Thanks for your reply! I’m a little upset thought that they are allowed to sell loupes as 10x, 20x, 40x, whatever when they are not. But well, lesson learned

Another question while you’re here.. in the cert the clarity characteristics were crystal and feather. (The diamond is a vs2). The feather is nowhere to be found with my loupes haha but I can spot some super tiny black… “pine tree needle”? Looks like the tip of a black hair. I thought crystals would be.. more round? And that the longer ones would be needles? Am I mistaken?
Click to expand...

cant say without looking at it.
pine tree needle sounds featherish and crystals can be many different shapes.
 
Do you have any pics? or another thread for the stone? Report #?
 
Karl, yeah sorry pine tree needle was probably a sloppy description on my side! I meant just one of the needles on a pine tree needle if that makes any sense? Or maybe more correctly: like a super thin rice grain? Tried to take a picture but turned out to be impossible since it is really microscopic and I can only spot it with my loupe in a very specific angle and light. And even then it’s soooo small. Sorry..
I’ll just settle for that it is the crystal since you confirmed they can come in different shapes!
 
Oh, @Karl_K , no I actually captured it!!
Sorry the diamond is a bit dirty but I have circled the two “grains” which I guess are the crystals?D891033A-800F-4D39-B3CE-F22AAE7F15C5.jpeg
 
l_ode said:
@luvmysparklies thank you for you advice, thought I was doing this but I will definitely give it another try tomorrow! Fingers crossed! But you think it will be possible to see the inscription with my 10x loupe? (Any three of them )

@Karl_K thank you for your reply! So it might not be me who is crazy, it might actually be possible that all three of them are crap and actually only magnifies 10x? I will try once more (40th time) tomorrow and if I still don’t see it I will try to buy one of your recommendations! Appreciate the links since I’m not very inclined to buy a fourth 10x
Click to expand...
If your loupe is really 10x, then yes. I certainly have been able to. Bron357 mentioned that you may have to rotate and tilt--more great advice.
I use a Belomo 10x loupe that I have had for many years and it works quite well.:)
 
Here is a short video on using a loupe that I did back in 2010 on how to use a loupe. It won't solve any problems with what the actual magnification of your loupes might be, but it will aid you in seeing the subject better.

 
l_ode said:
Oh, @Karl_K , no I actually captured it!!
Sorry the diamond is a bit dirty but I have circled the two “grains” which I guess are the crystals?D891033A-800F-4D39-B3CE-F22AAE7F15C5.jpeg
Click to expand...
My wild guess and its just a guess that its that one is a crystal with a feather extending from it.
The other looks like a feather.
One way to tell is look from other angles, a crystal is more 3d.
 
Wink said:
Here is a short video on using a loupe that I did back in 2010 on how to use a loupe. It won't solve any problems with what the actual magnification of your loupes might be, but it will aid you in seeing the subject better.

Click to expand...

Great tutorial, Wink...you have some cool videos on your channel!
 
l_ode said:
@luvmysparklies thank you for you advice, thought I was doing this but I will definitely give it another try tomorrow! Fingers crossed! But you think it will be possible to see the inscription with my 10x loupe? (Any three of them )

@Karl_K thank you for your reply! So it might not be me who is crazy, it might actually be possible that all three of them are crap and actually only magnifies 10x? I will try once more (40th time) tomorrow and if I still don’t see it I will try to buy one of your recommendations! Appreciate the links since I’m not very inclined to buy a fourth 10x
Click to expand...

You might also consider a 14x loupe.....its very small but I like it better than a 10x, and much easier to use with than a 20x. This place is backordered, but you can do a search. https://www.ascscientific.com/geolo...lens/bausch-lomb-hasting-triplet-hand-lenses/

Its $75 on Amazon :roll: but I paid nowhere near that when I ordered from some geological shop. I don't remember which though.
 
As you are already aware, many online loupes above 10X are misrepresented.
A true 30X loupe is quite strong. I use one when I travel to read inscriptions and sometimes just like a mini-microscope. Getting a good one online is trial and mostly error. When I stocked my online store for Ideal-and ASET scopes, Garry Holloway helped me to order good 10x and 30x loupes that work properly. They were a great value and now cost much more than I sell them for, but I have a lifetime supply of the 30x loupes at this point, so replacement is meaningless.

Since there is no unified way to complain about the false advertising done by so many of these vendors, the more people who refuse to buy this junk, the better off we'll all be.

A good quality 30x loupe can be very useful in the right hands. They are difficult to use and much more of a challenge than a 10x loupe. Their depth of field is thin and moving the loupe creates focus problems constantly, especially for beginners.
 
Thank you all so much for your replies, advice and links, much appreciated!

Since I’m still unable to locate the certification number I thought I might use one of your links to purchase a fourth one.
But now I’m not quite sure since I emailed the vendor who replied that they had verified that the number is there before shipping it to me but that it might have ended up under a prong after setting and that’s why I can’t find it. But is it really that small so that the whole inscription would be covered by one prong? If that’s the case I guess it won’t really matter if I manage to buy a loupe with higher/accurate magnification. I’ll have to sleep on this
 
l_ode said:
Thank you all so much for your replies, advice and links, much appreciated!

Since I’m still unable to locate the certification number I thought I might use one of your links to purchase a fourth one.
But now I’m not quite sure since I emailed the vendor who replied that they had verified that the number is there before shipping it to me but that it might have ended up under a prong after setting and that’s why I can’t find it. But is it really that small so that the whole inscription would be covered by one prong? If that’s the case I guess it won’t really matter if I manage to buy a loupe with higher/accurate magnification. I’ll have to sleep on this
Click to expand...
There was a thread not too long ago about whether a number would be small enough to fit under a prong. Consensus was yes it’s entirely possible and in that instance was what happened.
Are you concerned that this isn’t your diamond? Does its clarity characteristics match the cert in location and type? If so, that’s one reassurance.
 
@foxinsox Ah, thank you for the information! That might be the case then.

No I’m not that worried, actually I’m pretty sure it is the diamond I picked it is just the nerd in me that wanted to see the inscription
 
l_ode said:
But now I’m not quite sure since I emailed the vendor who replied that they had verified that the number is there before shipping it to me but that it might have ended up under a prong after setting and that’s why I can’t find it. But is it really that small so that the whole inscription would be covered by one prong?
Click to expand...

This is why many of us vendors purposely have our benches set the diamonds so the inscription is visible. Even if it is hidden, unless your prongs are relatively wide, as they might well be in holding a larger diamond, the beginning of the end of the inscription can often be found peaking from one edge or the other of the prong.

Occasionally, a client will have a specific arrow location preference that will only be possible if we bury the inscription under a prong, in which case we ask, do you want the 12 and six orientation, or do you want an eleven and one orientation to allow you to see the inscription. We normally will send a photo of the inscription for the client's edification if we are told to bury it.
 
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