What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gemstone

[duker]

Hello, I want to buy basic equipment to be able to discern between fake and real gemstones, and grade them. I researched the web, specially ebay.com and dhgate.com and this is the laboratory equipment I think I need, and the price:

·Caliper $10
·Grams electronic scale (.01 g to 300 g) $10
·Milligrams electronic scale (.001 g to 20 g) $16.5
·Digital microscope 5x-500x $25
·Refractometer $10
·Diamond tester $12
·Polariscope $10
·Chelsea filter $15
·Spectroscope $30
·Dichroscope $30

I am pretty sure these are very good prices for that kind of equipment. But I want to know, what is the basic equipment I need, and what is the one that has a most specific function and it is not needed in general.

I would want to get first the elemental equipment. I am pretty sure, that it includes the caliper, the milligrams scale, and the microscope. But, what do you think?

I plan to test opal (boulder and crystal), tanzanite and diamond, at first. But I would like to be able to test other gemstones, like sapphire and ruby. Thank you for your attention.

 

[Quantz Studios]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

What kind of education in Gemology do you have? That is the most valuable and most needed tool you can have. The proper tools are useless, even dangerous in the hands of someone not trained and educated in using them.

A refractometer for only $10, and microscope for $25?! Hmm... I'm sorry, but those prices dont pass my smell test. Gemological equipment is not that inexpensive!

 

[duker]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

What kind of education in Gemology do you have? That is the most valuable and most needed tool you can have. The proper tools are useless, even dangerous in the hands of someone not trained and educated in using them.

A refractometer for only $10, and microscope for $25?! Hmm... I'm sorry, but those prices dont pass my smell test. Gemological equipment is not that inexpensive!

Really, I don't have any education, just what I have read on internet, specially wikipedia an some guides to identify counterfeits. I would like if you could give me some bibliography and websites to get that education. Also, the prices can be that low if you buy directly to the China factories, specially ebay.com and dhgate.com I have bought other devices, and they usually work perfectly without problems, and pages like dhgate hold the money until you confirm you received the item and that you are happy with it, so trading there is very safe.

What would be your advice?

 

[kenny]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

Dude! People can be such haters.
Don't waste all that money on equipment and edumacation.


All you need is a really RAD website and a pair of these.

 

[duker]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

Dude! People can be such haters.
Don't waste all that money on equipment and edumacation.


All you need is a really RAD website and a pair of these.

Come on! This is a serious question.

 

[duker]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

What kind of education in Gemology do you have? That is the most valuable and most needed tool you can have. The proper tools are useless, even dangerous in the hands of someone not trained and educated in using them.

A refractometer for only $10, and microscope for $25?! Hmm... I'm sorry, but those prices dont pass my smell test. Gemological equipment is not that inexpensive!

Really, I don't have any education, just what I have read on internet, specially wikipedia an some guides to identify counterfeits. I would like if you could give me some bibliography and websites to get that education. Also, the prices can be that low if you buy directly to the China factories, specially ebay.com and dhgate.com I have bought other devices, and they usually work perfectly without problems, and pages like dhgate hold the money until you confirm you received the item and that you are happy with it, so trading there is very safe.

What would be your advice?

And, of course, I will need the equipment to get the get the practical part of that education.

 

[kenny]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

Oh.
If you're serious stop fooling around thinking $200 bucks buys you competence and a career.
Get a GG from GIA.

Obtain the equipment they recommend.

http://www.gia.edu/educational-programs/programs/gemology/graduate-gemologist/index.html

 

[Quantz Studios]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

That is the one of the best things to do, Kenny. There are other places besides GIA though. I don't have a G.G., yet, but getting my AJP and going through the Colored Stones course has given me some great education. There are websites out there with gemological info, but unfortunately most of the are not thorough in gem I.D. or are just plain bad information. I cannot link to any of the places I would recommend, unfortunately! But the only thing that's going to give you the proper, complete knowledge of the Gemological equipment is a Gemological school. I'm not even 100% confident behind some of the equipment, and I have a GIA education, the Lab I.D. manual and grading manual... If you're just messing around with your own time and your own stones, that could be alright even though you wont find the most recent, most complete or most informative gem I.D. info online. But if you're expecting to either identify other peoples' stones or guarantee you're buying a $4K natural sapphire over something else, then it might not be such a great idea. I'm never one to discourage the do-it-yourself kind of person, but with things like this you really need enough ammunition to get behind those pieces of equipment and use them competently. Ditch the diamond tester. It will not do anything better than a proper piece of equipment. You need something to measure specific gravity added to your list. Call me picky, snobby, whatever, but I dont trust equipment that costs a tenth the price of well-known and trusted brands.

 

[innerkitten]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

Oh.
If you're serious stop fooling around thinking $200 bucks buys you competence and a career.
Get a GG from GIA.

Obtain the equipment they recommend.

http://www.gia.edu/educational-programs/programs/gemology/graduate-gemologist/index.html

Maybe he just wants to do it for fun. Nothing wrong with that. I think experience is one of the best way to learn.

 

[Quantz Studios]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

True, but experience and practice without the proper education and knowledge of equipment can lead to bad habits and someone not knowing if they're doing anything wrong, or not knowing what to look for.

I don't know if non-students can purchase one, but it might be a wise investment to find a GIA Gem Identification lab manual. It'd be a good place to start.

 

[RedSpinel]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

I just joined today, but I've been learning about colored gems for 15 years or so, and I went through the same thing you are going through now. I'm not a jeweler by profession, and dont sell stones either, but I did want to learn and collect.

So I did a LOT of research and reading. I looked at tens of thousands of stones, and I asked questions. Like with any hobby or subject, you will ALWAYS run into the "know it all" types who will be arrogant and often rude to you for no apparent reason. But as always in life, you ignore those people, and instead seek out the quality human beings who can be helpful. I have lots of interests, and every time I initially start learning, I always run into at least one person who treats you like an idiot because you werent born with all the info in your head. But remember, neither were they! They were just as 'unknowing' as you were when you started.

But I doubt you'll run into people like that here, as I've heard this is a mature community.

Anyway, as a few people have already correctly stated, you need to learn and get experience first.

You will not find a decent refractometer for $10. You will not find a decent microscope for $25. You really just need a good loupe or 3, maybe with different magnifications, and a refractometer for $80-$150 or so. I found a good one new for about $80 7 years ago, and it works as well as any $150 I've seen. Just needs to be accurate. The oil can be expensive for some reason, but you dont need to use much.

Later a Chelsea filter, and maybe other tools if you really need them.

But you need to look at a lot of gemstones, and learn to discern the difference between top quality stones, and lesser quality stones. Many of these gem TV networks will tell you there stuff is wonderful, when really it isnt, so you cant learn much there, but once you've learned to tell the difference, then its fun to look into these shows and pick out the good from the bad.

Learn the different qualities of the different gemstone families too.

 

[kenny]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

Another suggestion is to go to gem shows.

Strike up conversations with sellers and buyers of gems and see where that takes you.

Sorry I poked fun at you above.
I'm a goofball sometimes.

 

[colorluvr]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

Hello, I want to buy basic equipment to be able to discern between fake and real gemstones, and grade them. I researched the web, specially ebay.com and dhgate.com and this is the laboratory equipment I think I need, and the price:

You didn't say (or I missed it) whether this was for a fun hobby or as a way to buy/collect/sell gemstones of some value?

It makes a difference because if you are doing it for a fun/hobby and aren't going to invest a lot of money into your stones, then your list may be a good starting point, however I am hesitant to think that you can get adequate equipment (even for fun) at the prices you quoted. When you say "grade" what do you mean? Make a layman's guess as to the quality of the stone or see if you actually received what you thought you paid for?

A little bit of knowledge can be a very dangerous (and expensive) thing when it comes to gemstones. You can read thread upon thread on here of people who were somewhat knowledgable who bought from "reliable vendors" and STILL ended up with synthetic or heavily treated stones.

I came into "collecting" from the back door by buying stones I thought I wanted to have set, then realizing they weren't that great and trying to educate myself a bit. Over the past 5 years I acquired quite a few gemstones (everything from learner stones to some pretty nice ones) and for a period of time I considered getting some formal education on gemology, BUT, I just recently decided that I don't have the time/patience/pocketbook to be a true collector, so I am selling off most of my remaining loose stones except for a few I still want to set someday and a couple of collector stones that I may (or may not) hold on to. I don't regret this venture, as I did end up with some nice jewelry (if I do say so myself ) but it was an expensive "adventure" to say the least.

I'm only mentioning this because I will not recoup anywhere NEAR what I have spent, but I did enjoy doing it and learned quite a bit and will always be a colored stone nut, but you can probably save some money (and financial heartache) if you have a specific goal in mind up front.

If you are planning on doing this as something more than just a hobby, please take everyone's advice and get some education before you spend much money and make some costly mistakes (like I did).

 

[Pandora II]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

I am a qualified gemmologist (FGA) and I can honestly say that I learnt as much on the course as I did in the field - the FGA is very science and theory based and that has been invaluable, as well as a lot of training in IDing using only a x10 loupe and basic field equipment.

A few bits of advice:

a) a cheap refractometer does not cut it - $50 on eBay will get you a totally unreliable instrument. I bought mine from Gem-A for around £300 GBP for the refractometer and £35 for the lamp to go with it. A couple of people on my course bought cheap eBay ones and ended up spending more because then subsequently had to go and buy the decent one.

b) scales - I was stupid and bought several cheap sets that turned out to be less than accurate and despite advertising measuring 0.01ct actually measure 0.05ct which was useless. In the end I gave up and spent £200 GBP on a set of Tanita's - they have been so much easier to use and are very accurate. Pretty much everyone I have met in the trade - even in backwaters of developing countries has a set so I reckon they must be worth having. You don't necessarily need a set that good, but do invest in a decent set.

c) Lights - you need a selection of lights - Gem-A do a mini portable polariscope that I really like and an Osram light for it to sit on (also doubles as a daylight lamp for checking colour change). Also penlights for use with spectrascopes, dichroscopes, Chelsea filters etc. I have bought a calcite dichroscope from eBay and found it very good (it was around $25).

d) Loupe - buy a decent one. My personal favourites are made by Belomo and cost around $45 which is VERY cheap considering the optics. IMHO you only need x10, I have never used a x30.

e) Spectroscope - buy the OPLteaching model and the book by Colin Winter (student's guide to spectroscopy).

You can try and teach yourself to use all the tools, but to do so you will need a big supply of known study stones - and I really, really recommend being taught by someone else in person. Refractometers are fine with the easy stones, but when you get onto working out if things are uniaxial negative or biaxial positive and when you have two similar looking stones with very similar birefringence you really need an accurate machine and know how to interpret the results. I had a hate/hate relationship with my refractometer for a number of weeks and nearly everyone in the class loathed the spectrascope with a vengeance until learning how to use it properly.

f) you will not get a microscope of any use for $25, you might get something for $250 second-hand but that will be pushing it. Gem-A have a special offer on a gemmological microscope for £550 GBP and that is very reasonable. If you are trying to make money at this and also teach yourself to recognise inclusions then a copy of the 3-volume Koivula & Gubelin 'Photoatlas of Inclusions' is going to be something to aim for - each volume is nearly £200 GBP.

g) IMO diamond testers are a waste of time unless you want to test melee in set jewellery - handy for antique dealers with no gemmological training - otherwise they are dangerous to rely on.

Finally, steer well clear of diamonds.

If you plan to make this a career, then I would really, really recommend getting proper training and qualifications. If it was easy to make a living as a gem-dealer then there would be a lot of already-qualified gemmologists doing it (the vast majority are not!).

You need the resources to travel to the source and contacts there to buy stones (and avoid the pitfalls of being ripped off, dodgy officials etc) and then the avenues to sell what you buy at a profit. On top of knowing how to identify a stone and to recognise if it has been treated or not, you need a good understanding of the market, current pricing at all levels and a good basic knowledge of cut.

If you are just doing this as a hobby - lots of luck, and consider joining your local gemmological group.

 

[RedSpinel]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

Your first sentence is true for just about every trade or job that is taught in a classroom. You dont really start learning til you get out into the world. I've never taken a gem course, because I'm not in the business, plus I dont think there is one anywhere near me anyway. I'm not even aware of a gemstone club or group around here. But I've looked at many gemstone books which were highly rated, and in those books you get the perfect "textbook examples"of problems, but when you go out and look at actual gems in person, you almost immediately see things that werent mentioned in the books. The inclusions look different in person than they do in most of the pictures in textbooks.

How long did it take you from start to finish to become a licensed, working gemologist?

Many gem wholesalers end up concentrating on just one or two gemstones, like emeralds or rubies. They spend their careers traveling to Colombia or Thailand to buy rough from small miners or big wholesalers, and its difficult enough just dealing with the one gemstone, so imagine the headaches you might suffer traveling around trying to buy EVERY colored gem from countless dealers!

 

[Pandora II]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

It took over 2 years of study and around £7k GBP to qualify - I studied on-site here in London. The exams were hideous (two 3-hour written papers and a 3 hour practical) - only 45% of my class passed so I am very relieved I'm not facing retakes in June!

There are very, very few jobs available for qualified gemmologists, especially part-time - I have a young child so I'm currently a SAHM (hence why I don't have the Trade thingy), but starting work in the industry shortly. The letters after your name are only the start - the more I learn, the more I realise I don't know, even in my areas of special interest... I barely dare to call myself a gemmologist even though I have a piece of paper to prove it!

I also worked in the jewellery industry as a stone buyer and designer for several years and then did other things before I did the gemmology course.

Books and websites will give you great examples of inclusions, but a large number of stones won't have great textbook versions of these inclusions. It's also hard to remember to check things properly when you see a great stone. I have a written checklist that I have memorised and stick to religiously to avoid getting carried away.

Travelling isn't that romantic either - I've stayed in 'hotels' in the back of beyond with no hot water, no air conditioning, mats over the windows as there is no glass and in 90% humidity and high temperatures with the monsoons deluging down and thick mud everywhere. Oh and dengue fever, malaria and a few other nasties - I use a lot of DEET and since I take my baby daughter too, a lot of Johnson & Johnson's baby mosquito repellant! On the other hand I've met amazing kind and interesting people, bought some very nice stones and had some adventures (generally more fun in the recounting than the experiencing!)

 

[LD]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

Pandora has covered it completely but one thing to add is that even if you buy the equipment you can rely on, using it properly can take a lot of practice. It's very easy (for example) to look through a microscope and "see" things. Identifying them is a whole different ball game! It's actually not as easy as you may think.

IDing gemstones correctly is a learned skill and there are no shortcuts.

 

[RedSpinel]

Re: What would be the basic equipment to grade and test gems

Pandora has covered it completely but one thing to add is that even if you buy the equipment you can rely on, using it properly can take a lot of practice. It's very easy (for example) to look through a microscope and "see" things. Identifying them is a whole different ball game! It's actually not as easy as you may think.

IDing gemstones correctly is a learned skill and there are no shortcuts.

Not only that, but you have to keep in practice, because if you dont pay attention for a little while to gems on a regular basis, you get sidetracked or whatever, you come back and find yourself a bit rusty when it comes to being able to identify some gems. Its not like riding a bike, you have to keep watching, looking and learning, or you get rusty. At least it seems that way to me.