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How to Evaluate an Art Jeweler's Loupe Jewelry

When you set out to buy some fine jewelry, you want to know exactly what you're getting. If you are wary of jewelry sales people, it might be a good idea to learn how to evaluate jewelry yourself using a loupe. A loupe (pronounced "loop") is a small magnifying glass that jewelers use to closely examine stones and metals for flaws. The standard loupe for jewelers is the 10x triplet loupe. Any magnification above 10x makes the area in focus so small that it is impossible to use. Triplet means that it has three lenses, and these correct color and distortion problems from the magnification.

Things You'll Need

Jeweler's 10x triplet loupe
Jewelry and loose stones
Soft cloth

Instructions

- 1
  Set up the area in which the jewelry will be examined. It is essential to have plenty of good light. A professional diamond lamp is best for reproducing the effect of natural sunlight, but a desk lamp works well enough for home use. Lay out a soft cloth to catch the item should you drop it.
- 2
  Establish your seeing eye. Hold up a finder about two feet in front of you, noting what object is directly behind your finger. Open one eye at a time. The eye that is open when your finger seems to be in the same place relative to that object in the background is your seeing eye.
- 3
  Pick up the jeweler's loupe with the same hand as the eye you are using. If your seeing eye is your right eye, hold the loupe in your right hand.
- 4
  Hold the loupe firmly between your thumb and middle finger, and if your index finger fits into the open end of the loupe, place it there as a brace.
- 5
  Hold the loupe 1 to 2 inches from your eye, and hold the object you're examining about 1 inch from the loupe. You will find that if you hold the loupe too far from your eye that the object under examination will be upside down. Try to keep both eyes open to avoid putting too much strain on your seeing eye.
- 6
  Use the loupe to examine the stone for flaws. There are few flawless stones found in nature, but it's important to see that you're getting the quality you want. The loupe will magnify inclusions and nicks in the stones, which sometimes makes the stone less brilliant, even to the unaided eye.
- 7
  Examine flaws in metals. Scratches may not be apparent to the naked eye. Know that you're getting quality jewelry by identifying the scratches and nicks in the metal settings. You can also find certain identification stamps in the metal.
- 8
  Examine the color of diamonds with your loupe. Diamonds that are declared colorless, or grade D, are very rare. There are quite a few grades that come close though, and color really comes down to personal taste in the end. Diamonds also come in a variety of intense shades of blue, green, yellow, pink, red and orange. These diamonds are called "colored fancies" and are extremely rare.

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