Upgrade time ... for my loupe

[the_mother_thing]

I have a 10x that I bought for kinda cheap on eBay a few years ago. I want to get a new one that has a wider viewing lens (not sure on that terminology - the part you look through) than my current one, which I think is kinda small compared to those I’ve used in jewelry stores. I almost have to squint to see through it because the lens window diameter is so small. Also, I am thinking I may want a 20x this time. Primary use is home/personal, just to inspect prongs, stones, etc.

What do you have/use and recommend? Where is a good place to buy? Any additional thoughts/recommendations to consider when comparing them?

Thanks in advance!

 

[scarsmum]

I use a microscope!

 

[bmfang]

I use a GemOro 10x loupe. Not the best of the best out there, but a lot better than the el cheapo 10x loupe I bought from a flea market years ago. It’s more than sufficient for me to use when inspecting the prongs on my wife’s rings and other jewellery.

 

[PintoBean]

I'd like to propose a different set up.
A macro lens and a smart phone.
I have a cheapy macro lens from amazon. What I like is that I can then zoom in with my
Fingers on the phone even more!

 

[WillyDiamond]

Belomo loupe.
You can buy them on ebay or Amazon.

 

[PintoBean]

Jewelery supplier
https://www.kassoy.com/pc_combined_...ke~p.search_terms~Loupe)&search_keyword=Loupe

 

[SandyinAnaheim]

I purchased my Belomo 10x from Amazon and have been very happy with it. Recently, I went looking for a similar quality, all-metal body 20-30x loupe and have been unsuccessful in finding one. Anyone have a recommendation for a good 20-30x?

 

[WillyDiamond]

Sandy
Belomo makes a 20x also

 

[SandyinAnaheim]

Thanks Willy. Just took a peek at that one. Lots of people dislike it because of the extreme shallowness of depth of field. Maybe a 15x would be better?

 

[TreeScientist]

Belomo loupe.
You can buy them on ebay or Amazon.

This. For what it's worth, I work in a department with a lot of professional geologists. Done a lot of field work with them. Almost every one of them has a Belomo in their field bag. We have 2 or 3 lying around our lab, and I have my own personal one as well.

It's the best out there for under $100. Sure, you could spend $300-400 and maybe get slightly clearer glass, but for pretty much everyone it's not worth it.

Buy a Belomo for $30. Save $300. Be happy.

 

[Dancing Fire]

40X for reading the #s on the girdle.




20X, 10X, 10X

 

[bmfang]

Love your setup there @Dancing Fire

 

[PintoBean]

40X for reading the #s on the girdle.




20X, 10X, 10X

Show us what you look like in 1x

 

[Dancing Fire]

Show us what you look like in 1x

If I did PS would be out of business!

 

[PintoBean]

If I did PS would be out of business!

Andre is asleep. Go for it.

 

[the_mother_thing]

Thanks so much everyone for the suggestions!

There are so many options out there that it’s hard to know what makes sense. I don’t think I need a microscope, but where I am not sure is how much difference/benefit there is with the 20x over the 10x. I can actually just make out my diamond’s inscription with my 10x now, but it’s in black so that may make it easier to see. Also, there are some that have lights on them, which is a nice feature to have to see fluorescence. I perused the link @PintoBean posted, and kind of narrowed it down to these three options (though I’m not sold that it must be one of these three or from this site), and would even be open to buying two (one 10x w/UV & LED lites and one 15x or 20x). Thoughts?



One interesting item I found in the link PB posted was this one, which appears to be an ‘ideal cut’ loupe for assessing cut:
https://www.kassoy.com/Proportion-Grading/Zeiss-Proportion-Loupe.asp

Has anyone seen/used one of these compared to an ideal scope?

 

[TreeScientist]

I would recommend a 10X loupe. Don't even bother with a 20X. The problem with higher power loupes is they have a terribly small useable field of view and a short focal distance. I feel like I have a fairly steady hand, but even so, the slightest movement of my hand shifts the object out of my field of view when using a 20X loupe. It's really quite maddening.

10X is plenty for most everyday applications where you would want to use something like a loupe anyway. For anything over 10X, I use a microscope, which is stationary and not subject to your random hand movements.

To me, it's not worth the PITA factor that comes with using higher magnification non-stationary viewers.

 

[TreeScientist]

Don't buy the 15X Belomo. Its linear field of view is half the size of the 10X loupe's (9mm vs 17mm). Not worth the extra 5X magnification. Get the 10X Belomo. You won't be sorry.

Here's where I bought mine. Free shipping and came in about 5 days:
http://belomostore.com/belomo-10x-triplet-loupe.html

 

[WinkHPD]

One interesting item I found in the link PB posted was this one, which appears to be an ‘ideal cut’ loupe for assessing cut:

Reading the description of this, it will show you a couple of different looks, a donut around the edge of the stone for too shallow, or a red circle under the table for two deep. This would be just a toy for the majority of people here who are looking for serious cut evaluation with things like ASET and Ideal-Scope images.

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

I would recommend a 10X loupe. Don't even bother with a 20X. The problem with higher power loupes is they have a terribly small useable field of view and a short focal distance. I feel like I have a fairly steady hand, but even so, the slightest movement of my hand shifts the object out of my field of view when using a 20X loupe. It's really quite maddening.

Tree Scientist, are you bracing your loupe hand against your cheek bone with the knuckle of your thumb? If not, it will provide a great deal more stability. I also form a brace with my little finger of the loupe hand and the non loupe hand to hold the item I am viewing steadier. I find that even with a good brace I would rather use my scope for 20 X and higher, but most people do not have that luxury sitting on their counter. You are very correct that the higher the magnification, the shallower the depth of field.

Wink

 

[TreeScientist]

Tree Scientist, are you bracing your loupe hand against your cheek bone with the knuckle of your thumb? If not, it will provide a great deal more stability. I also form a brace with my little finger of the loupe hand and the non loupe hand to hold the item I am viewing steadier. I find that even with a good brace I would rather use my scope for 20 X and higher, but most people do not have that luxury sitting on their counter. You are very correct that the higher the magnification, the shallower the depth of field.

Wink

Yep, that's the exact technique I use (loupe against cheek bone). I do have a steady hand, but it still annoys me to use 20X loupes.

I guess I am spoiled by having access to microscopes in the lab , but they're actually not so expensive if you pick one up used. The Cambridge Instruments Z45L and Olympus SZ30 are both excellent stereo zoom microscopes that are built like tanks. You can pick up a used one on the bay with a nice lighted bottom stand for $200-300. Heck, you can find a slightly lower quality trinocular student microscope used for about $100, and it would still be eons better than a loupe.

So if you really want to accurately see stuff beyond 10X without ripping your hair out, buy a high quality yet affordable loupe like the Belomo 10X for general viewing and then invest in a nice used microscope for everything else (sort of like @Dancing Fire's set-up ).

I would never drop 100+ dollars on a loupe when a microscope is so much more functional.

 

[Dancing Fire]

So if you really want to accurately see stuff beyond 10X without ripping your hair out, buy a high quality yet affordable loupe like the Belomo 10X for general viewing and then invest in a nice used microscope for everything else (sort of like @Dancing Fire's set-up ).

I would never drop 100+ dollars on a loupe when a microscope is so much more functional.

I can easily read the #s on the girdle with a 40X. I paid like $135 for a used made in Japan Olympus microscope .

 

[WinkHPD]

So if you really want to accurately see stuff beyond 10X without ripping your hair out, buy a high quality yet affordable loupe like the Belomo 10X for general viewing and then invest in a nice used microscope for everything else (sort of like @Dancing Fire's set-up ).

I can easily read the #s on the girdle with a 40X. I paid like $135 for a used made in Japan Olympus microscope .

Good advice from these two.

Wink

 

[Dancing Fire]

I actually bought the microscope for my koi hobby but since I can't see the inscriptions on girdle even with a 20X loupe, so I decided to give the microscope a try using its 40X lens, and voilà the inscriptions came in crystal clear.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I have a 10x that I bought for kinda cheap on eBay a few years ago. I want to get a new one that has a wider viewing lens
What do you have/use and recommend? Where is a good place to buy? Any additional thoughts/recommendations to consider when comparing them?

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/products.php?mi=67831&itemnum=61061&redir=Y