I splurged on a pricier 10x from Dave Atlas' site on a whim last year and was kicking myself for not going w/ a cheapie as I imagined I'd rarely use it - turns out it never leaves my purse and my rings and bracelet get the once over at least once a day. Glad I got what I did - it's super easy to use often and for surprisingly long amounts of time without getting a headache, thanks to the lack of distortion.
I don't think I could use a 30x for more than a few seconds, w/ the tiny focus range!
I have a 10x loupe.
Even though I'm not professional, it's helpful to me pawnshopping and not just to check out if diamonds have unacceptable inclusions. It helps me locate tiny carat markings and things wrongs with prongs and catches and now I am finding it is useful with checking out pearls. It's also one of those things, if you know how to hold it right and LOOK professional, you often get interesting information and get shown a whole other class of something.
I was buying emerald jewelry and took it out and suddenly the jewelry I had been looking at was wisked away and completely other things brought out, and for reasonable prices.
I would think 30X was overkill, except that 10x is actually not enough to see the diamond numbers inscribed on my ACA earrings.
I will want to buy a 20x because at times the 10x isn't close enough for me. Under 10x I can see my largest inclusion in my .62ct SI1, but I have to have it in the right lighting and angle. Using the loupe on the ring also lets me see how well I cleaned it. I'm farsighted, so up close without my glasses, it's all blurry! If I'm going to be looking at fine jewelry in any store, I always bring my loupe.
Consider moving up to a better 10x instead of just a 20x or 30x . . .
Keep in mind that magnification and resolution (aka sharpness) are different things.
A loupe can have one but not the other.
Resolution is much more expensive to put into a loupe than magnification.
You can make out finder detail with a better 10x than you can with a poor 10x because it has better resolution.
Sometimes you can even even make out more detail, like a laser inscription on a girdle, with a good 10x than with a poor 20x or 30x.
There is a reason people happily pay hundred dollars for the best 10x.
Something appearing bigger does not necessarily mean it is any sharper.
A larger blurry thing is still a blurry thing.
It may not seem blurry until you see it through a better loupe.
Imagine a child getting their first Rx glasses and discovering how sharp things were always supposed to be.
That what it was like when I got a good 10x after getting used to a mediocre one.
I think you have to use them side by side for a period of time to really get this.
I have a couple 10x loupes but I really want a stronger one. I can't see any of the inclusions in my stone with 10x. I used a 30x one at a store once and wow!! It was scary looking at my stone like that lol I definitely could see all of the feathers and the cloud in the center with that! I think a 20x would be good. I think I could see them with that and not feel like I'm looking at a foreign planet through a telescope lol
I have a super cheap loupe that came with my rock test kit for my geology 112 class. It has two plastic 8x lenses that can be used singly or together for greater magnification.
I should really ask for a better loupe for christmas! or 2!