How much magnification required to read girdle inscription?

[Just_Starting]

Looking at a x40 loupe at the moment, it's incredibly cheap. Just think this might be useful for checking a diamond/hallmark on a mount but unsure if this level of magnification is suitable, anyone know?

 

[30yearsofdiamonds]

Re: How much magnification required to read girdle inscripti

10 power if you are good with a loupe, 20 is ok, but 40 is just too strong

 

[kenny]

Re: How much magnification required to read girdle inscripti

Magnification is only part of what you need.
You need optical quality.
You can pay from $3 to $500 for a 10x loupe.
Guess which one is sharper.
Sharper means it can resolve smaller stuff.

Higher power is not helpful if it is blurry.

I can read the numbers of girdle inscriptions with my German 10x Harald Schneider loupe.

Good loupe technique is also essential.
I put the loupe and stone up to my face and turn my whole body till the girdle inscription is back lit.
IOW the black lettering is easier to resolve when it has a bright white background.

Look into the center of the loupe and keep it parallel to your eye.

Hold the tweezers and loupe correctly, and brace as much of both hands as possible against your face for stability.
Better yet plant both elbows firmly on a table.
It's harder to resolve tiny type that's vibrating.

Determine which is your dominant eye (Google that) and always use only that eye for the loupe, keeping both eyes open.
Bright light helps.

 

[Just_Starting]

Re: How much magnification required to read girdle inscripti

Wow amazing replies there. Thanks Kenny for explaining the technique . I think I might try to find a x20 decent quality one then, I'm not great with a loupe so I think I may struggle with a x10, just have to hope x20 isn't overkill .

 

[MarionC]

Re: How much magnification required to read girdle inscripti

Wow amazing replies there. Thanks Kenny for explaining the technique . I think I might try to find a x20 decent quality one then, I'm not great with a loupe so I think I may struggle with a x10, just have to hope x20 isn't overkill .

I ended up with about 6 diffferent loupes
My favorite is a Belomo and runner up is a "pocket microscope" with an eye piece that slides up & down to 60x [supposedly].
Fun to have a loupe with a fluorescent light too.
All were from Amazon.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Re: How much magnification required to read girdle inscripti

A couple of other factors will determine how easy or difficult inscriptions are to read, and that may help determine what kind of magnification you need.

First, the size of the characters are limited by the size of the girdle. Therefore, small stones or stones with thin girdles will be much harder to read.
Second, faceted girdles require more effort because you often will have to read part of the inscription, then re-position to read the next part.
And third, if the stone has been mounted there is a good chance the black has been removed from the inscription by ultrasonic and steam cleaning, reducing the contrast and making it more challenging to read.

It's generally quite hard for beginners to read inscriptions, but when you are able to do it once it becomes much easier because you know what to look. It's a little bit like those images that just look like a bunch of dots on a page, but after you stare at it for a while a photo pops into view!

Good luck. It's a very nice benefit to have an inscription on your diamond.

 

[John P]

Re: How much magnification required to read girdle inscripti

It's a little bit like those images that just look like a bunch of dots on a page, but after you stare at it for a while a photo pops into view!

100%. I used to have a 30X loupe for inscriptions. Now I use 10X for normal sizes.

If you want to improve in the long run Kenny's advice is golden: High loupe quality + good technique = greater skill with practice. For me it's also about familiarity. As I'm capable of sticking a 9-iron shot with my clubs over a friend's, I'm faster at locating minute characteristics with my own loupe... Although I know some jedi who seem to find anything through the bottom of an Ozarka bottle.

 

[heididdl]

Re: How much magnification required to read girdle inscripti

I see mine using 10X

 

[Just_Starting]

Re: How much magnification required to read girdle inscripti

Thanks everyone for the input - very useful. I think I will try a few cheap loupes of different magnification, see how I go from there. Surprised at how expensive high quality ones are but I may considering investing in one ^^.