Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Is this a decent digital caliper

Define decent and good.

I cherish my Swiss-made Browne & Sharpe dial calipers, bought used 30 years ago and still going strong.
No batteries.

http://www.longislandindicator.com/p103.html

Mitutoyo is another respected brand.

Then again maybe $13 is all you need/want to spend.
 
Do keep in mind when you close the jaws on a gem do so very gently and don't press hard.
Apply no more pressure than making contact.
Not pressing hard also applies to when you close the jaws, empty, to calibrate (zero) the calipers.

Many gems are harder than the two metal surfaces they will touch.
They gems can easily scratch the highly-polished metal measuring surfaces possibly resulting in future inaccurate readings.

Also when measuring depth be careful to not chip culets.
 
kenny|1341471447|3228795 said:
Do keep in mind when you close the jaws on a gem do so very gently and don't press hard.
Apply no more pressure than making contact.
Not pressing hard also applies to when you close the jaws, empty, to calibrate (zero) the calipers.

Many gems are harder than the two metal surfaces they will touch.
They gems can easily scratch the highly-polished metal measuring surfaces possibly resulting in future inaccurate readings.

Also when measuring depth be careful to not chip culets.
Click to expand...

Okay. That made a lot of sense. Thanks! So that cheapie one is okay for the time being?
 
Gypsy|1341472562|3228798 said:
kenny|1341471447|3228795 said:
Do keep in mind when you close the jaws on a gem do so very gently and don't press hard.
Apply no more pressure than making contact.
Not pressing hard also applies to when you close the jaws, empty, to calibrate (zero) the calipers.

Many gems are harder than the two metal surfaces they will touch.
They gems can easily scratch the highly-polished metal measuring surfaces possibly resulting in future inaccurate readings.

Also when measuring depth be careful to not chip culets.
Click to expand...

Okay. That made a lot of sense. Thanks! So that cheapie one is okay for the time being?
Click to expand...

That's your call.
I go for high end quality tools that last forever.
I'm not going to recommend a product at a tenth the price, but people vary.
 
If they're Cen Tech brand, I use them. They work just fine. You can also pick them up at Harbor Freight, and for cheaper IIRC
 
my calipers looks like that. I don't know where it is or I would check for sure but mine works well.
 
You can't really tell by looks... the difference between good and bad is feel and smoothness which leads to accuracy.
I forget the brand mine is but its mid-range like in the $100 range.
There is a big quality jump from the bottom to mid-range price then a smaller gap to the top end.
Sorta like lumpy coal ---> random gia x ---> ags0 super-ideal
 
I have the ones you posted first. They meet my needs pretty well. My only complaint is that they are sort of large for measuring stones. Definitely worth trying the cheap ones first.
 
diamondseeker2006|1341508213|3228985 said:
I have the ones you posted first. They meet my needs pretty well. My only complaint is that they are sort of large for measuring stones. Definitely worth trying the cheap ones first.
Click to expand...
they also make a smaller one like 4"
 
Dancing Fire|1341533212|3229211 said:
diamondseeker2006|1341508213|3228985 said:
I have the ones you posted first. They meet my needs pretty well. My only complaint is that they are sort of large for measuring stones. Definitely worth trying the cheap ones first.
Click to expand...
they also make a smaller one like 4"
Click to expand...
Okay so I should maybe see about getting that size.

Thanks everyone. I will check the brand and the other details and see if I can figure out what to buy.
 
Gypsy|1341537404|3229255 said:
Dancing Fire|1341533212|3229211 said:
diamondseeker2006|1341508213|3228985 said:
I have the ones you posted first. They meet my needs pretty well. My only complaint is that they are sort of large for measuring stones. Definitely worth trying the cheap ones first.
Click to expand...
they also make a smaller one like 4"
Click to expand...
Okay so I should maybe see about getting that size.

Thanks everyone. I will check the brand and the other details and see if I can figure out what to buy.
Click to expand...
go check your local Harbor Freight store.
 
I bought these after seeing this thread to remind I wanted a set. Ugh - they sent me #1 and it didn't turn on. Then sent me #2 with an envelope to send back #1 (which was handy, good service) but the 2nd one doesn't work either. I dread having to send back TWO now! Guess I'm going to Harbor Freight!
 
I forgot to buy them. Guess it was a good thing. I'll check Harbor Freight if I want one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top