The big key to holding a Jeweler's Loupe is
to hold it steady! That's right, every little movement or breath you take will cause the Loupe to move and take the Diamond out of focus.
So what's the secret to keeping the Loupe steady? Your thumb!When you're holding the Loupe up to your eye to look through it, rest your thumb against your cheek to steady it. Resting your thumb on your cheek will keep the magnifier in line with your eye and prevent it from moving out of focus. So now with the 10x Jeweler's Loupe steady, you can use your other hand to bring the Diamond ring up to the lens. Bring it within about 1/2" away. With practice you'll be able to pin-point the distance you'll need to be in for your eyes.
It won't take long before you'll be able to rotate the ring or diamond and peer into it from different angles and sides. You'll be able to see inscriptions on your girdle and inclusions, cracks and flaws inside the diamond. Scoping your jewelry is a great way to save money, because you'll know when your rings need maintenance, like low prongs, broken channels & cracked shanks. You'll be amazed at the things you'll learn and discover upon closer inspection.
One of the fun things you can do is purchase a Loupe for yourself. Make sure if you do it's a 10x (ten powered) Loupe. Prices range from cheap $5 to hundreds of dollars for really nice ones. Heck, you can even buy a solid 14kt Gold Loupe! Fancy that! Purchasing a Loupe is a great way to learn and practice with it and also get comfortable with it before you show off your new found talent at the Jewelers. Plus it'll impress your friends. It'll impress them more if you can check their diamond rings and tell them they have a broken prong or a chipped stone. They'll love you for that.
So the next time you go into a jeweler to make that important diamond purchase, you'll have the knowledge of Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight already... and now you'll also have the expertise of louping the diamond and really seeing what's inside; Inclusions, cracks, carbon spots or not, it'll keep you from getting laughed at and scammed!
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