Many people have their own jewelers loupe these days and love to look at their jewelry with it. Unfortunately not everyone is taught how to use a loupe properly. Using a loupe is not terribly difficult, but using it properly can really help you examine your own jewelry for identifying characteristics, cracks, chips, or other damage without having to run to the jeweler every time to smack your ring on something hard. Before we look at how to use a loupe though, I would like to explain some of the characteristics of loupes so that you can select a quality magnifier for your own use.
Selecting a loupe:
The first thing to look at is the magnification. Loupes can be found with 2x magnification up to 30x, or even more, magnification. For our purposes it is best to use a 10x loupe since this is the magnification that is used by the gem grading labs to grade diamonds. Less magnification may not show enough detail, while more magnification may give you an unrealistic expectation.
The next thing to look at is the number of lenses a loupe has. The inexpensive loupes tend to have a single lens. These are fine for casual use, but may introduce focus and clarity issues....