This kit, if used properly, will allow you to identify about 85% of all precious gemstones, using just three simple tools --Chelsea Filter, Dichroscope and Jewelers Loupe. It will also provide knowledge about gemstones through the hardcover book Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann, highly rated by both readers and experts alike.
This kit includes the following items:
Chelsea FilterOf the many tools introduced to jewelers in the past few decades, the Chelsea filter has become one of the most popular. Originally used to differentiate genuine emeralds from other similarly colored stones such as tourmaline and peridot, the Chelsea filter is now used, often in conjunction with other tools such as the loupe or dichroscope to be able to identify almost any gemstone. Since technology for creating synthetic gemstones has vastly improved in recent times, checking stones with the Chelsea filter alone is no longer considered sufficient.
DichroscopeThe dichroscope is another popular tool, which, like the Chelsea filter, is considered invaluable for distinguishing certain stones from similar gems. It can only be used on stones that are transparent and are able to transmit light. It is used to differentiate between and identify stones with similar colors. When looking through the dichroscope, the user should see two squares/rectangles, side by side. When viewing a stone, the user will see that it is either a single or a double refracting stone. What this means is that if the same color and the same shade is visible in both squares/rectangles, then the stone is single refracting. If the two boxes have varying colors/shades, then the stone is a double refracting stone, or a dichroic stone. Sometimes, depending on the angle/direction of the light, a stone may have three colors, meaning when a pair of colors is seen through the dichroscope, and the direction at which the stone is being viewed changes, one of the original colors is replaced with a new color, resulting in a total of three colors; this is called a trichroic stone.
10x triplet jewelers loupeiIn a black housing, this loupe is used to detect chips, cracks, scratches, sharpness of edges, symmetry in cutting, presence and types of flaws. The 10x triplet jewlers loupe is an essential tool to own.
Instructions on how to use these 3 simple tools to identify gemstones are included.