lamar
Bronze Member
- Aug 30, 2004
- 1,341
- 46
Dear group;
I've noticed that a large number of MDers and other hobbyists are unable to tell the difference between real jewelry and fake jewelry. For some reason, people tend to think that jewelry identification is a sort of arcane science or that the equipment might cost a fortune, yet nothing could be further from the truth.
To start with, a good 10X hand held loupe is an excellent choice. Please notice the word *good*. It does not need to be a top of the line 300.00$ Zeiss loupe, but it does need to be serviceable without distortions all of the way to the edges of the loupe's magnifying lenses. These are known as corrected loupes and they cost about 15$ to 30$ each and it should last you a lifetime or two if you keep it in it's little leather case when it's not in use. Also, it is advisable to use ONLY a 10X loupe as anything less will not give satisfactory results and anything more becomes very difficult to use. 10 power is the industry standard for diamond grading and they are also the easiest loupes to manipulate and they offer the best resolution, therefore they are what I use exclusively. If I need anything greater than 10X, which is very rarely, I use a microscope.
The next item to get is an acid test kit. Please be aware that the acid used to test gold and platinum is nitric acid, and while not inherently dangerous, you do not want to get any of the acid on your fingers as it will stain your fingers bright orange for a few days. Also along with the acids, you will need a *scratch stone* which is nothing more than a piece of rough black slate. You take the piece of jewelry in question and rub it on the slate gently, thus making a gold mark on the slate's surface. Then you can take your 14K acid and place a tiny drop of it over the mark and observe the results. If the marks fades away immediately, test in another spot on the slate with the 10K acid. If the mark again disappears, the piece is not gold. Likewise, if the gold mark does not disappear entirely when a drop of 14K acid is placed on it, a drop of 18K acid can be used in a different place on the slate and then both test sites observed. If the mark remains on the 14k drop and disappears on the 18K drop the gold is 14k. If the mark fades but remains visible on the q14K drop but completely disappears on the 18K drop, then gold is about 16K (dental gold).Acids come in 10K, 14K, 18K, 22K, silver, and platinum and I would recommend getting a squeeze bottle of each along with a black slate stone. Acids cost around 2.50$ per bottle and a stone might set you back 10$ for a very good one, so the entire gold, silver and platinum testing kit will cost under 25.00$.
The next thing you will want to acquire is a decent, yet cheap PORTABLE (battery operated) electronic gram scale. For some reason, jeweler's supply stores mark the prices of scales way up, therefore I would go to a head shop or even shop around online for one. A decent gram scale should cost between 15$ and 25$ and they are a great investment, especially for those people who find jewelry on a regular basis. The acid test kit, coupled with a decent gram scale means that you KNOW EXACTLY what the actual value of the piece is and what you should be able to sell it for, therefore a portable gram scale is an important piece of gear.
The next item is spendy but it's worth it's weight in gold as it is able to distinguish a wide variety of like colored gemstones from each other and also it distinguishes them from fakes, plus it also works as a diamond tester. It's the Presidium Gem Tester and it sells for under 250$. It also works on AA batteries which means that it is highly portable. It can test stones as small as 1mm in diameter, which are almost no-see-ums. This amazing tester was designed and built for the pawn shop and auction industries and it can turn anyone into an expert in under an hour or two.
The reason why I recommend the Presidium Gem Tester is because the classical way to test diamonds and gemstones costs about 10 times more and takes about 2 to 4 years of study and practice to master. If a person wishes to identify gemstones the old-fashioned way, they will need a dichroscope, a polariscope, a spectrascope, a refractometer, a microscope, a specific gravity kit and a good set of color filters, plus two good years of dedicated study on the subject. Therefore I cannot recommend the Presidium Gem Tester highly enough for the hobbyist.
The last item a person should acquire is a set of Moh's Hardness testers. This set of testers can tell a person the hardness of a questionable stone and compare the stone's hardness with the Moh's scale, thus making identification of the stone much faster and more accurate, BUT the downside is that the tester leaves a scratch mark on the stone's surface, therefore one must use a set of Moh's hardness testers with prudence.
And this is about all I can think of at the moment.
For loupes:
http://www.kassoy.com/economy-diamond-loupes/
For testing acids:
http://www.kassoy.com/gold-testing-acids.html
For gram scales:
http://www.cheapgramscale.us/
For the Presidium Gem Tester:
http://www.kassoy.com/presidium-gem-tester.html
For a set Moh's hardness testers:
http://www.kassoy.com/deluxe-hardness_point-set.html
After a while, identifying questionable pieces of jewelry can become as much fun as actually FINDING them!
Good luck everyone!
Your friend;
LAMAR
I've noticed that a large number of MDers and other hobbyists are unable to tell the difference between real jewelry and fake jewelry. For some reason, people tend to think that jewelry identification is a sort of arcane science or that the equipment might cost a fortune, yet nothing could be further from the truth.
To start with, a good 10X hand held loupe is an excellent choice. Please notice the word *good*. It does not need to be a top of the line 300.00$ Zeiss loupe, but it does need to be serviceable without distortions all of the way to the edges of the loupe's magnifying lenses. These are known as corrected loupes and they cost about 15$ to 30$ each and it should last you a lifetime or two if you keep it in it's little leather case when it's not in use. Also, it is advisable to use ONLY a 10X loupe as anything less will not give satisfactory results and anything more becomes very difficult to use. 10 power is the industry standard for diamond grading and they are also the easiest loupes to manipulate and they offer the best resolution, therefore they are what I use exclusively. If I need anything greater than 10X, which is very rarely, I use a microscope.
The next item to get is an acid test kit. Please be aware that the acid used to test gold and platinum is nitric acid, and while not inherently dangerous, you do not want to get any of the acid on your fingers as it will stain your fingers bright orange for a few days. Also along with the acids, you will need a *scratch stone* which is nothing more than a piece of rough black slate. You take the piece of jewelry in question and rub it on the slate gently, thus making a gold mark on the slate's surface. Then you can take your 14K acid and place a tiny drop of it over the mark and observe the results. If the marks fades away immediately, test in another spot on the slate with the 10K acid. If the mark again disappears, the piece is not gold. Likewise, if the gold mark does not disappear entirely when a drop of 14K acid is placed on it, a drop of 18K acid can be used in a different place on the slate and then both test sites observed. If the mark remains on the 14k drop and disappears on the 18K drop the gold is 14k. If the mark fades but remains visible on the q14K drop but completely disappears on the 18K drop, then gold is about 16K (dental gold).Acids come in 10K, 14K, 18K, 22K, silver, and platinum and I would recommend getting a squeeze bottle of each along with a black slate stone. Acids cost around 2.50$ per bottle and a stone might set you back 10$ for a very good one, so the entire gold, silver and platinum testing kit will cost under 25.00$.
The next thing you will want to acquire is a decent, yet cheap PORTABLE (battery operated) electronic gram scale. For some reason, jeweler's supply stores mark the prices of scales way up, therefore I would go to a head shop or even shop around online for one. A decent gram scale should cost between 15$ and 25$ and they are a great investment, especially for those people who find jewelry on a regular basis. The acid test kit, coupled with a decent gram scale means that you KNOW EXACTLY what the actual value of the piece is and what you should be able to sell it for, therefore a portable gram scale is an important piece of gear.
The next item is spendy but it's worth it's weight in gold as it is able to distinguish a wide variety of like colored gemstones from each other and also it distinguishes them from fakes, plus it also works as a diamond tester. It's the Presidium Gem Tester and it sells for under 250$. It also works on AA batteries which means that it is highly portable. It can test stones as small as 1mm in diameter, which are almost no-see-ums. This amazing tester was designed and built for the pawn shop and auction industries and it can turn anyone into an expert in under an hour or two.
The reason why I recommend the Presidium Gem Tester is because the classical way to test diamonds and gemstones costs about 10 times more and takes about 2 to 4 years of study and practice to master. If a person wishes to identify gemstones the old-fashioned way, they will need a dichroscope, a polariscope, a spectrascope, a refractometer, a microscope, a specific gravity kit and a good set of color filters, plus two good years of dedicated study on the subject. Therefore I cannot recommend the Presidium Gem Tester highly enough for the hobbyist.
The last item a person should acquire is a set of Moh's Hardness testers. This set of testers can tell a person the hardness of a questionable stone and compare the stone's hardness with the Moh's scale, thus making identification of the stone much faster and more accurate, BUT the downside is that the tester leaves a scratch mark on the stone's surface, therefore one must use a set of Moh's hardness testers with prudence.
And this is about all I can think of at the moment.
For loupes:
http://www.kassoy.com/economy-diamond-loupes/
For testing acids:
http://www.kassoy.com/gold-testing-acids.html
For gram scales:
http://www.cheapgramscale.us/
For the Presidium Gem Tester:
http://www.kassoy.com/presidium-gem-tester.html
For a set Moh's hardness testers:
http://www.kassoy.com/deluxe-hardness_point-set.html
After a while, identifying questionable pieces of jewelry can become as much fun as actually FINDING them!
Good luck everyone!Your friend;
LAMAR
