Open the loupe until the lens is fully extended. To keep the jeweler's loupe steady, put your finger through the opening to steady the loupe. Bring the loupe right up to your eye. Steady the loupe hand against your cheek. Use the thumb and forefinger of your right or left left hand to pick up the ring or item that you will be examining. Then bring the ring or item to be examined up to the lens until it comes into focus. You can leave both eyes open, but many first-time users find it more comfortable to close the other eye. Jewelers Loupe.
How in the world are you supposed to see anything up close without any light. It almost defeats the whole purpose of even using a high powered jeweler's loupe. Thank goodness somebody had enough sense to create a loupe with a built in light source. Problem solved. Now you can use your high powered jewelers lense! Older styles use a small light bulb to help illuminate the surface of the object that you are trying to magnify. Newer models use LEDs or light emitting diodes as a light source. They are brighter. They last much longer and require less energy. They are a better choice.
The loupe has to be ten-power (10x) since the U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires grading to be performed under the 10-power magnification. Consequently, if you can't see any flaws under 10-power magnification, such flaws are considered negligent for grading purposes.
The best practice is keep the jewelers loupe about one inch from the eye, and approximately an inch from the object you're examining. It's important to learn to see through the loupe clearly. A 10-power loupe can be difficult to focus at the beginning, but with some practice it will become easy. Any object that is difficult to see is a good target for practicing. Consider examining your own jewelry, a pinhead, a strand of hair or even pores in your skin. Magnifying Loupe. FrispLoupe5.
Being familiar with using a Jewelers Loupe correctly is very much needed for vintage jewelry dealer and collector. Though it will take some time and practice, but when someone gets familiar and proficient with a Jewelers Loupe, he or she will be able to identify the valuable maker’s hallmarks, collectible jewelry and gemstones smoothly.