Camera Parts

Thanks for visiting our site!
Magnifier Loupe
Checkout Ebay Auctions For The Cheapest Prices

Check out Amazon:

Here are some more information for Magnifier Loupe:

I am not in New York City and am quite a bit more southern than that. As for "best of the best" that depends on how well the question fits my particular expertise. My main knowledge is in jewelry work, whether making a piece from scratch or repairing great grandmother's hand-me-down. Pearls I do know something about but am not the best of the best in that category!

REAL PEARLS, NATURAL AND CULTURED

First, the term "pearl" is not but should be applied only to natural pearls, formed in a mollusk when some event in nature induces the oyster or mussel to form a pearl. These pearls are quite rare and are the pearls of antiquity before pearl farmers learned to culture pearls. Freshwater pearls fished from the rivers in the USA are natural pearls but nowadays, most freshwater pearls are also cultured in freshwater pearl farms.

In any event, naturally forming or cultured, such pearls are formed in the oyster or mussel and are not fakes. The real difference in the totally natural pearl and the cultured pearls is what makes the pearl start to grow and the thickness of the nacre. Nacre is the pearly layers that make a pearl so lovely. The natural pearl will have very thick nacre, generally forming in concentric rings around some starting source or irritation to the mollusk.

A large natural pearl is very, very rare. Cultured pearls generally use a "core" of mother-of-pearl, the shell of the mollusk. The bead core goes into the mollusk and nacre is formed around the core. The core determines the overall shape of the pearl. How long the oyster is allowed to let the pearl grow determines the thickness of the nacre. Thicker nacre is better. Best of all is thick nacre and a smooth, almost blemish free surface.

Pearls grown inside the mussel or oyster do have a gritty feel to the tooth.

FAKE PEARLS

Fake pearls are made by coating a core of some sort (mother-of-pearl, plastic, etc.) with a plastic, a kind of paint containing ground fish scales or other stuff that look pearly to the eye. Generally, the fakes do NOT have a gritty feel to the tooth. Most may be identified with a little practice and a 10x jewelers loupe or microscope. The way to do it is to compare real pearls with some known fakes. The fakes almost always show a grittier "look" to the surface and not the more smoothly formed natural nacre. The look is grittier but the feel to a tooth is smoother. After some practice comparisons, most fakes are fairly easily identified.

Still, some are hard to detect without very thorough testing sometimes using solvents and acids which attack the real pearl nacre but not the plastic fakes and visa versa.

Other than that, a look at the drilled holes in the beads will help. Since the pearl is formed naturally without a hole, the hole must be drilled. The surface of the pearl at the drill hole will not "sink in" or "rise up" as is seen in many fakes that are formed and coated with the holes already made to the core. In the real pearl, the nacre will be smooth with the drill hole and might even be chipped a bit.

Some folks recommend having a dentist do an x-ray to see what is inside. Still, unless a person is very, very familiar with reading the images the results are very iffy. A core will look like a core whether in a fake or a cultured pearl. A core will not be present to any large extent in a pearl formed freely in the ocean but those pearls just are not around or to be had except in very small sizes.

Using a good loupe (hand held magnifier) of 10 powers is likely the best home test. Of course, try the teeth first! Then look at the drill holes and the surface compared to a good cultured pearl.

There is not a one-in-all test I can recommend. Some of this will simply require some "pearls" of real and fakes for comparison.

Even the jewelers are fooled once in a while but not often.Have you seen Mabe pearls? These are the large "half pearls" often seen in rings and pendants. Some years ago some really good fakes hit the market and were being sold at very competitive prices'that is, compared to the real ones. Many were sold and bought as the real thing! The testing for these required disassembly of the fake mabes plus solvent and acid tests. A lot of buyers were taken in on this one, likely never to know they bought and later sold fake mabe pearls.

Victor Epand is the owner of http://www.JewerlyGift.biz, a huge online jewelry superstore featuring the greatest selection of jewelry including personalizable items. Clearance Sale items are here: http://www.jewelrygift.biz/collection/clearance-sales.html .

Diamond Jewelry - Influence Of 4 Cs

Diamond is available in many varieties and calls for proper knowledge as the market is filled with fake diamonds. Hence, considering certain factors may prove to be beneficial in making the right purchase. Even simple things like fog test may help in determining if the diamond is real or fake, such that if you blow some air on the diamond from your mouth and the fog vanishes instantly, it is considered to be genuine diamond. Now if the same fog stays for a few seconds, than you might consider a fake diamond. Buying a diamond requires understanding a few basic things such as having knowledge about the 4Cs. Comprehending these 4Cs may help in accomplishing a high-budget look at affordable and reasonable prices.

The first C refers to the cut of the diamond that reflects the way it is angled, proportioned and faceted such that it reflects light and offers utmost brilliance. A high quality cut always includes perfect angles, balanced proportions, well polished surface and symmetrical facets. This elevates the innate beauty, besides enhancing the value of it. Good cut grades in quality stones and is also compared as excellent or ideal cut grades.

The second C speaks about the clarity of the diamonds that helps in identifying the characteristics, even those that are not noticeable to the naked eye. Viewing the clarity of a diamond is done using a 10x magnifying loupe and the grades denote the stones having fine balance of cost and quality. However, small inclusions do not scar the beauty of a diamond, nor does its durability get endangered.

The third C features the carat, the weight of a diamond, and obviously, the larger the diamond, the higher is the cost. One large diamond is definitely pricey in comparison to a cluster of small diamonds, even if the cluster of diamond and the large diamond has equal weight. This shows that a ring having 1 carat diamond stone may cost more than a 5 stone or 3 stone ring that has a total of 1 carat weight stones. One carat is 100 points or cents and diamonds are calculated on carat basis such that the cost escalates significantly on reaching the full carat mark. A 93 cent diamond can be chosen instead of 100 cents as this will show no difference in size, but there is definitely a big size savings in cost.

The fourth C represents the color. Color grading decides the closeness of the stone to the body color and a clear white diamond is the best in handling light as well results in brilliance and scintillation. Round brilliant diamond will have good money value and comes in color grades F, while people looking for fancy shaped diamonds like pear, marquise or princess or choose emerald cut diamond so that the clarity and color is pronounced greatly; they opt for higher color grades ranging from E to G.

Among the 4Cs, the cut contributes to the value and beauty of the diamond. Good clarity enhances the brilliance as otherwise poor clarity reduces the value. Similarly, considering several small stones are best than one stone, and pear, marquise or an oval shape is best as it looks larger.

About the Author

You can have access to articles about jewelry in portuguese language from page Jewelry

Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for Polomercantil

Is a +3 corrective lens equivalent to a 3x magnifying lens?

I am in dental school, and we have to use loupes (magnifying lenses). Most people's are somewhere from 2.5x to 3.5x. I want to get my friend a monocle, and think it would be cool if he could use it as a magnifier. I've seen some for sale that are +3.00 lenses. Would this be equivalent to 3x magnification?

No, far from it.

A +3.00 is just 3/4 of 1x ( + 3.00 is 3 diopters )

There are 4 diopters in 1x....

A 2.5 x = + 10.00 diopters

Khristi Zimmeth: 'Horse picture' remains a popular hunt scene
'Forty six years ago in October of 1963, my uncle Randall was killed in an auto accident in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he lived. We don't know how long he had this picture or where it came from.

Thanks for visiting!