Hand lens, Microscope
Hand Lens/ Loupe
➢The ideal magnification factor for a hand lens is 10x (i.e. the length of an object
magnified by ten) as this is sufficiently powerful to reveal the majority of a
gemstone’s internal and external features.
➢Image distortion and colour ‘fringing’ are problems associated with single
element lenses having magnifications greater than 3x.
➢Because of this, all high-quality loupes, particularly those intended for use in
diamond grading, are fitted with compound lenses consisting usually of three
elements.
➢These loupes are called ‘triplets’
Normal Lens ( more than 3X magnification)
Triplet
Microscope
➢Where magnification, mechanical
stability or illumination become
limiting factors in the use of the
loupe, the microscope is the next
choice.
➢Types of Illuminations
1. Incident illumination
➢ Provided by means of a separate lamp (or lamps) mounted
above the stage and fitted with a reflector or a lens to provide a
focusable spot.
➢Alternatively, incident light can be channelled to the specimen
from the sub stage lamp (or from an external source) by means
of flexible fibre-optic light guides.
2. Light field illumination
➢ light is transmitted up through the specimen and into the
microscope’s objective
3. Dark field illumination
➢A baffle plate is pivoted over the lamp to block the direct
light path to the objective, and light from the lamp is directed
into the sides of the specimen by means of a radial sub-stage
mirror.
➢Alternatively, dark-field illumination can be achieved by
means of one or two horizontally positioned spotlights or
fibre-optic light guides.
➢Dark-field illumination is a major requirement for serious
gemmological work as it makes a gemstone’s internal
features (inclusions, stress flaws, etc.) more clearly visible
against the darker background of the stone.
Using the various attachments, a microscope can become a very
versatile instrument with the following wide range of
applications:
1. Interior examination of gemstones for inclusions or growth
features which identify the gemstone as natural or synthetic.
2. Surface inspection of gemstones to assess the quality of cut.
3. The detection of dichroism (using a polarizing filter on the
objective).
4. The detection of double refraction using two polarizing filters
as polarizer and analyser.
5. Spectrum analysis using a spectroscope in place of an eyepiece.
6. Colour grading of diamonds using a daylight-type incident light
source.
7. Clarity grading of diamonds using 10X magnification.
8. Measurement of a gemstone’s proportions and interfacet angles
using an eyepiece graticule.
9. Photomicroscopy with camera attachment, and
videomicroscopy with video camera attachment.
Interior Examination of Gemstones
1. Solid (or mineral) inclusions
A. Crystal Inclusions
• Calcite rhombohedra, pyrite cube, mica in Emerald
• Spinel octahedral in Spinel
• Apatite in Garnet
•Zircon halos in corundum
B. needle like inclusions
• Rutile in corundum
• Hornblende in emerald
C. Dust like Inclusions
• Rutile Dust in Sapphire
D. Fibrous inclusions
• Byssolite fibers (Horsetail) in Demantoid Garnet
E. Mineral Inclusions with tension cracks
• Spider in Peridot
2. Liquid Inclusions
A. Healed Cracks - When the cracked get healed the liquid trapped on that cracked become
droplets
• Lily pad in peridot
•Finger print inclusion in Sapphire
• Tiger stripe in amethyst
3. Gas inclusions
• Flat gas bubbles
• Round gas bubbles
4. More phase inclusions
A. Two phase inclusions
B. Three phase inclusions
5. Structural Inclusions
A. Growth lines
B. Swirl Marks
C. Cracks/ Cleavage planes
Centipede in moonstone
D. Tube like inclusions
• Hollow tubes in aquamarine
• Etch tubes in andulucite
