Loupes and how to use them for reading hallmarks

Since my previous  post on vintage jewellery hallmarks I have received a couple of queries about loupes – where to get one, which one to choose and how to use one.

There are good loupes and bad ones, as with most things in life you pay a little more for quality. If you are going to be examining lots of hallmarks its best to go for a slightly better one. Above are two loupes both have the same 10 x magnification – the tatty black one is the one I use every day, the shiny silver one I would only use in an emergency – it hurts my eyes to spend much time using that. The larger loupe has a lens about 20mm diameter. The smaller one is about 14mm.

 The black loupe  is not only slightly larger but it has a better quality lens ( I dont understand the technical stuff here but its know as a Triplet lens) which allows me to read the hallmarks more clearly. I seem to remember paying about £5 for the silver one and about £25 for the black one. You can get better quality (and more expensive ) loupes than this but for the purpose of reading hallmarks this would be quite sufficient.  

To use a loupe you hold it in your hand a bit like a fat pencil between the thumb and index finger and then use the middle finger to steady it.  Your piece of hallmarked jewellery goes into the opposite hand. The loupe is used very close up to your eye – almost touching your eye lashes or reading glasses. The hallmarked piece of vintage jewellerygoes quite close to the loupe, just move it about until you can focus clearly. Can you see the hallmarks clearly now?  Using a loupe does take a bit of practice but its worth putting in the effort.

Where to buy a loupe?

Its best if you can get the chance to try a few out – there are often stalls selling loupes at the larger antique fairs . Here you can try out a few different ones until you find something that suits.  You could but a cheap one on eBay but personally I have used this website