Scales. What do you think?

[francesca]

SPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMwww.prettyrock.com/php/gem-carat-scales.php




Any of you that have a mini, portable scale, are you confident of it's accuracy? How do these ones look?

I have no clue what to look for.
After my Joan Rivers fiasco I'm skeered of e-bay! :' (

Thanks for your thoughts. :' )

[beekeeper]

I bought mine on Ebay, and it's very nice and accurate ... only spent about $50. When going on Ebay, just make sure the seller has decent feedback. Reading a sellers feedback can be ver telling!

[francesca]

That's what disappointed me so with the Joan Rivers pin. The seller has excellent feedback! After I realized mine was a dud I looked back at many of the completed sales and the bees and other pins were also definitely fakes. So, her buyers have no clue, or are just happy to support the counterfeiters. *shrug*

I'll take a look there for the scale, too. Before this I have never had a problem.
Mr Rebates is now including ebay . . . only 1% cash back, but a penny saved . . . . LOL

[kilo3_6]

Here is a link to look at what the GIA has to offer:
SPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMwww.gia.edu/geminstrument/myProducts.cfm?CategoryID=4|Weights%20%26%20Measur es

They are a little pricy....but they should also give you a guide of what to look for feature-wise on ebay or other sites as you shop.

Hope it helps.

[mystylady]

Hey Kilo! Do you still check out the site?
Presently, I'm not in a position to purchase a scale, and I have to rely on the "old fashioned" way of getting a gem's carat weight: find out the gem's specific gravity, times the dimentions of the stone by the SG... you know the drill... I haven't done it in a while so the steps are a little rusty to me now, but I bookmarked the site w/ the full instructions on how to do it.

In your opinion, is this an accurate method? I get my SG values from Antoinette Matlins "Colored Gemstones" book or from the Internet, various sites, and purchased my mm gauge from JTV (remember the zipper pouch??? lol)

[jewelfreak]

The GIA and ISA sites have some great merchendise but can be pricey. For instance, a manual mm gauge can run $18. While JTV's may not be the best mm gauges, they do the job just fine. KInda like buying a plastic ruler vs a metal one - they both measure the same!!! Also, I really like my JTV loupe. We have some fancy ones at Zales, but they have tiny lenses and are impossible to see out of, plus they are chrome, which is not recommended. While I don't know if I would buy a microscope or any other high end equipment from JTV, their basic items are great for the price. I have the zipper pouch kit, and I love it!

[francesca]

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I have the zipper pouch kit,

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Well, YEAH!!! Doesn't EVERYBODY??? SCOTT!!!! You missed a couple! LMAO!

Seriously though, that kit is damn handy! :' )

[mystylady]

LOL Scott sold me my zipper pouch, for real!! How did you KNOW!

Does anyone else have trouble with their tweezers? The zipper pouch was from about 2 years ago and my equip is getting old. I use my tweezers all the time and have noticed that they seem to have lost a lot of their "tweeze". I'm afraid they're gonna come apart and I can't afford another pair right now. I've been thinking of perhaps using some strong tape and taping the other end tighter, to avoid them breaking. Good Idea? Bad Idea?

[jewelfreak]

Locking tweezers or just regular? I don't see how taping them could hurt unless, you tape them too far down and make the pressure too high, then you could possibly chip or break the stone. I say give it a whirl!!!

[mystylady]

Just regular ones. Yeah I figured out that taping them too high up would make them too tight. I held them tighter together at different points to try and figure out just where to put the tape and if it's even a little bit too high up (or too far down, depending on which end of the tweezer's you're on!) then they just don't work properly.
So what kind of tape should I use? My boyfriend wouldn't even hesitate on this one... duct tape! The cure all for everything! Electrical tape? Not Scotch tape... I don't want it to fray and have this Flap Of Tape hanging on it!

[beekeeper]

Mysty - I have the zipper pouch too (mine is blue). Loved it, til about a month later they started showing the cute little leatherette cases with all the same stuff.

I haven't had any problems with my tweezers ... but I have a feeling you use yours a lot more than I do. Have you noticed, in all the newer tool kits, they are offering 2 or 3 tweezers ... wonder if it's because they are not great quality?

[mystylady]

Mine is blue too and has a diagram of everything that's inside of it on the outside! lol in case we forget or something.
I think the tweezers are OK quality... I DO use them a LOT, like you thought. The new kits have the assorted tweezers (wish I'd ordered that instead!) that have different purposes; one pair is regular, one locks, blah blah blah... I don't know why but I don't think I'd do well with locking tweezers. I think I'd "fling" gems out of them left and right.
As for being poor quality... I think for the money and all that came in the kit, it was comparable. Poor things just wear out over time! My MM gauge is great. I was disappointed to find out that the silver casing on the loupe isn't acceptable, that it should be black, and now is, in the new kits. I wonder what difference it really makes, especially to someone who hasn't had any real training?

[beekeeper]

My loupe is black. What is wrong with the loupe being silver?

I don't think I'd like the locking tweezers either ... it would be like those chopsticks they make for kids, where they are banded together ... even harder in my opinion! lol ...

[mystylady]

Chopsticks! I can't even DO chopsticks! Scary.
From what I just read, according to Antoinette Matlins, the silver loupe distorts the gem somehow, but how, I have no idea. Maybe THAT'S my problem!

[beekeeper]

Oh Mysty ... you've got problems, but that aint it! ;-) hehe ... (sneaking out before she throws the remote at me) ...

[mystylady]

<mysty sails computer>
HEYYYYYY!

I'm TRYING! I'M GETTING BETTER! REALLYYY!
I'm so much better than I was even back when I first started to post on here!!!

I think the silver reflects the light back somehow and the black absorbs it. I think.

[jewelfreak]

I think the silver reflects the light back somehow and the black absorbs it. I think
--------------------------
You are right, Mysty. Plus, that reflection can really make a difference as far as looking at diamonds - aka making them appear more colorless than they are, or the reflection masking things like inclusions. Plus with those, anything around the edges of the stones where it is close to the edge of the lens always ends up kind of darkened. I really never understood it until I started working at Zales, because mine is the black kind, and the chrome with those tiny lenses are harder than hell to see anything with. There is a good reason the jewelry stores provide this kind of loupe for you to look through... hint, hint. Not that it really matters anyway, cuz 95% of the customers who do look through the loupe when offered or even ask to use one, have no idea how to use it or even what they are looking for.