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LOUPES COMPARED
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Contents of this page:
10X loupes (scroll down or click here)
1 5X to 30X loupes + double loupes (scroll down or click here)
Warning about triplet loupes (scroll down or click here)

 

See also, How to Choose a Magnifier

 

You may wish to print this page and use it as a reference as you browse our Summer-Autumn 2008 snail mail catalogue.  


To see all loupes on our web (to actually buy one) site click here.   


10X Magnification

(scroll down for stronger magnifications)
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All fold into a hard case, all metal except for the Zeiss which fold into a plastic case.  All have glass lenses except for Zeiss which have plastic lenses.  Reminder:  the first figure is the magnification, the second is the lens diameter, e.g. 20X21 = 20X magnification, 21mm diameter lens.

The standard (and recommended) magnification used for gemstones and jewellery, stamps and coins is 10X.

 

 

10X15   £2.00  ref 10X15 , snail mail catalogue page 7 top left  

A beginner's loupe, plastic lens, aluminium casing . Supplied in cardboard box.     A cheap and nasty magnifier. Construction is aluminium and plastic, lens is plastic, image is fuzzy.  Yet we sell a large number of these, I think there must be many people who simply don't see why they should pay more than £2.00.  Also, at our stand at the fairs, there are customers who say they can't see the difference between a £2.00 loupe and a £20.00 loupe, and so we tell them they should buy the £2.00 loupe.

 

10X12   £5.00  ref.10X12, snail mail catalogue page 7 top middle

Popular loupe, folds into metal case, standard quality, loop to attach chain. Supplied in cardboard box.  This is especially popular with professional traders, not because the quality or size is anything special but because they keep loosing their loupes and don't see why they should spend more. Supplied wrapped in a cardboard box.

 

10X14   £7.50  ref.10X14 , snail mail catalogue page 7 top right

Better optical quality than the 10X12 and also (due to clever design) physically smaller.

 

10X23   £8.50  ref.10X23 , snail mail catalogue page seven left (2nd-down)

Much larger than the 10X12 and 10X14 but not as good optical quality, very popular at the fairs because it's so large.

 

10X12 4-element  £14.50  ref. 10X12-4el, snail mail catalogue page 7 right (2nd-down)

The simplest of loupes have one or two (most likely two) lenses;  the better loupes have three lenses (each one corrects for the distortion of the others to give a clearer sharper colour-true image) but the very best have four or five elements.  This one gives the clearest sharpest image of them all, with the possible exception of the Zeiss.  It's unique construction also makes it physically smaller (overall).  Supplied in a soft leather case.  Loop for holding a chain.

 

10X16   £12.50  ref.10X16 snail mail catalogue page 7 middle (2nd-down)

Better than the standard 10X12, 10X14 and 10X24; not nearly as good as the 10X12  4-element; good if you  you want a loupe that is slightly larger than normal; a mid-price loupe for those who are able to stretch those pennies to £12.50 but are afraid to spend more.  To my eyes (as an expert) the quality of these is quite OK, I wouldn't get more excited than that.

 

10X18   £20.00 ref.10X18c snail mail catalogue page 7 left (3rd-down)

If you're not going for the largest loupe and want top quality, this is my recommendation. It's not too large and the quality really is superb,  It has a loop for hanging on a chain, and it's supplied in a soft leather case. 

 

10X21   £22.50 ref.10X21c not in catalogue

An impressively large lens, just a little wavy around the very very edge (to my eye anyway), to get a lens of this size and strength 100% perfect is very difficult and extremely expensive (though we do have such a thing...scroll down).  It has a loop for hanging on a chain. Supplied in a soft leather pouch. 

 

Zeiss 10X13 £65.00 ref.zeiss-10 snail mail catalogue page 7, bottom
(scroll down to DOUBLE LOUPES to see the larger version of this)

I said, earlier, that it is very difficult and extremely expensive to make lenses that are perfect to the very edge.  The nearest you will ever get to this 'perfection' is a Zeiss...if you really do want the very best and you can afford it. The casings are plastic, and so too are the lenses (technically, "optical acrylic" - not just "plastic").  There are, however, no 'extras', no pouch, no loop to fix a chain.  Also, we don't import these, we merely buy them, a handful at a time, from Zeiss, so if we're out of stock you may have to wait a week or two for more.  My conclusion: yes, they are the best for quality but is that worth spending so much money? - that's for you to decide.  Supplied in a polythene bag and thin cardboard box (I don't think Zeiss feel the need to provide any extras!).

 

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15X to 30X Magnification

  

20X21 £15.00.  ref.20X21, not in catalogue

This one is very popular at the fairs, many customers want the highest magnification and the largest lens size and the lowest possible price..."quality" simply  doesn't come into the equation, in fact most customers who buy one of these (at the fairs) don't actually compare the different loupes before buying, they just want the most powerful loupe at the cheapest price.

 

15X12 £16.00 ref.15X12, snail mail catalogue page 6 bottom left
and
20X12 £19.50 ref. 20X12
, snail mail catalogue page 6 bottom middle

These are 5-element to give the best distortion-corrections and colour-correction.  Although I don't like loupes of more than 10X magnification (it's just too difficult to get good quality...at any price) I must say the 15X is quite impressive, if I did want more than 10X this is the one I'd go for. 

The 20X is the best of all the 20X, though too powerful for my liking, you have to focus too close to the object (there's no choice about this, that's the way lenses work).  However, with a good light source and a steady hand this is a good loupe.


15X21 £23.00 ref. 15X21, not in snail mail catalogue
and
20X21 £27.50 ref. 20X21-R
, snail mail cataloguepage 6 bottom middle

The 15X gives an impressively clear image in the centre and it's not too bad around the edges - but it's too large and too powerful!   With a steady hand and careful focusing the 20X is quite useable, though "useable" is the most enthusiastic word I can find.  This one is quite popular at the fairs because it is the most powerful and the largest you will find.


30X18 £35.00 ref. 30X18
, snail mail cataloguepage 6 bottom right

Now this really is getting silly, you have to get to within 2mm of the object to be able to focus, you need a very steady hand, and even then you will only be able to get a clear image in the very centre of the lens.  This IS the absolute largest most powerful of them all.  But why?  Aren't you better off to go for a really good quality 10X (or even the little 15X) and actually be able to see what you are looking at.  Incidentally, I challenge anyone to find a 30X loupe that it actually better than this!

 

Double Loupes

Combination 10X18 with 20X12 £30.00 ref. 10X18+20X12
I have chosen the best of the large 10X loupes and the best of the large 20X loupes.
snail mail catalogue page 7 about in the middle.

Zeiss £85.00 ref.zeisscom  (combination: 6X20 + 4X20 combine to give 10X20)
snail mail catalogue page 7, bottom

 

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WARNING ABOUT TRIPLET LOUPES

There is a company selling "triplet loupes" who have registered the term "triplet loupe" and who claim that if you buy a triplet loupe from anyone else the quality could be inferior. Their loupes sell for half the price of ours and they look, in a photograph, identical. I have bought some of them and have found that:

a) the optical quality is so poor that the weaker loupes give a fuzzy image and the stronger loupes are so bad they are unuseable

b) the magnifications of the stronger loupes are not as stated, they are far less

c) the lenses are NOT triplet lenses, they are NOT triplet loupes!

d) if you shop around you can find the very same in street markets for half the price again.

If you have never used a loupe before you will simply notice that it magnifies and will assume that the quality and the magnification is 'correct'.