Ultra Violet (UV) Triplet Loupe
Ultraviolet light magnifier for testing fluorescence in gemstones
You need a UV light but not necessarily a loupe, we have many UV torches, click here to see them.
There's also a fascinating article all about what you can see with UV light, click here to see it.
If you want a magnifier with a UV light, be extra careful about who you buy it from. Below are two sets of photographs showing a ruby, one with an unbranded 10X loupe with UV light (the size happens to be 10X21), one with the QUICKTEST 10X loupe with UV light (the size happens to be 10X20). Both loupes also have a rim of ordinary (white) light, you push the switch one way for white light, the other way for ultra violet light. For a closer view, click on each of the two images.
First, the unbranded loupe (all four pictures are of the same loupe).
Top left: the loupe.
Top right: a ruby with the white light switched on, the light reflects off the surface, the ruby remains dark.
Bottom left: note how pretty and bright the ultra violet light is, including an entire circle of ultra violet light.
Bottom right: the same ruby with the white light off and the ultra violet light switched on, it looks the same as the white-light picture.
Secondly, below, the QUICKTEST 10X20 loupe with UV light (all four pictures are of the same loupe).
Top left: the loupe.
Bottom left: note how there is only one ultraviolet light, no rim of ultraviolet light, and it doesn't appear (to the human eye) to be particularly bright.
Top right: a ruby with the white light switched on, the light reflects off the surface, the ruby remains dark.
Bottom right: the same ruby with the white light off and the ultra violet light switched on, it glows spectacularly. That's because the UV light in this loupe is so good, even though the human eye cannot see it.
Please note that using ultraviolet light is not a 'test' for ruby, because whilst some ruby (e.g. Burma ruby) fluoresces brilliantly, some does not fluoresce at all; the above is just to show you the difference between the quality of ultraviolet lights (click here to read all about wavelengths).
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