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Our final tool may be the single most important one: a Jeweler's loop. The loop may have been invented thousands of years ago. It's been said that Egyptians used chips of Crystal or natural obsidian glass to better view small objects. In Rome, Emperor Nero was said to have peered through gemstones at actors on a distant stage. However, the first magnifier constructed for a scientific purpose is believed to have been designed by the English philosopher Roger Bacon in the year 1250. A 10 times Loop is normally a combination of two or more components: one, a doublet lens that reduces the Distortion seen in a single lens, and two, a triplet lens that eliminates color fringes, prevents Distortion, and has a bit of a larger working distance.

So how do you choose a good Loop? You can look for Loops described as chromatic (no color fringes) and planatic (no distortion). You can check for the absence of color fringes and a lack of distortion by viewing a piece of white graph paper in a strong light. The regularity of the lines through the lens's field of view will give you an indication of quality. Remember to choose a loop with a plain polished metal or black casing. Fancier colored Loops could reflect some of the color into your stone, which can muddle your observations a little bit.

Well, guys, we hope this was a good lesson in how to start your very own gemological toolkit. As you get better with these tools, you can start to explore more advanced ones like the spectroscope or the polariscope. Tell us what other gemological tools you would like to know more about. You can also visit the green crystal, where we have a wide range of articles about gems and how to identify them.