The tools and instruments commonly used in gem identification mainly include tweezers, 10X magnifying glass, gem microscope, hand-held gem flashlight, polarizer, refractometer, dichroic mirror, spectroscope, Charles filter, ultraviolet fluorescence instrument, thermal conductivity instrument, electronic balance and some large instruments. It is required to master the principle, structure, usage and interpretation of observation results of commonly used tools and instruments.

1, tweezers and flashlight

The tweezers should be made of stainless steel, and the inside of the clip should have teeth to prevent the gem from slipping. Gem flashlight is a convenient and practical lighting tool for gem identification.

2. Amplifier

Magnifier is the most commonly used tool for gem identification, and the magnification is generally required to be 10x, because the clarity of gems is generally subject to the magnifying glass of 10X.

Method of use; Keep the magnifying glass as close to your eyes as possible, and then put the gem close to the magnifying glass until you can see it clearly. Using the magnifying glass of 10X to observe the gem, you can get the following information:

(1) Surface damage-nicks, scratches and surface defects.

(2) Cutting quality-precision and symmetry of facets, roundness of globoidal gems, etc.

(3) Polishing quality-fire marks, surface smoothness, etc.

(4) Internal defects and initial cleavage.

(5) The relationship between the types and combination characteristics of inclusions and the structure and structure of gems.

(6) Color distribution and growth lines, as well as some artificial gem and curved growth lines.

(7) The strong birefringence of zircon, tourmaline, olivine and other gems is determined by the ghost of their facets.

(8) Joining surfaces, gloss changes and flat bubbles of spliced gems.