Thread: Jewellers loupe

Hi all
What magnification do you all recommend for a jewelers loupe to use when honing to look at the edge? 10x? 20? Any answers would be much appreciated thanks!
Tony

I use a 10x , but I would use a 20x too, if I had one.

I have three of them.
8X, 10X and a 20X.
My faorite among them are the 8X. ( A german make)
Magnification is one thing, the quality of the optics is quite another.

The 10X I have is decent enough (Bausch&Lomb), the 20X is some 20 buck POS from Amazon.

The German make was bought locally, so I don't know if that is available in the US

I use a 30x, I purchased these last year they were cheap but the quality is not that bad and the lenses seem good, Amazon.com: SE 3pcs Jewelers Eye Loupe 10x 30x Loupes + Dual 10X-20X: Home Improvement

The really expensive ones are made so not to distort colors or lines when grading precious stones, over kill for checking an edge.

Thanks guys I just ordered a 10 and 20 and 30 combo.

I have a 10X, 20X and 30X and only use the 10X.

It's quality over quantity. A good 10x will show you way more than a cheap 20x.

Yes, you do need some quality, the better ones, like triplets, usually have a wider field of view without distortion.
That's good if you have to see a wider area at once, it's also nicer to your eyes if you're sitting inspecting an object for hours.
But come on, we want to see if we honed all the way to the very edge, see how scratched the bevel is and so on.
What more will a $500 loupe show you that you can't see with a $20?

Originally Posted by anthogia

Hi all
What magnification do you all recommend for a jewelers loupe to use when honing to look at the edge? 10x? 20? Any answers would be much appreciated thanks!
Tony

An LED scope > any loupe