Krüss Travel Labs for the Professional Gemmologist
Krüss offers a choice of two complete systems for the travelling gemmologist. The KA52KRS is a fully equipped portable laboratory with precision optics, housed in a robust aluminium trolley. It contains:
- Stereo zoom microscope MSZ5000 (with magnification 7x – 45x, extendable to 180x for vertical and horizontal use)
- Cuvette table with cuvettes
- Darkfield illumination
- LED light for reflected and transmitted light
- Stone holder for set and unset stones
- Spectroscope with hold and scale illumination
- Polariscope with analyser, polariser and conoscope
- Gem refractometer with built-in sodium filter and refractive index liquid (R1=1.79)
There’s also a daylight lamp for diamond grading with sorting pad, and two bottles for immersion liquids.
In addition, this portable laboratory is totally flexible in its power offering – running on mains power (110-230V), it has an automatic voltage switch capability; in the event of reduced or no mains power it will switch to its integral rechargeable battery. If required, the unit can also be connected to a 12V vehicle battery.
The second Krüss Travel Lab for the Professional Gemmologist is the KA41KRS, a standard laboratory, fully portable, in a durable aluminium case, containing all basic instruments:
- Stereo zoom microscope KSW4000-K-W (horizontal/vertical)
- Fibre optic light source
- Hand spectroscope with stand
- Polariscope
- Conoscope
- Gem refractometer
- Refractive index liquid
- Universal AC-DC adaptor
- UV and daylight lamp
- Immersion liquids
- Grading bowl
For prices and availability information on Gem Travel Labs, please contact your nearest Krüss distributor, who will be delighted to help. For full technical specifications, please download the relevant datasheet here.
Assessing gems away from the laboratory
To ascertain the difference between synthetic, simulated, and real gems, away from the confines of the laboratory it is crucial for portable equipment to give the highest possible identification outcome.
Appraisal in the field, at its very basic level, is carried out with a loupe, a flashlight, and a pair of tweezers. Not an ideal solution where identification is critical. Therefore, the use of portable high precision instruments will eliminate costly errors.
As part of any portable kit, a stereo gem microscope is recommended – gem microscopes have special features not available on most microscopes. The higher the magnification, the better the view, and the greater detail provided will ensure positive identification.
A refractometer should also be utilised – these units will give the refractive index, birefringence and optic sign. Although an optic sign can also be obtained from a polariscope, it can’t always be determined, so a refractometer should be used as an alternative.
Polariscopes will determine if a material is singly or doubly refractive, as well as its optic sign. In addition, it will also show strain and twinning, which will aid identification in the difference between natural and man made materials.
Professional gemmologists will incorporate a spectroscope in their portable equipment selection. There are two types, diffraction grating and prism. Each has their own advantage, however, with a prism spectroscope light is dispersed by passing through a series of prisms, and has the advantage that the spectrum is brighter, so faint lines are easier to view.
Finally, lighting needs to be addressed in the field, with quality being key. Good lighting, such as daylight lamps and UV lights will often be built into equipment.
