Everything shown is portable except the three decades of journals in the background. It all stows into a very small 6 x 8 x 3 inch zippered pouch with different compartments and slots for each item.
The OPL Teaching Spectroscope stand usually stays at home, but I often take both size spectroscopes depending on what I am doing. The main weight comes from the number of flashlights - I can't seem to reduce - if I have only one to take, it would be the Mega-loupe which can power all of the instruments. This is just about a complete lab-in-bag and can be added to or diminished,depending on what the circumstances call for.
A loupe and a light are a bare minimum; add a pair of tweezers, a spectroscope and maybe a dichroscope and you have what you need; from there its a matter of choice.
- Folding polariscope - works under the microscope or with portable light. Two polarizing filters or two polarized sunglass lenses work just as handily.
- The little white gem box in the foreground holds a fragile conoscope, the pad in the box along with the box itself makes a nifty stand for using with the spectroscope along with the reversible white or black background of the pad as seen in the picture.
- The Mega-Loupe is already described above. The other Maglite is a luxury and is shown with an attached fiberoptic pipe and an adjustable stand. Maglites have a focusable beam and there are kits to make them into switch-on lights (instead of twist-on) so you can retain the last focus setting.
- The Zelco flex lite has a small focusable and flexible head which makes it useful with the dichroscope and spectroscope as shown, otherwise I find it annoying though I am still giving it a chance - so it goes into the kit.
- The Osram mini fluorescent lamp is ideal for use with the folding polariscope - it is just a cool light for lots of purposes.
- Grooved locking tweezers - snicker if you like, but if in a tired daze you pop a flame fusion synthetic red corundum into the street gutter, it'll suddenly become an unheated Mogok ruby and your ego can't possibly save you; only your wallet. Seriously, the locks are handy if you are spending a while with a stone; you have a choice whether to use the lock or not as desired.
- Hanneman Mini-Cube and penlight: Dr. Hanneman altered one cube to fit my Maglite which I like better. The cube creates a darkfield lighting environment and isolates the stone with the adjustable ring up top. Some people use blue tack on a penlight, but I wouldn't suggest trying to put blue tack on someone's stone while they are watching. I just use my fingers and ignore the hemoglobin lines in the spectrum. Still the cube is a nifty gizmo and the light is my favorite penlight... I think it must be an antique as I can only find the model on the flashlight museum website.
- The nickle vernier gauge is the nicest I've used; very smooth, small enough to fit in a wallet.
- Optical calcite dichroscope - invest in a good quality one - some fall apart or have cheap polarizing sheets within that come loose.
- Handheld diffraction spectroscopes: the OPL Teaching model with the stand is indispensable in the lab and useful elsewhere. The smaller model works beautifully with a penlight and is obviously very portable. I first used the teaching model in Bangkok as it was demonstrated to me by the same master gemologist who taught me the pinhole technique with the refractometer. He uses the larger spectroscope for all his work while the expensive prism desk model gathers dust on the back of his bench. Since becoming aquainted with the teaching scope, my own desk model has a bit of dust on it as well. While visiting Dick Hughes in his lab, one of the first things he asked was have you seen this scope? - I was happy to say yes indeed. Dick teaches its use in the AGTA gemology classes held on both coasts.
- This aging GIA Duplex III refractometer is lightweight, tiny and has an enormous view (maybe you have correctly concluded that I am above 50). It used to cost $75; I hate to think what it costs now. It is very accurate, easy to do spot readings on and fits in your pocket. Its main drawback is that it doesn't have a protective cover over the hemicylinder so I wrap it in a little foam.
- As mentioned above, the Bausch and Lomb 4x eye loupe aids with reading the refractometer and the polariscope. It is small and light and goes in the kit if there is room - otherwise a triplet loupe works the same way although it is awkward.
- 10x Baush and Lomb Hastings triplet: great optics, tiny, fairly inexpensive and all you need. You can pay much more, hundreds of dollars more in fact, but leave that at home or you will regret it when someone picks it up off the table mistaking it for their own little inexpensive loupe.
- Chelsea filter (and Hanneman filters): can make the tsavorites stand right out from the glass.
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