|
For sorting, or for inspecting, tweezers are one of the most useful and portable tools available to gemologists. Gemstones that require examination under magnification are best held with tweezers since fingers will normally obstruct the view. For sorting, tweezers are ideal as many gems are just too small and too difficult to handle with fingers alone.
Tweezers are produced in a number of styles and sizes with or without grooves on the inside edges. The small grooves hold the stones in place during examination. Extra fine 3mm tipped tweezers are appropriate for grading and sorting small melee sizes. Small, medium, and large tweezers with larger grooves and tips are more suitable for larger stones. Gemstones over 10cts. in weight are more difficult to hold with tweezers and should normally be held between fingers. Locking tweezers are even easier to use and are convenient for helping novices hold and view gems stones without dropping and chipping them.
|
|
