Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:01 am Posts: 370 Location: Easley, South Carolina
I have a similar holder built in to my microscope. The wire ends are not very robust, but the do hold a stone with a girdle fairly well. It will also allow you to rotate the stone and lift it up/down while you are viewing a stone. I use mine all the time, microscope is over 5 years old.
john
_________________ John Atwell Rasmussen, Ph.D., AJP Web: http://handmadeartists.com/shop/rasmussengems Blog: http://rasmussengemsandjewelryllc.blogspot.com/
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2012 6:29 pm Posts: 321 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanks for the response, John. I think I'm mostly interested in this product because it has an interesting vertical movement- not just a tilting action, like all the others. Is yours like that?
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm Posts: 21602 Location: San Francisco
I have tweezers with a similar head for my scope as well. (Got it from Tim Spauwen, use it daily)
The gadget you posted is interesting because I like the idea of having a 3rd hand apparatus for all sorts of things...like photography, spectroscope, dichroscope, etc.
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2012 6:29 pm Posts: 321 Location: Los Angeles, CA
it arrived today. it feels very substantial. as gene pointed out, the 3rd, alligator style clip is not very useful. but the other two have a lot of tension. the plain wire clip isn't so great, as it's alignment plus its tension forces it past 'closed' position so that the clips pass each other and twist in their housing. over a short amount of time, this will bring it out of alignment and you probably won't be able to hold a stone very well.
the coating on the other is very nice. it's not subtle, so if you're going to be grading diamonds, say, it's going to be in the way. but i don't mind because i bought it to hold things firmly in place.
other than that, it's pretty well made. its rotation is very smooth because its got ball bearings in there. the twisting has a nice, natural tension - and then there's the locking thumbscrew to hold its position. the base is very heavy at 8.6 oz. so whatever you put there isn't going anywhere.
FYI, as I understand it, Rio Grande no longer carries this item. They told me over the phone it was "discontinued." Not sure if it is available elsewhere...
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2012 6:29 pm Posts: 321 Location: Los Angeles, CA
interesting. it's not the BEST product i've ever purchased, but i'm certainly glad i own it. it's very handy but mostly for photography, and its intended use: setting up a stone under digital mag. in the shop (for customers to see) it's not for everyday, hands on observation. that's a job for tweezers or normal gem clips.
Well, this is confusing. Looked at Rio's website today, just for grins, and they are showing the gem clip as a close out item. I understand they've just redone their website, so maybe that's the disconnect.
Bottom line, the website says the item is available (although I was told over the phone yesterday that it wasn't).
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 3:42 pm Posts: 4091 Location: the Netherlands
It's the same indeed. Danny sent me one too, I second his review: nice unit, extremely stable (it's best feature), and you have pleanty of options. My biggest criticism is that that it does a poor job at being straight. I can't find a point where I can have the clip extended along a straight line so that I can turn the stone and end up in the same place... you always end up a few mm higher or lower when you flip from crown to pavilion which puts you out of focus...
Conclusion: a normal gemclip on a heavy/stable foot works best.
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