Diamond Grading Lamps

I spend a lot of time visiting jewelry stores for the purpose of surveying the store’s jewelry display lighting, i.e. the lighting inside and above the showcases. On my visits to these stores I often times find myself sitting in the office, across the desk from the owner discussing lighting options for the store. From time to time, the occupant of the desk will point to the diamond grading lamp on his or her desk and ask me if I have any replacement bulbs for the lamp. They usually tell me that the bulbs are very hard to find. I also notice that the lamps look like they’ve been there since the 1950’s. I wonder why they haven’t upgraded and bought a new light. After many conversations with jewelers, I think what happens is that their eyes become accustomed to the light and they don’t want to change. It’s understandable of course. Even the slightest change in light might affect the way they perceive the color grade of the diamond, and they can’t afford to make mistakes.

As I visit jewelry trade shows, I do notice many recent iterations of LED grading lamps. Most of them look like what they are; gemological testing equipment. They look small and compact, as though they were designed to be portable – which they were. Many also use alternating white and yellow LED’s for the purpose of improving the color rendering. While the design of alternating diodes does help achieve the objective of rendering colors more accurately, it also looks odd to the typical retail diamond jewelry buyer. Another potential problem with LED lighting that isn’t diffused, is that it can make the diamond look darker than it actually is. For melee diamonds this isn’t a factor, but for larger diamonds of a higher color grade it can cause trouble. While the point source lights of a led desk lamp can make jewelry sparkle, they can also make an expensive diamond appear to lose a color grade or two. So, that brings us to the obvious question; what would make a nice desk top lamp to use with customers in your office? The old florescent bulb desk lamps did a great job from a light performance perspective, but, they look outdated and it’s hard, if not impossible, to find the right kind of replacement bulbs. The newer LED desk lamps look gadgety and may have your customer asking more questions about the light than the diamond. What about a light that has a sleek modern look?

Eastern Lighting’s new Illuminator desk lamp communicates to your customer that you are an up to date jewelry professional that has nothing to hide, and, in fact, aims to educate and inform your customer as they go through the process of purchasing a new diamond. The long 3 point adjustable arm allows easy articulation. It’s perfect for sitting across the desk from a customer. The light head produces a highly diffused – which is best for grading diamonds – cool white (6500k), full spectrum light that scores 90 on the color rendering index (CRI). The lumen output can be adjusted with the tip of your finger. Eastern Lighting, Inc. recently introduced the Illuminator to its product line, and so far customers love it! It also comes in a slightly smaller version with a clamp instead of a base. The Illuminator also comes in a full spectrum 3500k version for looking at colored gem stones.

For more information on the Illuminator, please call and talk with an Eastern Lighting, Inc. lighting consultant.