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.