Presidium Gem Tester Comments?

[cjayzline]

I am seriously considering the purchase of a Presidium Gem Tester and would like to hear comments (pro and con) from some of you who have one. I have many pieces with sterling and stones and would like to be able to distinguish if the stones are precious, semi precious or glass. A couple of questions:

- does the Presidium have a breakdown for stones such as: topaz, garnet, amethyst and tanzanite?

- the Presidium does distinguish between diamonds and cubic zirconia, correct?

Many Thanks!

Jane

[dream*peddler]

I use one at the pawn shop where I work.  I find it to be a very useful tool.  If you have a fairly good knowledge of gemstones it will assist you in making your best determination of what the stone may be.  It can't distinguish between a natural or synthetic because their properties are so similar, but this is where your own knowledge complements the information the instrument gives you.   It will give you a range readout on most stones and is very definitive on diamonds.  I'm sure there are videos on the Y tube that will also help you out.  If you can justify the price I'd recommend it. 

[realitycheck-7]

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@cjayzline wrote:

I am seriously considering the purchase of a Presidium Gem Tester and would like to hear comments (pro and con) from some of you who have one. I have many pieces with sterling and stones and would like to be able to distinguish if the stones are precious, semi precious or glass. A couple of questions:

- does the Presidium have a breakdown for stones such as: topaz, garnet, amethyst and tanzanite?

- the Presidium does distinguish between diamonds and cubic zirconia, correct?

Many Thanks!

Jane

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Definitely you can differentiate between diamonds and cz. Unfortunately, many gems overlap in the same area of "hardness".  It does have all of those stones listed on the tester, but many fall in the same range.  It's not a sure indicator.

[cjayzline]

Many thanks, dream* and realitycheck! I look forward to purchasing one, and identifying some stones!

Jane

[mforjan]

Important, make sure the piece is clean before you test it, dirty stones can give a false reading.

I have had problems with CZs. Most test in the glass range, but I had a stone that tested as white topaz that turned out to be a high quality CZ 

[cjayzline]

Thanks for the additional tips, mforjan!

You have all been very helpful.

Jane