[Jewelry making - Article 00135] - Re: [Orchid] Best lighting for new display cases

[Neilthejeweler]

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    In addition to the bulbs themselves, pay attention to the ceiling
    color and the light fixture. I once worked in a place that went for a
    black ceiling with halogen lights(the old days!). The fixtures had a
    black inside to the can. Guess what that did to diamonds. Sure they
    scintillated pretty well but the stones were DARK. Made an F stone
    look like M plus. 

    Halides are great but one thing you might not be aware of til you
    use them is that it's quite difficult to grade under them. Too much
    light as it were. This is not a big deal when displaying but if you
    have to inspect a stone it becomes problematic. If you're dealing
    with customers' goods you need to inspect within their view. 

    My setup is fluorescents hidden in a wall soffit that cast a soft
    uniform whiteish light upon the white ceiling and a few halides
    positioned on the ceiling so that they do not mirror off the glass
    into the customer's eyes. Inside the case are more fluorescents. I
    find the mix of lighting works pretty well to highlight details and
    stones without casting shadows or altering color perception too much. 


    Oh and the halides will show every tiny scratch in the glass. 

    I found the halide bulbs online for about $75 each, they have the
    ballast in the bulb and fit regular track lighting fixtures.
    Comparable bulbs from a local distributor were priced at over 250!
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