Ideal-Scope and ASET
In 1984 after graduating as a gemologist I did the Gemmological Association of Australia diamond diploma course. A requirement was an oral research thesis. I managed to get hold of a new Japanese gadget called a Firescope™. The desktop device had a light and a tray with holes for diamonds. The underside of the lens has a hot pink circle with a hole for viewing diamonds. I made a portable version (below) and went through my diamond merchants stock and found a nice, a shallow and a deep cut diamond. I took photos of them for overhead projection to explain what was happening and how you could use this concept to identify the best cut diamonds.
My FireScope, looking a bit worse for wear, and the world’s first version of an ASET scope
After graduating the diamond course I was became the teacher and National Convener of the Diamond Diploma course. In around 1987 I invented an ASET scope simply by putting a green ring underneath the FireScope pink reflector as shown above. I used this in classes to explain how diamonds gain their light from different directions.
This photo shows my first hand held ideal-Scopes and ASET that I kept as a trade secret. I gave them to some of my overseas suppliers who I trained to select small diamonds for me. 25 years later they are still being used by the same companies. You can get your own from www.Ideal-Scope.com or drop into our stores and we will give you a simple but effective free Ideal-Scope card. And if you want to know more just google it because there are hundreds of thousands of mentions on line and my 20 year old graphics on heaps of businesses websites.