My grandfather’s loupe
A jeweler's loupe is a small magnifying glass, usually ten-power. My late father Norman gave me the one you see here, soon after I returned to the family business, following my childhood growing up in it, then high school and college, and three more years spent exploring another career. That was forty-six years ago.
Most loupes are hand-held; others that fit into the eye socket aren’t used much anymore. This one is made of steel and folds to fit into one’s pocket when not in use. It has "MADE IN HOLLAND" stamped on the other side. Amsterdam was Europe's leading diamond-cutting and trading center until World War II when it moved to Antwerp to escape Naziism.
My dad said this loupe had belonged to his father Samuel, who founded the family business in Oklahoma City in 1904. When Dad gave it to me, it was inside a little leather pouch with a snap, which I think Dad had made after he got it. He loved to add his touch to things. I used to call it my grandfather's gun in my father's holster.
After I started my own business in 1991, I carried my grandfather's loupe in my pocket all the time. At a time when I wasn’t sure where I belonged, it was a talisman that linked me to my life in the family business. One day, I decided I could keep better track of it if I stored it in my safe. Over the years I carried it less and less and finally put it up for good.
Once in a while, as I'm straightening up the shelf where it stays, I notice it. I always think of my father when I do. But I still use other gifts my father gave me, such as constantly tinkering with things like jewelry designs and generally running what’s been called a “personal trade” business. Like him, I know I am something of an odd duck.
I also know that I see things with my own eyes and how those gifts belong to me in a way no physical possession can. Now, any loupe I pick up might be my grandfather's; it’s all in how it’s used. The key is in the quality of my attention, understanding, and appreciation, rather than the instrument itself.
Everything I examine with the right attention echoes the beauty its maker gave it and the meaning its owner gives it. Somehow in this process, what was old becomes new, with each generation's gift to the next.
I show you the beauty, meaning, and value of jewelry, by creating them in new items, finding them in estate pieces, and preserving them through expert appraisals. In these ways, I take part in an old story. For thousands of years, people have understood gems and jewelry as real wealth, whether financially or as family and community memory. They still are today.
To learn your story through your jewelry — the fine mist of hopes and dreams and memories surround each piece — is to know and serve you. This is my privilege, jewelry being such an intimate thing, and a joy, because of all the beauty. Please contact me.