Pearl Loupe · iOS · Lifestyle

Pearl Loupe: examine every pearl in nine steps, at your own lamp.

A drill-hole check, a friction test, a lustre clip scrubbed beside a reference, then a plain verdict. No score. No guessing at natural or cultured.

Look closely. Know what you can, and what you can't.

Download Pearl Loupe
  • Version 1.3 for iOS
  • Photos and clips never uploaded
  • New listing, no ratings yet

Worn weekly? A strand is due for restringing about every 12 months. Log the date today and let the app count it for you.

Pearl Loupe app icon
Choose your starting bench

Three ways to begin, one reference tag each

Pick the situation closest to yours. Copy its bench tag and paste it into a piece's notes so your setup is on record from the first examination.

Home bench

Examine inherited pearls at your lamp

PL-5000K-45
  • One bright lamp at 45°, 5000K
  • 10× loupe, or the app's macro mode
  • About fifteen minutes for all nine steps
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Shop mode

Check a pearl before you buy it

PL-SHOP-ASK
  • Asks before you handle anything
  • Nothing is saved unless you choose to keep it
  • Vendor claims kept word for word
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Jeweller PDF
Worn weekly? Restring every 12 months.

Hand over a restring sheet

PL-RESTRING-12
  • Lists pearls, size, length, last restringing
  • Space to count pearls in and out
  • Notes for silk, knots and clasp
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These tags are reference labels for your own notes, not discounts or offers. Price, ads and age rating are not shown in the store data, so check the App Store listing before installing.

How it works

Anatomy of the examination

Every step asks one observable question and carries a strength label: Strong indicator or Supporting. The first step sends you to the drill hole. Under a single 5000K lamp at 45° and a 10× loupe, you choose what the rim shows: a sharp edge or flaking coating, a nacre layer over a visible bead core, dark concentric rings, or a smooth edge with no clear layers. "I can't see it clearly" is always an option.

Surface friction, lustre, surface, overtone, weight, and shape and matching follow. Lustre is the technical centrepiece: record a 3.0 second clip with the lamp fixed, set it beside a reference illustration, and drag a synchronised slider to scrub both. You watch the lamp's reflection, not the shine, since a hard edge means higher lustre. Then grade it from Excellent to Poor, or choose Between two.

The verdict arrives in plain language: Consistent with genuine, Consistent with imitation, Inconclusive, or Not determinable at home. There is no score, because strong, supporting and weak indicators never add up. The app never says natural or cultured. Both are genuine, and only a laboratory X-ray separates them.

Verified specifications
App namePearl Loupe
PlatformiOS
CategoryLifestyle
Version1.3
ExaminationNine steps
Verdict outcomesFour, no numeric score
Lustre gradesExcellent to Poor, plus Between two
Photo and clip storageOn your phone only
Store ratingNone yet
Size, OS, age ratingNot listed in store data
Listing checked14.11.2026
Bench routine

Session protocol, start to record

A good examination is repeatable. Here is how a session runs in Pearl Loupe, from first lamp position to the PDF you keep.

ISet up

  • Choose From my collection or In a shop.
  • Read the first panel: natural or cultured cannot be told apart at home.
  • Lay out one bright lamp and a 10× loupe, or switch on macro mode.
  • Use the phone as a loupe from the Examine tab: magnified live view, soft or bright light, and a hold. It shows and never records.

IIObserve

  • Answer each multiple-choice step, A to E, or Skip it.
  • Rub two pearls gently together and report the feel of the surface.
  • Record the lustre clip and compare it side by side with the reference.
  • Note overtone, weight, and how well the strand matches.

IIIRead the verdict

  • The result sheet lists every answer with its strength icon.
  • "What it rests on" spells out the reasoning in short sentences.
  • When the answers fall short, the app names the tests that would help.
  • Saved examinations replay your lustre clip and show your drill-hole photograph.

IVKeep the record

  • Store measurements, length, pearl count and type for each numbered piece.
  • Keep the vendor's claim verbatim, such as a 1987 receipt reading "AAA".
  • Log Worn, Cleaned or Restrung entries and see a year of wear at a glance.
  • Enter a length to see choker, princess, matinee or opera.
What is in the case

Instruments for close looking

i

Synchronised lustre scrub

Your 3.0 second clip and a reference illustration play side by side. Drag once and both move together under the same lamp angle.

ii

Phone as a loupe

No 10× glass to hand? Get a magnified live view with a soft or bright light and a hold, right inside the drill-hole and surface steps.

iii

Numbered collection records

Each piece gets a record with photograph, measurements, pearl count, your observations and the seller's words, left exactly as written.

iv

Care log and restring alert

Mark Worn today or Cleaned today, see a diamond for every wearing, and get a Restring overdue card with a Mark done button.

v

PDF for the jeweller

Prepare a handover sheet for restringing with each strand's pearls, size, length and last restringing, plus drill-hole photographs if you wish.

vi

Nine-chapter Learn tab

Read about nacre, origin, six pearl types, grading claims, colour, lustre and the tests that decide. Adjust the text size to suit your eyes.

Pearl Loupe 1.3

Put the loupe on your strand tonight

An iOS app for your iPhone. Price is shown on the App Store listing, and the install is the same as any other iPhone app. Nine steps and a plain verdict are about fifteen minutes away.

Download Pearl Loupe

Requirements, ads and age rating are not shown in the supplied store data. Check them on the App Store page. The app cannot tell natural from cultured pearls; only a laboratory X-ray can.