I've been a rockhound - on and off - for over 20 years.  My childhood yard of 5 acres was the first place I dug into to find sparkly mica & quartz-bearing rocks - from mere pebbles to humongous ‘meatloaf' sized whoppers.  Even as I grew older, and I moved to different places, most of my digging and analyzing methods remained the same: dig with the old spade or hoe in any ‘neat-looking' area, extract by brute force, and hopefully feel the weight of my prize sitting in my hand(s).

Sooner or later, though, every neophyte hobbyist either retires... or begins a serious journey on the road to bigger and better finds!  In my late teens through my twenties, I found myself in prime rockhounding territory - Idaho (called the ‘Gem State,' with very good reason)!  For many years, I traveled up and down the length of this state, always reading ever-more fascinating literature about geology, rock & minerals, and gemstones, while I excavated.  Among my numerous finds were: almandine Garnet; Zeolite; Sapphire; Aquamarine; numerous Quartzes; Sunstones; Star Garnet, and too many more to list.  After another year of simply holding onto all the specimens I had either unearthed myself - or bought at rock hobbyist shops/acquired from others - I discovered the Internet, and people on it who wanted to purchase the treasures I had.  Then the realization came: you can't sell gems without at least knowing their Gram and Carat weight!  Even a good digital camera image could never give a potential buyer the true ‘feel' of a stone's size and weight.  Add to that the fact of properly and truthfully advertising your wares — a must whenever dealing with items as diverse, rare, and potentially expensive as gemstones.  One-tenth of a carat might mean the difference between a $50 piece of rough or a $500 rough gem.  Very delicate and exacting measurements are required!

Always finding my paychecks short of the task of buying myself a reliable, affordable, top-notch gemstone scale, I had to constantly beg and borrow the assistance of kindly gemstone sellers in the town I lived in.  Not only did I feel somewhat odd when doing this (I don't like the feeling of taking advantage of others, even if I'm really not), but I always wondered if or when a clerk or manager would come out and forbid me to visit their store for "private weighing services."  Even after another move for my husband and myself to Seattle, Washington - and a better job - that often dreamed-of scale remained out of my reach.

But with the change came more opportunity: I had been debating about a career in the gem market for years, and now I could act upon this dream.  As of this time (early 2001), I am enrolled at the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) for home study courses that will ultimately lead to my G.G., or Graduate Gemologist degree.  And, as another step forward in my budding career as a Gemologist, I have acquired many basic tools of the trade (which I knew I could no longer do without).  Amongst the most treasured of my new gemological tools is the Jeweler's scale, which I stumbled into when visiting Precision Weighing Balances website.  It's exactly what I wanted. 

Finally, I have my own electronic scale (the most accurate, portable, and convenient way to calculate gem weight) which can handle up to 100 carats of gem weight (a must for me, when I go digging for large specimens)!  It also calculates weight in grams, pennyweights, and grains - another plus for bulk gemstone weighing, as well as single, cut stones.  The weighing tolerances are also quite fine (to .01 carat/.002 grams - well within stringent GIA standards!), as is the readability.  Not only can I quickly and accurately weigh that precious oval-cut pink Sapphire a customer might bring in, or that mass of fiery Oregon opal ... I can also find out the carat weight of those hundreds of larger Sunstone field specimens I keep in the jar in my window - simply for my own pleasure.

- L. Pacione-Holman, Seattle, WA