GEM Instruments Polariscope (c. 1960s)

This polariscope was produced during the formative years of GEM Instruments, shortly after the division was established (1966) to advance practical gemological instrumentation. As one of the early examples of the company’s work, the unit reflects a transitional period in gemological tool design — where scientific principles were paired with emerging industry needs.

Unlike later streamlined instruments, this polariscope has an almost organic, improvised quality, appearing as though it is a composite of independent scientific components assembled into a functional whole — the stand was an ordinary lab stand.  Lens holders were modified support frames.  The light was borrowed from Bausch & Lomb microscope light.

Its form speaks to a time when gemological instrumentation was evolving from laboratory curiosities into standardized tools for identifying gemstone properties such as optical behavior and refractivity.