Presidium Instruments Gem Tester II (PGT II) Now with Assisted Thermal Calibration (ATC) for Identifying Diamonds/Moissanites and Common Colored Gemstones

This is my second Presidium gem tester. It is easy to use, although sometimes the calibration can be tricky. I have found that if you let the unit warm up for at least an hour, it minimizes the need for re-calibration. I use if for my vintage jewelry hobby.

This tester clearly displays hardness of all types of gems in all types of settings. It quickly clears up any mysteries about the gem at hand. Highly recommend!

I’ve been wanting to get this device. I received today and returning today as it doesn’t calibrate properly.

I have only owned this tester for less than a month. So we'll see how things go over time. I haven't had any issues yet with the calibration (knocking wood). If you buy this, make sure to register your product right away so you can get assistance if your tester isn't performing as it should. I'm fairly inexperienced when it comes to gemstones, but I sell vintage jewelry (mostly costume) so I do come across items I need to identify from time to time. Honestly for someone like me, it's actually just great to be able to test older pieces and confirm whether I'm dealing with glass or a gemstone. I consider the tester to be a starting point for additional research, not necessarily the final word. I was pleasantly surprised to identify some pieces I own that I hadn't really assumed to be gemstones, or just didn't have a clue about the specific stone. But I can see the more likely scenario is that it will identify a stone as something like quartz, then I have to go do my research because that can encompass multiple varieties of stones. So if you consider this as a research tool and understand that you still have to go out and learn more information, this is a pretty good investment and will probably end up paying for itself.

Bought this for my wife to use to check out all her jewelry. She discovered one piece is not a gem but colored glass! It took us a couple of times to calibrate it, but we did it successfully. Not sure what these kinds of things should cost, but it seems overpriced to me... but it's a supposed precision instrument so maybe it's not overpriced. It's certainly not industrial grade equipment, but good for the jewelry collector/reseller/buyer. Comes with a nice case. Seems to be more accurate and capable than the pens you can buy for a lot less money.

I am learning to use this gem tester, I purchase several vintage items and needed this instrument to confirm what the sellers of these jewelry items are wht they state they are. Further, I had to return the first unit as I did not think it was working properly nor did it have a user manual, and it looked used. Seller shipped via FED EX an exchange in record time, that to me was very impressive and showed that they care! Meanwhile I was able to download a user's guide and its been most helpful! Thank you 'FindingKing' for your excellet customer care, I appreciate you very much.

This item pays for itself. It identifies counterfeit items. It identified a bunch of stuff from ebay and consignment stores.

Tried 4 times of calibration, and it never reached CAL area, but it detect Glass right all the time. Tried on very expensive RUBY, it worked. Tried on cheaper opaque ruby, it didn't work. Tried on Topaz, it worked. Tried on Diamond and Moissanite, it worked. So even though calibration is not perfect, it works, anyhow. But really, need to improve calibration features as lots of review says failure of calibration.