Loupe System – the best portable magnifiers money can buy

Founded in 2012, Loupe System was born from the quest for a superlative portable loupe to accurately admire the details of fine watches. The founder of Loupe System – a serious watch collector – was irritated by the simple loupes widely available in the watch industry comprising a single optical element for magnification, which provided a good view only in the centre of the viewing field. Along the edges, chromatic aberration (diffraction and/or colour shift) were the order of the day.

Realizing that such effects can be chiefly corrected by the use of additional optical elements with the right optical layout, the founder of Loupe System decided to make his own loupe to meet his high standards and provide himself better viewing of the horological treasures he so loved. He used a professional optical system from an early 1980s camera comprising five optical elements arranged in three groups: two as doublets sandwiching a single lens in the middle. While the central lens magnifies the image, the pair of doublets correct distortion. Once properly modified, this arrangement provided a clear viewing field 40mm wide with 6x magnification, largely free of chromatic aberration and distortion.

This homemade loupe was noticed at watch fairs and other events by some of his watch-collecting and -making friends, who also wanted such a superior magnifier. So he made a few more, selling out within a matter of hours at Baselworld 2012 to clients that included the cream of today’s independent watchmaker crop – some of the most discerning eyes in the business. These first 32 handmade loupes became the inspiration for Loupe System’s Model 01.

You’d be forgiven for mistaking the Loupe System loupes for camera lenses on first sight. The cylindrical shape adds to the ease of use and comfort in inspecting the miniscule microcosm that is a watch movement. The look definitely harkens back to that early 1980s camera lens, but the light aluminium casing, fully clad in silicone, is grippable, shock resistant, and protects watch cases from scratching should the loupe accidentally come in contact with them. Additionally, the modular construction makes it easy to clean the loupes, and to add other accessories now available in the Loupe System collection, including rechargeable illumination.

Loupe System’s products allow you to appreciate the finest hand-finished watches to the fullest extent conceivable – and can even be used to photograph or video a watch movement (or other item) you are inspecting. A Loupe System free-standing tablet mount, or the Universal Clip, paired with an AirPlay-enabled device, allows you to easily broadcast a live macro image to a big screen and thus explain the inner workings of a movement to a large audience.

Chronopassion is an AUTHORIZED RETAILER of Loupe System since 2012