GemData Welcomes You To

Mine Design's Gem Show Lighting Center and
The Wonderful World of Daylight
By SoLux™ Lamps

Lighting for Colored Gemstones - Diamonds - Jewelry - Minerals - Trade Shows - Display Lighting

Last Updated: December 20, 1997

SoLux™ daylight lamp

Photo of SoLux™

SoLux™ is a patented tungsten halogen source that emits a beam of true natural light for optimal color rendering. SoLux™ is currently available as a 50 watt low voltage lamp in a standard MR-16 format. It provides the user with "daylight" at a CCT of 4700K (± 200K), has a lifetime of 3000 hours, a CRI of over 99.35, ultra-low U.V. & I.R., and is very reasonably priced. It is available in four beamspreads of 10°, 17°, 24°, & 36° degrees.

Helpful Hints on How to Best Use Your SoLux™ Lighting:

• Fixture Cover Glass - Do not install the fixture cover glass, this will reduce the light output or foot candles by about 10% to 14%. You do not need to use any filters to improve this lighting!

• Read and understand the Beam Spread and Foot Candle Chart - This will tell you how much light to expect from a given height. By moving the light closer you will increase the amount of light in foot candles. Light is an inverse square, divide by four for every foot in distance.

• Input voltage of 120VAC is highly recommended with our "True 12 Volt Track Fixtures." These fixtures are designed to put out 12 volts under load with 120VAC input.

• If you feel that you do not have enough light (brightness) you can always add more light fixtures or lower the fixtures. By adding more light fixtures you will be adding more light (brightness). Light is additive, not the color temperature.

• At the gem and mineral shows I use 24° degree beam spread lamps at a height of 38" to 40" above the center of the glass show case top and six fixtures per four feet of track or 3 to 4 lights per show case. I use Arizona Case table top show cases, 34" x 24" x 3" and find that this is more than enough light.

• Each "True 12 Volt Track Fixture" draws .42 amps at 120 VAC. This means that you can safely have 35 fixtures on a standard 15 amp power strip, but I would opt for 1 or 2 less fixtures as a fudge factor, better to be under than over.

• Low voltage does not affect the color temperature very much, but is does affect the foot candle out put (brightness), see the Beam Spread Chart.

• Try to keep your lights towards the center or front of your show cases. If the lights are the backside of the show cases the customer will see specular reflections (the reflections of the lamps) in the glass, this can be very annoying to the customer.

• SoLux™ is designed so that it radiates very little heat out the front of the lamp. All of the heat, UV and IR are designed to go out the back so the lamp does need ventilation. Fixtures can become very hot to the touch.

• I like the 17° or 10° dgree lamp for star and cat's eye gems. Just remember that multiple lamps can cause multiple stars. The 10° degree lamp will have a very narrow beam spread so keep this in mind.

• Home Depot seems to have the best price on plastice wire ties that are used to secure the track to the cross bar to support the light fixtures. I use GB Cable Ties, 11", part number 46-311, quantity 300 per bag. These palstic wire ties are very strong and you will need wire cutters to pull them tight and to cut them off when you break down.

• When using our Track Support Sytems I use 3" C clamps attached to the table where the adjustable upright pole crosses the table and then wire tie the pole to the C clamp to add even more strength to the pole with the weight of the track lighting out over the table.

These are some of my suggestions to help you improve your lighting at the shows. I am sure as time goes on I will add to these. If you have any suggestions I can add them to this list to help others.

Attention Tucson Exhibitors: Order now or before January 10, 1998 so that you may have this wonderful lighting for the Tucson shows. Trade Show Track Support Systems are special order only and take about two weeks for delivery. We will try to have a sufficient amount of SoLux lamps, True 12 Volt Track fixtures, grounded 4' Track and end power feeds at this location. We will also have a limited amount of the Track Support systems available. All sales at the show are on a first come basis.

SoLux Lighting will be available from Mine Design in Tucson at the following shows:

Feb. 1-10 - Inn Suites Hotel, Ballroom Booth 28, Granada & St. Mary's Road, Hours: 9 AM to 7 PM Daily

Feb. 12-15 - Tucson Convention Center, TGMS show, Booth/Row G11

Mine Design
Lance A. Kanaby
9135 Sheridan Drive
Clarence, NY 14031
716-634-9400 or Fax 716-633-3984

Send your comments, questions or suggestions to Lance Kanaby

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Information on this page was provided by Kevin MacGuire, the inventor of the SoLux™ Lamp and Sponsored by Mine Design