New look at art.

Develop a portable and easily producible product for the inspection of art objects with UV light and polarised light, for use by professional restorers and art enthusiasts.

Because of its envisioned use in various fields, our loupe needed to have several different functions. These functions needed to be incorporated in one handy object that would allow to use it in the same way as a traditional art restorer’s loupe. We chose aluminium for the casing because of its excellent heat dissipation qualities, because it is easily malleable and because of its professional look. To enhance this air of professionalism we also added Pau Ferro handles.

The Inspector has a UV LED to detect abrasions, and a polarising LED which filters out all redundant light and makes it possible to see the underlying colours of a work of art. The loupe therefore shows the true colours of the work, the ones lying beneath the old varnish and the wear and tear of time; it shows the layers of how the painting was built up and which parts were restored. The Inspector’s UV light function also allows the user to see rust and glue residue.

Our Inspector loupe was sold during TEFAF, the world’s pre-eminent fair of art and antiques in Maastricht. The users gave us great reviews and we are currently working on a new batch.