stainlessb
Member 
qaStaHvIS yIn 'ej chep
Posts: 4,097
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Mar 4, 2023 18:12:21 GMT
On some covers (or stamps on piece) if you hold it up againsta strong backlight, you may be able to see the watermark, however this doesn't work with everything (a postcard), and some stamps , the watermarks are dificult to see off cover
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rex
Member
Posts: 1,010 
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Post by rex on Mar 4, 2023 21:07:11 GMT
Morley Bright Roll-A-Tector" might help to see watermarks on covers. I don't know if it's still in production. 
Strong backlight is also a good suggestion. |
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Post by octavius on Mar 15, 2023 1:47:34 GMT
Remember those glass slides made for microscopes.
I wonder if they would do the the trick.
Sandwich a stamp with a drop or two of water, and shine a light on it.
Cheers
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Post by Peadar Ruadh on Mar 28, 2023 22:05:36 GMT
Hi folks, After receiving a bottle of Clarity watermark detector and a black tray, I tried to see the watermark on my collection of QEII Wildings definitive stamps. Not impressed. It took 4 stamps before I could see a watermark and the fluid dried up too quickly to photograph it. (Maybe these stamps are not the best choice?) I'm thinking of getting the SG Watermark detector ($180) but it is a chunk of change and would I expecting too much from it? Has anyone an image of a watermark using the SG detector? Cheers! The Wildings are definitely not the best choice. The Tudor Crown and St Edward's Crown watermarks are distinctive enough, and so is the Multiple Crowns watermark on "cream" paper, but more than half the Wildings in any random selection will have the Multiple Crowns watermark on "whiter" paper. In my experience, the translucency of the "whiter" paper often makes it impossible to work out whether the watermark is upright, inverted or sideways.
I have a Stanley Gibbons UV lamp which enables me to distinguish the different "colours" of phosphor bands on 100% of mint Wildings and 90% of used Wildings. If I thought the SG "Detectamark" had a similar success rate for watermarks, I'd buy it, but there seem to be no online reviews. I'm beginning to wonder if anybody has ever actually bought one!
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