dwatsonbirder
Well-known member
I've been wondering about posting this for a while, so here goes.
I'm unsure if there are any rock musicians out there on birdforum, but if there are, chances are you will have heard the term "relic" used on guitars.
To the layman, this term basically denotes a new instrument that has been abused (see the beautiful blackguard '52 telecaster below) at the point of manufacture in order to give the appearance of a heavily used bit of kit, and perhaps suggestive that the user is in someway experienced and knows a thing or two (I'm not talking about "smoke on the water" or "stairway to heaven"). I should also add, these instruments are sold at a premium - but obviously a fraction of the price of an original - for example a 1950's Strat would set you back well over £15,000.
Admittedly guitars (and musicians) have a somewhat cooler credibility than birders and optics, and for that reason, there is more likely the "need" to give an aura of experience, perhaps to feed the ego of the player (all hypothetical here).
I was wondering if any of the large optical companies will at some point think they're missing out on sales, and produce units that are functionally and optically perfect, but appear heavily used to suggest years of hard use in the field?
I found a couple of abused examples online and posted them to show what these "relic" optics would look like!
I know a few people who have battered optics, but that is as a result of extensive field use (particularly in the tropics) but I wonder if there would be a market for this?
I'm unsure if there are any rock musicians out there on birdforum, but if there are, chances are you will have heard the term "relic" used on guitars.
To the layman, this term basically denotes a new instrument that has been abused (see the beautiful blackguard '52 telecaster below) at the point of manufacture in order to give the appearance of a heavily used bit of kit, and perhaps suggestive that the user is in someway experienced and knows a thing or two (I'm not talking about "smoke on the water" or "stairway to heaven"). I should also add, these instruments are sold at a premium - but obviously a fraction of the price of an original - for example a 1950's Strat would set you back well over £15,000.
Admittedly guitars (and musicians) have a somewhat cooler credibility than birders and optics, and for that reason, there is more likely the "need" to give an aura of experience, perhaps to feed the ego of the player (all hypothetical here).
I was wondering if any of the large optical companies will at some point think they're missing out on sales, and produce units that are functionally and optically perfect, but appear heavily used to suggest years of hard use in the field?
I found a couple of abused examples online and posted them to show what these "relic" optics would look like!
I know a few people who have battered optics, but that is as a result of extensive field use (particularly in the tropics) but I wonder if there would be a market for this?
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