jan van daalen
Well-known member
For the sake of the story this tale is told from the perspective of Leica item 40714.
I am a optical device from Portuguese origin, born in Leica's 52.000 square meters Aparelhos Opticos de Precismo in a place called Villa Nova de Famalicao. A city, 25 miles North of Porto.
The time zone between Germany and Portugal differs one hour. Not twelve hours, as it would be in Asia.
International trader rules allow a company to state as a final country of origin where an item is assembled and deemed ready for shipment. I am labelled "Made in Portugal".
On the same day I was born, they put me in a box and I never saw the Portuguese scenery. I got shipped to the "city of sins" in The Netherlands and got unpacked in the Leica Store. There I was surrounded with next of kin and we tossed stories while looking at busloads of Chinese and Japanese visitors who spoke highly of us. Most of us ended up Far East.
Then, some day, a Dutch guy came in, looked at me and said "That one".
I was put carefully back in the box again and was handed over. It was dark, I couldn't see a thing. I was thrown in what has to be a car but felt more like a truck without any suspension. After a half an hour drive I arrived at a certain place and I heard someone saying "So this is the one".
I was taken out of the box and placed on a table in full daylight. I saw several optical devices from all kind of brands. There were Chinese, Japanese, German and Austrian binoculars. Even some oldies from Russia, the UK, France and the USA. In the corner of, what appeared to be, an optical shop were a dozen or so Leica Trinovids from the 60s and 70s. They were my Grandpa and ma's. I felt much safer.
An old man with a grey beard, who listened to the name Gijs, took Grandma from the shelf and planted her next to me. Granny was the same like me. A Trinovid 7x35 born in 1966 and from the looks of it she must have had a rough life. All torn and scratched but still wearing the badge with pride.
We were taken outside for comparison reasons. According to them, my optical quality was superior to Grannies. This didn't surprise me a bit. We differ more then half a century in age. It does not take a genius to figure that out.
A guy called Jan grabbed the phone and spoke to someone else. They were talking about me like I wasn't there. It turned out to be that the other person had some spare time and they threw me in the truck and one hour later I found myself laying on my back in what seemed to be a facility which looked like the place I was born. I saw a collimator, CNC and nitrogen purging equipment.
I heard the three guys discussing the fact whether I had rice inside of me.
The third guy grabbed and skinned me. My skin was removed from my body. The next thing he did was opening me up. He disassembled me completely and took photo's of all my private parts. Later on, I discovered that these photo's went all over the Internet. My private parts were discussed on a Forum called BF in a thread about my heritage without any concern about my privacy. What did I do to earn such a treatment?
I am just a well built top notch optical device from legendary roots and in no way I deserved such a treatment. My Granny was an Icon. Her model changed the optical world in their perception how a roof binoculars should be built.
Enfin,....later that day I got ré-assembled and ended up back in the optical shop.
As time went by, I was taken hundreds of times from my shelve and showed to people as the living proof of a conflict in which I had no part of. On multiple occasions he could have sold me which he never did. For him I was just a instrument to make his point.
On other occasions he took me with him and I served him the best I could. I showed him white lions in South Africa and the Big Four in Namibia. His gratitude was leaving me in the desert at night, gathering dust and showered me clean just to see how I would react. I did not blink. I am Leica.
Tomorrow I will leave to the UK. My Granny will join me so I won't feel alone. I do hope I won't get seasick.
Maybe my new owner will let me tell you about my performance.
I do hope I will survive in a country where they drive on the wrong side of the road. Maybe that's why I am shipped over. To see the traffic coming........
Anyway, I wish all of you the best.
Leica item 40714 serial 2192311 junior.
I am a optical device from Portuguese origin, born in Leica's 52.000 square meters Aparelhos Opticos de Precismo in a place called Villa Nova de Famalicao. A city, 25 miles North of Porto.
The time zone between Germany and Portugal differs one hour. Not twelve hours, as it would be in Asia.
International trader rules allow a company to state as a final country of origin where an item is assembled and deemed ready for shipment. I am labelled "Made in Portugal".
On the same day I was born, they put me in a box and I never saw the Portuguese scenery. I got shipped to the "city of sins" in The Netherlands and got unpacked in the Leica Store. There I was surrounded with next of kin and we tossed stories while looking at busloads of Chinese and Japanese visitors who spoke highly of us. Most of us ended up Far East.
Then, some day, a Dutch guy came in, looked at me and said "That one".
I was put carefully back in the box again and was handed over. It was dark, I couldn't see a thing. I was thrown in what has to be a car but felt more like a truck without any suspension. After a half an hour drive I arrived at a certain place and I heard someone saying "So this is the one".
I was taken out of the box and placed on a table in full daylight. I saw several optical devices from all kind of brands. There were Chinese, Japanese, German and Austrian binoculars. Even some oldies from Russia, the UK, France and the USA. In the corner of, what appeared to be, an optical shop were a dozen or so Leica Trinovids from the 60s and 70s. They were my Grandpa and ma's. I felt much safer.
An old man with a grey beard, who listened to the name Gijs, took Grandma from the shelf and planted her next to me. Granny was the same like me. A Trinovid 7x35 born in 1966 and from the looks of it she must have had a rough life. All torn and scratched but still wearing the badge with pride.
We were taken outside for comparison reasons. According to them, my optical quality was superior to Grannies. This didn't surprise me a bit. We differ more then half a century in age. It does not take a genius to figure that out.
A guy called Jan grabbed the phone and spoke to someone else. They were talking about me like I wasn't there. It turned out to be that the other person had some spare time and they threw me in the truck and one hour later I found myself laying on my back in what seemed to be a facility which looked like the place I was born. I saw a collimator, CNC and nitrogen purging equipment.
I heard the three guys discussing the fact whether I had rice inside of me.
The third guy grabbed and skinned me. My skin was removed from my body. The next thing he did was opening me up. He disassembled me completely and took photo's of all my private parts. Later on, I discovered that these photo's went all over the Internet. My private parts were discussed on a Forum called BF in a thread about my heritage without any concern about my privacy. What did I do to earn such a treatment?
I am just a well built top notch optical device from legendary roots and in no way I deserved such a treatment. My Granny was an Icon. Her model changed the optical world in their perception how a roof binoculars should be built.
Enfin,....later that day I got ré-assembled and ended up back in the optical shop.
As time went by, I was taken hundreds of times from my shelve and showed to people as the living proof of a conflict in which I had no part of. On multiple occasions he could have sold me which he never did. For him I was just a instrument to make his point.
On other occasions he took me with him and I served him the best I could. I showed him white lions in South Africa and the Big Four in Namibia. His gratitude was leaving me in the desert at night, gathering dust and showered me clean just to see how I would react. I did not blink. I am Leica.
Tomorrow I will leave to the UK. My Granny will join me so I won't feel alone. I do hope I won't get seasick.
Maybe my new owner will let me tell you about my performance.
I do hope I will survive in a country where they drive on the wrong side of the road. Maybe that's why I am shipped over. To see the traffic coming........
Anyway, I wish all of you the best.
Leica item 40714 serial 2192311 junior.
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