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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Binastro" data-source="post: 3280218" data-attributes="member: 111403">I've had an interesting discussion with a colleague, who is a Leica camera expert.Leitz-Eigentum means Leitz-property.Now, all the major binocular firms would buy in competitors binoculars for testing.It might be argued that such a binocular would be marked simply as the property of the company.But to go to such elaborate lengths to engrave markings on both back plates does not seem to fit.With the Leica camera fakes it seems that there was a small team engraving markings on Soviet Leica copy cameras to make them seem like the real thing. The problem was that the engravings were not quite right, and not the right size. In addition the engraved Soviet cameras were inferior to the real thing.. My friend suggested that once the engraving tool was set up it was fairly automatic to engrave the top plates and sometimes also the bottom plates of the cameras. These plates were removed from the camera before they were engraved and then reattached. It would seem that the back plates of the binocular, which is the subject of this thread, would be removed and the engravings made.At best it could mean that we have a bought in Greenkat binocular, which is marked as the property of another company. In my opinion, the value would not be very much greater than the original Japanese binocular.But, in my opinion, this binocular was engraved specially for financial reward, by making it appear as if it somehow was made by Leitz.My friend also asks whether the letters engraved are typically Leitz. And I would ask when Leitz binoculars were renamed Leica binoculars?Also one has to ask why Leitz would choose to buy a Greenkat binocular as a potential competitor for what they were making? As far as I know they were not making anything similar at the time. My friend suggests that they might buy in real competitors binoculars.This business of trying to make lower-priced binoculars into something apparently higher-priced made by top binocular maker has always been around.In addition, many binoculars are marked as if they were made in Germany, when they were made elsewhere. Increased value, just by suggestion.</blockquote>

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