Mil-Spec Gray & Co. Telescope!
- Thread starter User00040
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Ranging reticle that I can't get a good picture of!
Well I'd maybe be worried that with no serial number that someone might "confuse" their inferior 'scope with it. Same reason my cartridge satchels have my initials on them! It's otherwise very easy for a certain type of person to elsewise "confuse" your cartridge satchel with theirs! And with bismuth coming it'll only get worse!
What a beautiful bit of kit. The eyepiece looks very different to mine
Not for sale so just imagine you saw it in a museum.
I know it's not for sale I was wondering how much one would cost.
I have seen standard Gray & Co scopes selling anywhere between £750 for a well used (but meticulously cared for) example to around £3k (auction, inc buyers premium) for a mint, unused model shortly after they ceased production.
I have never seen a model such as the above; indeed I was not even aware such a thing existed. I am not even sure where to begin putting a figure it.
Without being facetious I would suggest that it is very much worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it, and there are people who take unusual items like that VERY seriously!
Thanks, I would think a starting price of 5k wouldn't be out of order but I don't know, wouldn't mind one though!!
@caberslash
Were Grahams able to provide your friend with any other information or history on their telescope?
I am genuinely intrigued about when, why and for whom it was manufactured for example. Was it a custom, one-off, private commission or part of a batch? A talking-point? An advertisement? A just-for-the-hell-of-it?
So many questions!
Regardless of all, I think it a magnificent item and your friend is privileged indeed to own such a telescope.
I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous, I'm not....
Were Grahams able to provide your friend with any other information or history on their telescope?
I am genuinely intrigued about when, why and for whom it was manufactured for example. Was it a custom, one-off, private commission or part of a batch? A talking-point? An advertisement? A just-for-the-hell-of-it?
So many questions!
Regardless of all, I think it a magnificent item and your friend is privileged indeed to own such a telescope.
I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous, I'm not....
It's a very interesting item. Perhaps a one-off, made to show to possible customers who turned out not to be interested?
Is the knurled ring to focus the reticle to the user's eye?
It might be interesting to search for images of RF reticle to see whether any from another manufacturer matches. I'm not sure who latterly made the lenses for Gray's, but I remember being told by someone they were German.
Is the knurled ring to focus the reticle to the user's eye?
It might be interesting to search for images of RF reticle to see whether any from another manufacturer matches. I'm not sure who latterly made the lenses for Gray's, but I remember being told by someone they were German.
Was taken in as a lens was loose and made a rattle. Upon return the remark was 'Where on Earth did you get that from?!'
Supposedly made for the Falklands... probably a private comission that an officer asked for and had a few colleagues chip in for a batch to make the project worthwile.
Agreed in part, it's a nice curio for sure.
IMHO the Gray's telescope is not that well designed. Hardly bad, and with modern materials you would expect it to be better than an 1890's Ross of London Stalking scope, but it isn't in my eyes.
-No eyepiece shutter or front lens cap to protect outer lenses.
-From what I can tell, no air vent holes drilled into the main body (underneath the sunshade) to allow air to escape when the scope is extended or collapsed. This means you cannot pack it as tightly as a Ross of London scope, meaning it is more prone to water and dust incursion.
-Not designed to be end user servicable.
-Cases supplied with the Grays go from OK to poor, especially on the newest ones which are nearly not fit for purpose. The one with the above scope was OK, but not good.
From conversations with @Freeforester , it seems Col. Milne (previous owner of Grahams of Inverness), production costs were a major factor so I suspect the compromises bled into the telescope design as well, see here : Gray Telescope
I've been mulling over getting in touch with a Japanese firm to have some proper three draw telescopes made, to Ross of London design, but with top tier modern glass lenses which can be cleaned internally by the user.
However,with the leather case alone running into £400-500, I doubt any significant number of people would pay £3k for a three draw draw telescope, which by nature cannot be made water or fogproof, and takes a great deal of skill and practise to be used effectively, and can never exceed a tripod and angled spotter, which would cost the same or less...
Mossypaw
Well-Known Member
I was talking about these in the shop today, there was an idea that they went to the South Atlantic in 1982 with the SBS, there were also three made in black for Prince Charles.
Col. Milne was an interesting man. Military intelligence and brought certain people over from from East Germany to the West, including one Mr Bender, which is why he was able to rebrand Schmidt & Bender scopes as Gray & Co.
Col. Milne was an interesting man. Military intelligence and brought certain people over from from East Germany to the West, including one Mr Bender, which is why he was able to rebrand Schmidt & Bender scopes as Gray & Co.
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