Elmar 3,5cm f/3.5 nickel 1934

[nitroplait]

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I have come across this little nickel 3.5cm Elmar which will be a good match on my Leica IID.

A few observations that I notice difffers from the entry in the Forum Wiki:

https://wiki.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php?title=Elmar_f%3D_3.5_cm_1:3.5

 

• Serial number is 225472 which would equal 1934 vintage and chrome finish.
  I don't have other references to consult, but I guess my sample's nickel finish could be attributed to the usual inconsistencies of the data?
   
• It appears to be coated, which must have been done post WWII I suppose.
  Is there any way to make a guess wether it may be a factory job?

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[Hektor62]

You can send an email directly to Leica specifying the serial number and ask if the coating was done in the factory

Edited 5 hours ago by Hektor62

[Dr Monochrom]

Hello @nitroplait

As @Hektor62 mentioned, I would email <customer.care@leica-camera.com> to get more answers.

My two cents:

• Your lens has a pre-war continental sequence of 3.5, 4.5, 6.3, 9, 12.5, and 18 on the f-stop scale.
• The 3rd issue of Viewfinder 24 from 1991 has an article titled "LEITZ 35 cm ELMAR SUMMARON SM LENSES". The article mentioned a variant of the 3.5cm f/3.5 Elmar lens introduced in 1941. This variant introduced a routine antireflection coating (from factory), although the outdated pre-war f-stop sequence was retained for reasons unknown to the author. It is possible that this was due to a large stock of pre-war engraved f-stop rings with numbers mentioned in my previous point. 
• If the serial number indeed belongs to this lens, then, together with the 7 o'clock position of the infinity lock, it suggests the most common version of the EKURZKUP (nickel version of the 3.5cm f/3.5 Elmar lens). This variant was introduced around serial number 182xxx, which matches yours. But again, serial numbers could be misleading at times, as you correctly indicated in your original post.

Additional reading:

(1991). LEITZ 35 cm ELMAR SUMMARON SM LENSES. Viewfinder, 24(3), 16-25.
"35MM (3.5CM) F/3.5 ELMAR" section of Summichronica.com

Edited 4 hours ago by Dr Monochrom

[willeica]

1 hour ago, nitroplait said:

I have come across this little nickel 3.5cm Elmar which will be a good match on my Leica IID.

A few observations that I notice difffers from the entry in the Forum Wiki:

https://wiki.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php?title=Elmar_f%3D_3.5_cm_1:3.5

 

• Serial number is 225472 which would equal 1934 vintage and chrome finish.
  I don't have other references to consult, but I guess my sample's nickel finish could be attributed to the usual inconsistencies of the data?
   
• It appears to be coated, which must have been done post WWII I suppose.
  Is there any way to make a guess wether it may be a factory job?

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

There are examples of nickel lenses in chrome batches and vice versa. Nickel plated lenses were still being produced in 1934. Any coating was probably done postwar.

Queries to info@leica-camera.com , although they tend to have more information about the cameras than the lenses. 

I agree with the comments by 'Dr Monochrom' on the aperture scales.

William