This is description of this part:
Steindorff Berlin 100x immersion microscope objective
Basic parameters:
Manufacturer: Steindorff Berlin
Marking on the objective: Steindorff & Co̱ Berlin 1/12 = 100x Oel-Immersion
Magnification: 100x
Correction: achromatic
Tube length: not stated, most likely 170 mm
Cover glass: yes
Immersion: yes, oil
Thread: RMS
The objective does not state the numerical aperture N.A., but 100x oil immersion objectives usually have an N.A. of 1.20.
The microscope gallery on the steindorff-berlin.de website (https://steindorff-berlin.de/Instruments/Gallery/gallery.html) shows a microscope with serial number 54541, which suggests that objectives of this type were in use in the first half of the 1950s. The author of that same site explains here that from the 1950s onwards the year of manufacture should be read in this way: https://steindorff-berlin.de/Instruments/Microscopes/microscopes.html
This objective is finished in black and white styling. A decade earlier Steindorff still used brass objectives or ones in a gold and silver finish. On the objective shown here the company name appears as "Steindorff & Co̱", with the word "Berlin" on the second line; by the early 1960s, however, the objectives were entirely silver and carried the inscription "Steindorff Berlin" inside a border serving as the logo.
What is this part needed for?
- If you own a vintage Steindorff Berlin microscope that is missing this objective and you want to complete it with original period parts
- If you already have such an objective, but it is in very poor condition or damaged