|
Spotting Fakes |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
[Home] [Serial Numbers] [Patents] [Brunton Evolution] [Von Bitter Article] [Spotting Fakes] [Links] |
|
|
Fake (Brass) BruntonIn 1979, the "Stanley London" company incorporated in California for the purpose of importing inexpensive, decorative reproductions of various instruments, including compasses. The company name presumably comes from "W. F. Stanley" who was an instrument maker in London, get it? These reproductions are meant for display, and are not intended as functional instruments. However, many people, having acquired one of these reproductions, becomes convinced of it's antiquity and sells it as the real item, or people are sold this item as a genuine vintage Brunton by someone who is just out to make a buck. The purpose of this page is to assist the seller, buyer, or collector in distinguishing a reproduction Brunton or other compass from a genuine item. I do not bear any ill will towards the Stanley London company, or any other importer of these reproductions. Recently I was in an antique store, and saw one of these items on the shelf, and had an opportunity to handle it. I was assured by the clerk that it was an "antique miner's compass" and was "very valuable". The price tag on it was in excess of $150.00. Having handled genuine Patent Bruntons as well as high-quality copies by Leitz and K&E, I was immediately struck by the comparatively poor workmanship of the piece. The following images are of another compass offered for sale at a well-known auction site. They are in all respects representitive of the level of quality I saw in the piece that I examined in the antique shop.
Also look at the finish on the back of the compass. Can you see the areas of brass around the 'Natural Sines' table? Does it look smooth to you? The item I saw in person was even worse. Also consider the hinge at the bottom of the above picture. Does it look well-aligned?
Next, consider this image of the compass face. The first thing that strikes me about this picture is the appearance of the needle. In the picture above, the compass needle is polished metal, silver colored, with a red stripe painted diagonally across the North end. The needle is wide in the center, and tapers to points near the scale. "No problem here" you say? Look at the gap between the end of the needle and the finely graduated scale. How easy is it going to be to tell *which* line on the scale the needle points to? There is also a problem with the vernier scale on the clinometer. Although difficult to see in this picture, there is a discernable shadow under the moveable scale. In a Patent Brunton, the scale skims over the face of the compass at a very close distance. In the antique store item, there was a gap of more than a millimeter. Once again, how hard would it be to tell which number was being indicated? Finally the levels. Where are the indicator lines? Lines? Lines? We don' need no steenken lines . Oh, and where is the serial number? ("We don' need no steenken..." nevermind).
Specifications:
|
