Microscopes are collected by type and by maker, with Leitz and other older German microscopes are among the most desired. Medical devices for diagnostics and surgery, drafting and charting tools and navigational items like sextants and octants find devotees. Another specialization deals with weights, balances, liquid measures and scales, with gold assay scales being popular here due to their elegant design, precision, and connection to our Western history. Celestial clockwork orreries showing the known universe are scarce. Maker and country of origin matter to many collectors.
Materials used often indicate the age of an instrument.
Sheraton-style barometers from the 1770s could boast intricate inlays, while solid oak was favored in Victorian times. Collecting scientific instruments is a study in itself. This makes scientific references and catalogues sought-after commodities. Novices should avoid reproductions of Stanley compasses, telescopes, and sextants, which tend to be made of bright yellow Indian brass of the wrong weight with low quality optics. Science touches our lives ever day.