Vintage Vickers M12 Dual Metallurgical/Biological Microscope with Binocular Head

Here we have a really well-specified and complete example of an M12 microscope set-up by Vickers Instruments in period gold/black livery. It's got full dual metallurgical and biological capabilities, together with a binocular head and a good set of lenses including both standard and metallurgical. This example is serial number M124427 and is likely to date from the late 1960s or early 1970s. The condition is really good and suggests relatively few owners and only light use over the last 50+ years.

Turning to the main technical details of this quality vintage microscope set-up, we have. A binocular head which can rotate side to side and it will be supplied with a set of 8x magnification Vickers eyepieces appropriate to this model of microscope. The binocular head also has focus and eyepiece adjustment. In the listing photos it can be seen that this microscope was also tested with a set of Leitz eyepieces - these are not part of the sale. The main focus system moves the stage in a vertical plane, with concentric controls at the base of the frame.

There is a smooth action through the twin-sided thumb-wheels - travel and focus are both good. Note that the frame is not designed to tilt.

The stage can also be raised and lowered manually to accommodate different sample thicknesses. Fine focus adjustment essentially works within the main focus adjustment when smaller inputs are made via the fine focus thumb-wheels which also have a nice smooth action. There are five quality objective lenses all by Vickers/Cooke with a usable selection of progressive magnification (including some metallurgical) on a rotating 4-way turret which clicks into place positively as each objective is rotated into position: Vickers Low Power - 3x Vickers Microplan - 10x Cooke - 40x Vickers Microplan - 40x met Vickers Microplan - 100x met (oil immersion) - not tested (effective magnification therefore ranges from 24x to 800x). The specimen stage is made from solid metal and is fully mechanical being a Vickers design with twin thumb-wheel x-axis and y-axis controls located on a drop-down adjustment mechanism below the stage, plus there's a set of clips for holding samples in place during viewing sessions. The stage also has a removable central circular section and a second brass insert with a small central aperture.

This feature allows alternative use in biological configuration for translucent specimens using sub-stage illumination via the Vickers sub-stage electric illuminator and condenser which are both present below-stage. The sub-stage illuminator works off a standard 240V mains supply. Sample illumination in metallurgical configuration is provided via an electric vertical illuminator mechanism attached to the main optical tube. It's currently fitted with a 6v 15W incandescent PX22D bulb held in a Vickers bulb carrier.

The PX22D bulb worked fine during testing, producing a variable intensity yellow/white light, powered by a period Vickers variable transformer with 6V output - this power supply was used for testing purposes only and is not supplied with this microscope, instead an alternative 6V dual output transformer can be supplied if required - see final photo in listing. The vertical illuminator column also contains various lenses/mirrors and two iris mechanisms for vertical sample illumination via the objective lenses. There's a useful section in the PDF copy of the supplied instruction booklet describing how to set up the vertical illuminator feature for optimum illumination and viewing results.

The overall condition of this specialist dual-purpose metallurgical/biological microscope is excellent with only minor signs of wear to the gold paint finish on the frame in areas where one would expect to see some signs of use for a vintage piece of technical equipment. Please note that there is no storage case with this microscope, but it does come with a PDF copy of the correct instruction manual for the Vickers M12 model. In summary, this is a superb vintage technical dual-purpose microscope from well-known British engineering firm Vickers and it may well appeal to both general collectors, specialist collectors of technical equipment and those seeking a quality vintage microscope with flexible use capabilities - for example in the listing photos it can be seen set up with both solid and translucent specimens. It's supplied with a usable range of objective lenses, a 6V power supply is also available and it's fitted with a superb mechanical stage which is a must for high-magnification use.

It's essentially usable right out of the box with a bit of time spent setting it up for best results. This microscope equipment will be very well packaged for transport and will be dispatched by insured courier upon receipt of cleared funds. Thanks for looking - please check out my other listings - mainly eclectic artworks and vintage optics, plus some other cool stuff. The item "Vintage Vickers M12 Dual Metallurgical/Biological Microscope with Binocular Head" is in sale since Saturday, April 25, 2020.

This item is in the category "Antiques\Science/Medicine\Scientific Instruments". The seller is "arcboutant" and is located in Glasgow. This item can be shipped to United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Australia, United States, Bahrain, Canada, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, China, Israel, Hong Kong, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia, Brunei darussalam, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Grenada, French guiana, Iceland, Jersey, Cambodia, Saint kitts and nevis, Liechtenstein, Macao, Monaco, Martinique, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Paraguay, Turks and caicos islands, Aruba, Saudi arabia, United arab emirates, Chile, Bahamas, Costa rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kuwait, Panama, Philippines, Qatar, Trinidad and tobago, Uruguay, Viet nam.

Period: 1951 to Present
Brand: Vickers
Modified Item: No
Material: Steel
Type: Microscope
MPN: Does Not Apply
Microscope Structure: Upright