This Rare Leica Noctilux 50mm f/1 Lens Comes with Its Own Humidor

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Here’s one way to identify a pricey lens: it comes with a dedicated luxury humidor for humidity control. Back in 2008, as Leica was ending a manufacturing run of its Noctilux 50mm f/1 lens, the company decided to release the last 100 units as a special edition. Each of the lenses was shipped with a special humidity control box crafted in Paris, France, by Elie Bleu, which makes high-end humidors for cigar aficionados.

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Elie Bleu humidors often sell for between $2,000 to $5,000 by themselves, so the box greatly increased the value of this bundle.

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The unit was originally priced at €10,000 when it was first released. An auction for one of the 100 units just finished over on eBay, and the winning bid (out of 81 bids) was $12,768.

The seller on eBay writes that they were the original owner of the mint condition lens, which they originally paid “just under 20K USD for.”

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From the photos posted by the seller, we see that the box comes with a special pair of Leica gloves for handling the lens as well.

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If you’re interested in one of these 100 rare kits, keep your eyes peeled on eBay — perhaps one of the other 99 will show up one day as well.

(via eBay via La Vida Leica)

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