Camera Geekery: The Royal Blue Trio

I get to see a lot of amazing cameras doing my job, and it never gets old. But once in a while I get to see something that really blows my socks off. And this is one of those times. The completely unique and very special royal blue trio.

Recently one of my clients contacted me about selling some of his gear. This is not all that unusual, as I sell a lot of items on consignment for my clients. But these cameras are unusual. In fact they are very special indeed. Let me tell you why.

The set comprises of 3 cameras which have something in common. All of them are blue. But not just any old blue, that would be far too easy. No, these cameras have the kind of coating that are usually reserved for gifts to heads of state, with Urushi Blue and Royal Blue coming into the mix, and a splash of gold to top it off. These are the royalty of the camera world.

The Hasselblad 503CX CF ‘Golden Blue’ 50th Anniversary Camera

This camera was made by Hasselblad to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hasseblad back in 1991 (1941-1991). Only 700 of these were made and they come with a very distinctive colour. Royal blue leather covering and 24 karat gold plating on the body and even on the dark slide!

This camera is the odd one out of the set, as the blue takes on a darker tone to the other cameras. Yet it still holds a common theme, an extremely exclusive camera, specially made in blue with 24 karat gold highlights.

The Rollei 35 Royal Urushi Gold

Quite possibly the most beautiful and exclusive Rollei 35 ever made. This camera has a hand painted Japanese urushi blue lacquer with 24 karat gold fittings. The blue is rich and deep, changing colour with the light and when you hold it in your hand it feels like a beautifully made work of art.

Because of the way this camera was hand lacquered each one is slightly different.  Supposedly only 1000 pieces were made, but I think it could be less as they are very rarely seen on the market and Rollei was not exactly stable when they were producing these cameras.

This one is the younger sibling of the camera that is the final part of this trinity, yet it makes up for its small stature with its wonderful looks.

The Rolleiflex 2.8GX Royal Urushi Gold

This final camera was made when Rollei was going through some drastic changes. After going bankrupt in 1981, Rollei became Rollei Fototechnic GmbH. They produced fewer cameras and made multiple special editions. The GX was made as a successor to the 2.8f and had an upgraded Seiko shutter and a fancy new lightmeter. But what was really fancy about this camera is the way it looks.

The camera is wrapped in Brown African Lizardskin Leather and again coated but hand with Japanese urushi lacquer. The metal parts again have a 24 karat gold coating. There were meant to be 150 units made, but apparently only 130 units ever made it out of the factory. Making it one of the rarest Rolleiflex cameras in the world.

But what makes these cameras so special is that they are together, a trio of extremely fancy cameras. And they are going to stay that way, as they are being sold only as a set. The owner told me that it took him quite some time to unite these cameras and it would simply not do to scatter them across the world again.

This incredible set of cameras is for sale on the site now. You can see this and many more unusual and special cameras (and normal ones too) on the Sale Items section of my site, just click here www.japancamerahunter.com/services/cameras-for-sale

And if you are interested in selling your camera through my consignment service you can contact me about it by clicking here www.japancamerahunter.com/services and send me a mail.

JCH