If further proof was needed that you can ask a premium price for anything with Leica on the front, brass-necked German Leica specialist Meister Cameras has come up with the wheeze of copper-plating camera bodies and lenses and then reselling them at bright, shiny prices. Eight of the one-off pieces of copper-bottomed Leica art are for sale on its website. A “galvanic process’ is used to cover everything in coat of copper, including the glass lens and non-metal components.

The cheapest models (995 euros, or just over £900) are variations on the Leica III; if you are feeling a bit more flush, £1,312 gets you a handsome-looking Leica M3. Horse brasses or decorative copper kettles? Who needs them when you can have your very own metallic rangefinder as an ornament. There are a lot of other beautiful, rare and special-edition Leica bodies and lenses on the Meister Cameras site too, but we suggest having a stiff drink handy before looking at the prices. Source: Leica Rumors.