MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

When I read the name Wetzlar, I expect to also read Leitz. I happened across a microscope which is marked only Wetzlar. “Micropere” appears to be the model? Accessories and objectives bear the name “Will Optik”. Does anybody know the history of this microscope or anything about it?

This link is a very similar microscope; the illuminator being somewhat different. (The seller doesn’t seem to know anything about it either!)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WETZLAR-MIC ... 4190237329

Wetzlar was a city known for its optics companies. In addition to the well known Leitz Wetzlar there are Hund Wetzlar and Will Wetzlar, and probably some others that haven't even risen to their level of obscurity.

So were these also-ran companies from Wetzler poor(er) quality? Or did they just never hit critical mass to survive in a global market?

They're typically targeted to a lower end educational market as I understand it. I've seen a few higher-end Hund offerings but nothing that would likely seriously compete with what Leitz was producing. That said there are indeed some lesser-known companies out there that don't have a big impact on the market's consciousness but do good work within a niche. In Germany Askania is a weird little company, maybe including some remnants of eastern Zeiss Jena stuff? Nobody has ever heard of them but some of their offerings look very cool and they apparently sometimes make stuff for Zeiss. Similarly there are a number of small Japanese optics companies that didn't make it big like Nikon or Olympus but are still around. None of them will have the same range of top end offerings as a big four company but they typically won't be junk either.