This auction is for a 1991 Celestron (Nikon or Vixen of Japan) 1.25-inch Ultima 12.5mm. This is complete to collector code and will include the winged rubber eye guard, the original dust caps, and the original box with labels.

I should note with a bittersweet tone that this legendary Ultima, though its box being original from none other than Celestron, features a bottom label by Orion Telescopes. It doesn't actually state "Orion Telescopes And Binoculars", yet being, avid collector and user of their products over a span of several decades, not only is the label print and font completely recognizable as their own, the mpn code "08673", which would translate to mpn "8673" in the Orion catalogs, falls under their code for the 12.5mm Ultima Series Eyepiece. 

The final year Orion sold the Celestron Ultimas was December 1998; this 12.5mm having a list price for $83.00 before shipping and handling. So, for you aspiring or already well-versed Orion collectors and appreciators out there, please do your best to keep that label in its best condition.

Because Orion Telescopes is never coming back to us.

Now then. When the Ultima eyepieces entered the catalogs back in either very late December of 1989 or right at January of 1990 (Orion Telescopes January 1990), they were a considerable leap above the already fantastic Deluxe Plossl Oculars "Silvertops", which, by 1990, were entering their "Silver Blacktops" era. In considering plossl and modified plossl variants; these Ultimas were the most optically advanced, most expensive, sharpest performing, best optically coated, most comfortable in eye relief (in the bigger focal lengths) models the company marketed. 

Most of the Ultima Series oculars began to fall off the availability line by November-December 1999. Some of the smaller focal lengths made it passed 2002, like the 7.5mm, and the SV Barlow; now being seen with the newer Celestron "swirl" logo. However, by December 2005, these lingering, enduring Ultimas were nearing their final end. By summer of 2006, these Japanese wonders were all gone for good.

For those wondering, it was the SV Barlow that was the last to walk off the stage.

We should note, also, that these Ultimas were phased away because in the not too far future, the redesigned Axioms (to be the Axiom LX) and the new Luminos were going to take their place. Celestron was out of the rare Japanese glass game before the market was devastated by the effects of the March 11, 2011 earthquake-and-tsunami event in Japan. 

That ended a lot for the future of beautiful Japanese optical glass under many brands.

Though we will not get into it too deep, there are basically (2) primary generations of the Celestron Ultima Series; the early Chevy orange variants and their later, post-1994 ruby-red letter models. In their entire time, the eyepiece properties, focal lengths, schematics, and coatings never change. However, some models completely disappear while others run the entire course. 

I will state at this point the early, white-lettered "Pre-Ultimas" are not going to be discussed although they are rightfully in the Ultima bracket. Another purposely left out group in the Ultima group is the Extra Wide Field Ultimas, which were the immediate ancestors to the coined "Axiom".

If you are looking to torture yourself and go about completing the entire set of Ultimas:

80mm   (rarely on the Computstar 14) 

60mm   (rarest of all the Ultimas)

45mm   (rarely on the Compustar 8 and final Compustar 14)

42mm   (largest of the 1.25-inch models)

35mm

30mm  (C90 Rubber Armored and some C5 Spotters)

24mm  (rarest of the 1.25-inch family)

18mm

12.5mm

10mm  (2nd rarest of the 1.25-inch family)

7.5mm

5mm 

SV 2x Barlow

The Ultima 12.5, 18, 24, and 7.5 had the widest field of view properties at 51-degrees.

Of the 1.25-inch models, only the 30mm would ever find itself included with a telescope; in rare cases, the C90 Rubber Armored as part of their most expensive package deal as well the "Tuxedo" C5 Spotter during the later 1990s.

Model:  Ultima 12.5mm

Barrel size:  1.25-inches

Design:  5-element hybrid plossl (2)(1)(2) configuration

Optics:  fully multi-coated

Field of view:  51-degrees

Eye relief:  9mm

Exit aperture:  12.3mm

Threaded for filters:  yes

Materials:  milled brass, milled anodized aluminum, rubber grip, optical glass

Weight:  3.5 ounces

Now, for those a little less versed with these "exotic plossl/erfle-style" Ultima eyepieces; they are a specific family of high-end, Japanese-created oculars carried over to a few other brands. Celestron alone was never responsible for having them made, yet they (and Orion) are the most remembered. Some of these brands will carry different focal lengths, some won't have 2-inch models, and some will even be 7-element configurations with a built-in barlow in order to enhance eye relief. Yet, in the end, they are all from the same maker.

Celestron Ultima Series

Orion Ultrascopics

Parks Gold Series

Tuthill Premium Plossls

Antares Elites

Baader Planetarium Eudiascopics

In many of my personal reports I have cataloged for my own, massive references on vintage telescopes, I use Ultimas, along with the Takahashi green-etched LEs, as a benchmark for visual optical quality confirmation as these eyepieces are so well made and produce such bright images (especially to the edge of field), if you see fault in your images, it will not be this eyepiece, but within the telescope itself and/or in the sky conditions. I do not pull-out my Ultimas to any telescope on any given night. The seeing must be steady, the air dry and the telescope worthy.

Any Ultima eyepiece from Nikon and/or Vixen of Japan will give paramount sharpness and detail in your Takahashi FC-100, Orion VX-90 Fluorite, Astro-Physics Star12 ED, Celestron C11 Edge, Meade Maksutov 7, Ceravolo HD145, or Pentax 105SD to name a few of many fine examples of top-grade telescopes in which this eyepiece will help fully exploit their optical greatness.

A pinpoint-to-the-edge 51-degree field of view awaits your eye. The Ultima 12.5mm has just gracious enough of eye relief that MOST eyeglass wearers will be able to leave them on and still be able to view 80% of the field. It is a highly ideal ocular for the high power study of many bright planetary nebulae, inspecting all of the Moon's terminator (very fun with the Ultima SV 2x barlow!), it is outstanding to use on viewing the cores of globular clusters and it is one of my favorite eyepieces to use On Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus....whether the night is perfect still or the seeing is not quite 100%.

The top-end optical perfection in the glass elements guarantees that in apochromat telescopes, the view will remain color free and there is NO introduced coma or astigmatism. Other than the narrower-than-normal field of view, which is absolutely inherit in an eyepiece barrel of this size with this large a focal length, it is faultless across the board.

Try this on M13, M92, M15, and M22 in your Takahashi TSC225, Celestron C11 Edge, or Meade 14 ACF LX200. See the sharpness in Jupiter's equatorial belts and the Great Red Spot in a Takahashi FS-102, FS-152, a Celestron C9.25 Ultima or a Borg-125SD. Have a Unitron 152 with a Deluxe Unihex? Use this 12.5mm Ultima for your Moon sessions and be amazed how it really helps show the Unitron's Nihon Seiko glass at full sharpness capability.

If you have an ocular turret with other additional Ultima eyepieces, they will be parfocal. I have done this both in my Takahashi FS-152SV and FCT-150, and also with a Vixen 4-turret in the Celestron C80 and GP-C102ED, and in the Orion VX 102F.

This auction ad was completely, organically written by Veradale Mobile Observatory, not an A.I. software device; an actual honest-to-goodness, real human with over 20 years experience with now over 1000 telescopes made from today and all the way back to 1948.

Packed with great care so that you get the original box EXACTLY as you see it now.