Seika GE
The production of the Seika GE microscope began in 1927. Heralded as the crystallization of state-of-the art technologies, the Seika GE was considered the premier microscope, optimized for research applications. It employed a 100x oil immersion objective lens and was capable of total magnification of 1400x.
Around this time, companies began to launch microscopes equipped with a cross-shaped mechanical stage that allowed users to move the specimen north-south and east-west. The mechanical stage was 115mm in diameter and the microscope was equipped with an Abbe condenser. It also featured a rack-and-pinion mechanism to move the specimen up and down.
The Seika GE was displayed at the Tokyo Exhibition for the Promotion of Domestically Made Products in 1928. As a recipient of the outstanding domestic product award, the Seika was presented to the Emperor Showa. The pictured Seika GE microscope was the microscope the Emperor Showa used for his research until 1951, when he returned it to Olympus as a gift on the purchase of a new Olympus microscope.