Now you would probably think that I was joking if I were to tell you that there are microscopes made of precious metals, such as silver, rather than brass, and objectives made with diamonds and rubies, rather than glass. But yes, Virginia, prodigal items such as these do actually exist - and not at the end of the rainbow. All right, suppose they do exist, who could afford one? Well, kings for one, Figure 1 shows what is perhaps the most elaborately decorated microscope ever constructed. It was made in 1761 by the wellknown instrument maker George Adams for King George III. George III placed great value on science throughout his long reign, as reflected in his collection of scientific instruments, which can be seen today in the Science Museum at South Kensington in London.