Obviously, time is relative.
Seeking out the least degraded examples is what collecting is based on. So, for the purposes of collecting, the best examples are in comparison to what remains of the originals.
Walt has very likely the finest examples of every product that Ithaca ever made. I would consider them to be reference samples. I am humbled that he shares them with us.
The chemistry of case coloring is complex, and there are colors that cannot last. They might make a year, 10, 50, but some of the compounds formed in the fire are not stable.
Oscar listed some metal oxides that don't last. Though case colors are not just oxides. And of great interest to me are those compounds that don't adhere to traditional group theory boundaries. It has to do with how the lattice is formed and frozen at the moment of quench. I recall them to be in the yellows, coppers, and rose shades. I often wonder how long the bizarre colors of a Krieghoff Essencia will last.
Manipulating these processes can give consistent results, but also consistent results of very fleeting artistry.
