The JCII Passed Sticker: To Remove or Not To Remove

I just got my Nikkormat FT2 back from International Camera Technicians. As usual, Jim Holman did a fine job bringing this 1975 vintage camera back to factory specs.

Nikkormat FT2, Nikkor-S Auto 50mm f/1.4 Non-AI

As I mentioned in the previous post, this camera is in amazing cosmetic condition. I cannot imagine it was used much, if at all. Not a scratch or scuff anywhere. As was the case with many Japanese cameras produced from the 1950s to the mid 1980s, this camera carries the JCII PASSED gold oval sticker. JCII stands for Japan Camera Industry Institute. You will also notice JMDC below the word PASSED. JMDC stands for Japan Machinery Design Center. During this era, Japanese-made products had the reputation of being of less quality or in the case of cameras, cheap knock-offs of German designs. These stickers were an effort by Japanese companies and the government to improve their image on the world market.

I’ve had a number of cameras and a few lenses that have had these stickers in various conditions. On a Nikon F3 and Canon F-1, these stickers were on the back of the top plate, so they didn’t bother me much. My Olympus OM-1 had one on the side of the pentaprism. This is the first camera I have had with the PASSED sticker smack dab on the middle front of the beautiful black pentaprism.

Part of me wants to remove the sticker. I removed one from my OM-1n and had a devil of a time getting all of the residual glue off the camera. That was a chrome camera. Black body cameras can be a bit different. Rubbing the finish can make the paint look shiny in the spot where the sticker was. I emailed my friend Sover Wong and he said that some rubbing alcohol is good for gently removing the residual glue from the sticker, but to be gentle with the rubbing. Sover also said, if it were his camera, he’d leave it on.

For nearly 50 years, that sticker has been part of this camera. But this beautiful all black camera would sure look nice without it. What do you think? Do you remove your PASSED stickers or leave them on?