A Jony Ive and Marc Newson-designed Leica prototype is headed to auction

A rare prototype of a Leica camera crafted by former Apple luminary Jony Ive and famed designer Marc Newson is being sold at auction in June. The device, which is described as being in “B+” condition, has a starting price of €100.000 (around $118,000), and the Leitz Photographica Auction house estimates that it’ll sell for between €200.000 and €250.000 (around $235,000 to $295,000).

The prototype was produced during the development of the one-off Leica M for (RED) camera, which was sold at a charity auction in 2013 for $1.8 million. While the final product’s design shared a lot of similarities with Apple’s “cheesegrater” Mac Pro, this prototype appears to have a smooth reflective finish that looks like an absolute fingerprint magnet.

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