I’ve heard the same thing about the etching but I’m not well connected enough to confirm it.Loving the Kato, was following their development from early on. Got my pair last month.Polished black with black prizim lens. Can anyone confirm about the ‘factory pilot’ etching inside the left hand side of the lens being only on the first 1000 produced? Mine has that, also the box came with an outer sleeve with factory pilot printed on it.