An Order of Magnitude

TEC is now making a run of 200 mm f/8 apos.  These retail for $29,600
D&G offers a 200 mm f/12 achromat for $3695.

I understand the need for more expensive glasses in the TEC; I have one of their 180s and it is an awesome scope.
But how can the price difference between an achromat and an apochromat be $25,905?  That's six and a half times the cost of the entire D&G telescope!  Is the apo's glass really THAT expensive, or is the time required to make an apo 100 fold that needed for an achromat, or what?

Enlightenment will be appreciated.  Thanks.

I would think one factor would be managing to stay in business when you might only sell one or two a year when you get into dollar figures like that......

That train of thought may also explain why D&G has become ghostware.....its been a WHILE since I have heard of anyone getting anything from them......

It's possible the price on a vanilla 8-inch f/12 achromat might actually be higher today. It has been a long time since their web page has been updated. 

I don't know about CaF2, but Ohara S-FPL53 is 18 times as expensive as their S-BSL7 (BK-7 equivalent). We don't know what matching glasses TEC is using. They may well be more than BK-7/F2.

Six surfaces, with internal surfaces having to match very closely, and stronger curves and higher internal powers, likely translating to stricter tolerances.

I'll also note that while the D&G instruments are fine scopes, the mechanics are more basic than the TEC OTAs.

Clear skies, Alan