Kowa has been producing spotting scopes for over 70 years. During this time, our scopes have earned a reputation for high performance and outstanding craftsmanship.
PROMINAR is the brand name given to our top-of-the-line spotting scopes.

PROMINAR is Given to Kowa’s Most Advanced and Highest Quality Optical Products.

For over 70 years, Kowa's reliable and reputable optical systems have served as the essential components in our mainstay products. By the 1950s, the Golden Age of Cinema, more than 80% of Japan’s movie theaters used 35mm projectors equipped with PROMINAR lenses. Turning a new page for the highly admired brand at the dawn of the 21st century, we elevate PROMINAR with Pure Fluorite Crystal and its incomparable optical performance.
To maximize the benefits of this material, which requires the Spirit of Takumi, we channel expertise and finesse to craft PROMINAR products that clear rigorous inspections before heading out into the world. We are applying superior optical design and sophisticated craftsmanship to open up a new world for PROMINAR.

Pure Fluorite Crystal Lenses

Pure Fluorite Crystal is the ultimate optical material because it virtually eliminates chromatic aberration in the visible light range. The performance cannot be matched by an optical system composed of glass lenses. So, why do other manufacturers not adopt Pure Fluorite Crystal lenses? Working with fluorite crystal material requires extra special care and sophisticated manufacturing processes. Only a company with the experience and dedication to working with this unique material could produce an optical lens made of 100% Pure Fluorite Crystal.
Less chromatic aberration enables a shorter optical construction, which leads to smaller and lighter products. This is a great advantage for spotting scopes that must be compact, robust, and reliable when used in nature. A Pure Fluorite Crystal lens enhances a breath taking experience with the accurate colors and patterns of birds and animals in the wild.
Kowa relies on lens processing skills and technologies cultivated for over 70 years.

PROMINAR Offers a “Pure Experience.”

The PROMINAR brand enables users to enjoy true-to-life colors, light and shadows as they exist in nature. A lens creates optical phenomena such as reflection, refraction, aberration, and dispersion.
This is why the images viewed through lenses are not the same as those seen with the naked eye.
With Kowa’s technologies, experience, and passion, PROMINAR suppresses these unwanted optical effects to deliver a Pure Experience that makes small, distant objects appear just within reach.

Takumi - True Craftsmanship

Takumi — a word that means both the artisan and the artisan’s dedication to craftsmanship — carries the nuance of relentless attention to detail. Used for individual artisans as well as the most elite Japanese companies, the term is synonymous for the pinnacle of Japanese manufacturing where the commitment to innovation and dedication to flawless production is paramount.
The Spirit of Takumi is in the DNA of Kowa, an innovator in Japanese manufacturing dating all the way back to the early days of the Meiji Era. That spirit is reflected nowhere more clearly than in the spotting scopes that bear the PROMINAR name.

PROMINAR Products

PROMINAR is the world’s only spotting scope with a lens made of Pure Fluorite Crystal — a material that is difficult to perfect in its raw form, yet yields the most exquisite natural colors. PROMINAR’s advanced optical system is produced with technologies capable of micron-level precision.
Only the highest quality materials, including Pure Fluorite Crystal, are used. The objective is to give the impression of seeing an object not through a scope, but through your own unfiltered eyes. What’s more, PROMINAR scopes have a unique and elegant design that ensures comfortable and easy operation.
Equally important is the focus on durability. PROMINAR scopes utilize the ideal materials for weather resistance and ruggedness and are modeled and shaped by hand at the design stage to ensure the most ergonomic user experience. With bodies made of sophisticated metal alloys, the scopes are built for a lifetime of use.

PROMINAR Spotting Scopes