Officer Edelweiss on blue cloth?!

[Giel VW]

Hi guys,

Would love to hear your opinion on this blue wooled edelweiss. Would the green colour be discoloured of do these patched exist?

Thanks

Giel

[pauke]

Edelweiss

Either for Marine-Gebirgstruppen or more likely the dark green badge cloth turned from green to blue-green. The back side shows the color of the badge cloth has stained the white backing from what I see.

[FestungSpanien]

Never seen something like that before but I just love it

[Diane]

There was a Luftwaffe meteorological unit authorized to wear the Edelweiß.

Diane

[billbert]

Bahnschutz...Billbert

[phild]

What about a Sonder Fuhrer assigned to a GBJ unit?

[GAMS1]

A sonderfuhrer would have a green edelweiss .
IMO simply faded ...i have a nice WH OFF eagle which faded to blue also .
Bad quality tinting .
Nick

[Lloyds]

i am amazed at all the ideas popping up but the reason is just a unstable dye i have seen it on collar patches ,officers eagles and some trade badges i know its not as intresting as naval panzer paratrooper mountain troops space mans insignia

[Marcel Banziger]

Hahaha, I was also amazed by the many different options provided. Wild guesses without any real thought/back-up behind it I'm afraid. I really like this badge....but I think it's just decolourisation, nothing more nothing less.

[NickG]

Yes M36 bottle green turned blue-ish over time... unstable dye/exposure!
Beautiful edelweiss!!
I agree!

[phild]

Yes M36 bottle green turned blue-ish over time... unstable dye/exposure!
Beautiful edelweiss!!
I agree!

I think that the consensus (in this case at least!) is correct that it is faded/morphed blue/green badge cloth. I have an infantry crusher in which the cap band as changed to a shade very close to this and has been like this since at least the early 80s when I got it as a gift from the German vet. It is heavily worn to say the least.

My Sonderfuhrer speculation was not that reckless IMO. I really have no idea if a Sonderfuhrer would/could have such a backing used, but I do know, like everyone else does, that they did utilize a badge cloth not that far from this shade for collar facing, tab backing and capbands.......maybe also eagle backings????? but my point is originally (even in the Imperial times and Reichswehr) that badge cloth backings for all insignia were coordinated to some extent and that Sonderfuhrer ranks had there own unique color.

[afrikasandman]

Great looking piece! Matt

[drempfer]

Reluctant discussion topic

Now I guess I'm just bringing this discussion to the top because it popped up on a "search" on edelweiß that I counducted, but I can't help but think this:
"All sorts of folks post all sorts of things (artifacts/items) on this forum that get rejected to hell as not original and shot down due to one little thread off somewhere ..... Then this edelweiß patch comes up ... way out of anything normal anyone has ever seen, and the reaction is 'oh yeah, it's good, just simple dye fading ...' Mmmmm helllloooooooooo. Really? "
This has got to be the strangest III Reich article I've ever seen and so far the reaction is : "nice edelweiss". Well, Ok, I guess we do learn new things EVERY day.!

[NickG]

I also vote unstable dye, UV exposure...seen before...Nice bullion work!

[Johnny R]

After the war started and especially towards the later part of the War most the dyes were coal based and not very high quality or stable. Over time they have reacted to environmental conditions and many things that were originally dyed field grey or dark green have now turned blue. We see this also with tunics that seem to be badly mismatched with pockets that were added to Waffenrocks etc. When the tunics were made, I suspect the colors matched much better. In the 1980s I had an issue Stug. wrap that had blue green sleeves and a field grey torso that was from this already only 40 years after it had been made.