Welta Weltini with Elmar?

[archeophoto]

I'm a big Welta fan. I have two Weltini IIs, one with a Xenon lens, one with a Xenar. Both are really nice shooters.
Now I have an opportunity to buy one with a Leitz Elmar for about $500 and I don't know if I should go for it.
Does anybody on here have one of those rare beasts and do you think it's worth it? Is it true that the Weltini is the only vintage camera other then the Leicas that uses the Elmar?
Does anybody have any history behind the story why Welta was able to use the Elmar in the Weltini?

 

[JPD]

I have seen a couple of non-Leicas with Elmar, so Leitz did sell their lenses to other companies at that time. I wish I could remember who made the cameras.

One Weltini was sold for $904: http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=3628855

It it's worth $500? I don't know, is it for you? What you pay for is the "Leitz" name, and I don't think it's better than the one with Xenar you already have. But rare cameras are fun to own and use.

I have a Rolleicord Ia, a special version with 3.5 Triotar, made for the german police around 1939. It's in terrible condition, but I bought it only because it's rare. 😀