Help Identifying Koetsu Onyx

To advanced101: Please see https://ibb.co/dJZCyG

To dover: I thought it looked really odd too. Its not a longbody and it shares the same shape as the black goldline and the standard rosewood, as you've correctly pointed out. I was thinking of sending it to Melvin Ang for a rebuild. I described the cart to him but he didn't have a firm opinion one way or the other.

Hopefully someone who has seen this before or who used to own one can chime in.

Thanks for the comments. 

There are 2 issues here. The first is whether the cartridge is authentic and the second is assuming that it is, whether it has platinum magnets.

I bought this off a reputable second hand dealer in Japan. These things go fast in the Japanese used market so I pulled the trigger quickly. I've always wanted to own a Koetsu stone body but the retail price for a brand new cartridge is too prohibitive. Frankly, I didn't notice the missing cantilever cowl and the tapered front until the transaction was done, at which time I started doing some searching on the web but couldn't find anything useful. 

I did manage to find some other similar looking examples on the used market:

https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=98006

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/282949853

I also found a Korean blog about a similar looking cartridge:

http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=imjbler&logNo=150081760337

http://cy.cyworld.com/home/28868771/post/3504472 

I realize that there would probably be no absolute certainty on the provenance of the cartridge unless I send it back to Koetsu for a rebuild. I haven't had the chance to mount the cart so I will see how it goes.

Also, I found this article talking about the history of Koetsu cartridges. Appears to be translated text but I couldn't find any information on the source:

http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160608/24ta43zq.pdf