Upgrade from Sumiko Blue Point #2

I've read average life of a stylus is 1000-1500 hours depending on how well you take care of it. Brushing after every side keeping records clean and not playing worn questionable condition records. Is this a pretty accurate estimate. Kinda effects what I am willing to spend. I do see a few deals on quintet bronze. Wondering if that would be a noticeable step up from my blue point no2.

I have had several Clearaudios and they all say made in Germany whether that is true or not.

There’s no need for the cartridge to be made in Germany even if it says so. It is enough that *something* has been done to the cartridge in Germany and the "Made in Germany" imprint is perfectly legitimate.

This kind of thing is entirely standard in pretty much every industry (fashion, horology, cars, whatever) and perfectly legal despite also being perfectly dishonest.

So there you are agrippa. Humans are dishonest especially when money is involved. Yankee6000 I still think the Ortofon Quintet Black S is worth the stretch but if you have to stay below $800 the AT33Sa is a very reasonable choice. You should be able to get way more than 1500 hours out of a stylus. I have never lost a cartridge due to stylus wear and I look at them routinely with a medical microscope. During the child years (20 years) I had the same cartridge a Sumiko Tallisman S. It finally died when one channel went out. A post mortem exam reveled that one of the wires from the right channel coil to the post had broken right at the coil. The stylus was in perfect shape. I go through a Projector bulb every three years at 2000 hours. I listen to way more music than I watch TV. So say I listen 4000 hours in three years and about 1/4 is vinyl vs digital. That means I had put around 6000 hours on one stylus. I think this is in keeping with what my audiophile friends get although now we all have several cartridges each. I think popular figures are lower because lower quality diamonds wear faster as will diamonds with smaller contact patches.The Tallisman had a Shibata Stylus on a Sapphire cantilever.
Point being that if you do a good job keeping things clean you amortize this investment over a longer period! 

For one thing, only a few companies in the world produce all the styli and cantilevers used anywhere, and none of those is in Germany, so far as I know.  But I was thinking of a specific instance where one Clearaudio model is a re-labeled Japanese cartridge, en bloc.  Sadly, I cannot recall which.  I'm sure some of the megabuck Clearaudio cartridges have a unique pedigree.

I wouldn't put money on it.  I read a post, an article or something of the kind (terrible memory, sorry) a good while back which went into great details as to where and by whom Clearaudio's cartridges are/were made.  Since my interest was lacklustre (I don't care for Clearaudio's cartridges at all) very little stuck, beyond the fact that many, most or all are/were indeed Japanese.
If I had to guess (which I don't, but I will) I'd say that Clearaudio's efforts likely extends to mounting the innards into the fancy bodies, which would be more than enough to allow a "Made in Germany" imprint to be added.