Hello Panda,
I think this 1906 W+F Bern was probably refurbished (at Bern...???) when it was beig released for private sale.
The P-56 stampings are entirely filled with blue; so it is probable that it was stamped first and then refinished. If the stamping was applied ontop of the original finish, I think there would be "white chips" of the blue where the stamp die cut into the original finish of the metal.
The quality of the refinish is very, very good and the "white" interior of the frame was maintained...so I assume it was a Bern job, but who can really know...
I did read that many Swiss lugers were refurbished at the arsenal, so do not mind this about my pistol.
I got this piece from a USA dealer and probably paid too much for it, but is really is a nice gun and the bore looks like it was not shot very much...it does have a scratch along the left side frame just above the grip panel.
This was present when I bought the gun, I have been tempted to have it touched up, but have decided to do nothing...
Regards,
Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />