Well said Joe(WayneRhea),,
The factory/workshop where a scope is 'made' has little relevance - it's all about the quality of the components. The Chinese, for instance, are just as able to make a very high quality product (as anyone) BUT 'China' consists of factories who work to order, but are not retailers, by which I mean they generally only produce to the wholesale customers' requirments (the major advantages of China are low labour cost and quick turnaround time - unfortunately those appeal more to the lower and mid-level customer).
There are, essentially, 3 top class lens makers (in our area of discussion) Schott, Zeiss and Hoya, all their products are expensive you wont find them in a new scope costing less than approx $1250.00, these 3 lens makers do not fight for business ;-) and dont deal in small runs - their production equipment is vastly expensive!
On a lighter note, there some reasons why a small, nimble fingered lady (its always Ladies) would be my first choice to assemble a rifle scope - if you've ever wondered at the skill required to make one of those minature 'Ship in a Bottle' er things - the scope building process is very similar