Ok, first.
About your UPlanSApo10x, you need to know where you're looking at. (i.e. which surface of whatever element)
Here's the element positions assumed the patent is for the UPlanSApo10x. (US pat. US7158310B2)
What you were seeing in your blog, is the outer most periphery of the 1st surface of the 1st element. (the region in red) That's where the polished region ends and the rough painted region begins.
So it's perfectly normal.
Second, about the 100x objective you mentioned in the other blog post.
IF, those bright spots were foreign objects inside the objective, they should show up as shadows at least darker than the center bright region. I'd rather assume those spots are flaked off protective paint on the first element. That region would do nothing with making the image, and would do no harm to the magnified image (assuming that you are diligent with the field diaphragm, not overfilling the field.)
And finally, what would a delaminated element look like?
It would be a well demarcated discontinuity in refractive index. The edges could be smooth, sometimes irregular. Most of the time at the edges, but sometimes smack in the middle. But when you observe it at a slightly oblique angle with the lighting coming from the side you are observing it, you will see the telltale sheen in reflection. Interference colors.
Observing defects from the outside is the first thing to do. The next is to use a phase telescope to observe each surface within.
Of course, skip everything if you can measure the PSF. (Though I doubt you will find PSF perfect high NA objectives in the wild...)
P.S. UIS2 entered the market in 2004. That's a tad more than a decade ago.
Cheers,
John
