There are main measures of quality (actually, lots more,but 2 "main") First, there is the sharpness, return to zero, optical clarity, lack of distortion at the edges, low light/coatings, etc. There, modern Asian grinding and coating certainly is far ahead of premium European quality from a couple of decades ago.
But.......then there is the hundreds of rounds fired, miles traveled, guns dropped, guns moved from freezing to indoors thousands of times, hunted in mist, fog, rain, etc, etc. For that, I'll take my 20 yo Leupold or Zeiss, not to mention Swaro, all day long. I'm legally blind without glasses, and I'm well aware that all that extra glass makes me lose sight quickly at dust, but I'll take the older glass over modern cost cutting construction techniques, thank you. I bet you CAN see better than me through a $250 scope. I bet you won't be carrying it in 20 years, either.