Your 'Stradivarius' Is a Fake
Copyright © 2009, Tribune Media Services

Arnet, Danielle - Smart Collector

September 4, 2009

Q: How old does a musical instrument have to be to have value? My violins are dated 1714 and 1713.

--Zona, Oro Valley, Ariz.

A: Owning two instruments, one by Antonius Stradiuarius (sic), another by Jacobus Stanier, seems too good to be true. And it is.

Antonio Stradivari, a Cremona, Italy maker of violins and other stringed instruments, was born in 1644. He, Amati and Guarneri are known as the trinity of top violinmakers. His non-Italian contemporary Jacob Stainer created instruments revered for their tone.

Smart collectors know that stringed instruments, particularly violins, are one arena where flim-flam and forgery are common. Huge numbers of violins were commercially made. Far fewer were hand made.

Many mass-made violins are flat-out fakes or copies of instruments that were hand made by famous makers. If you're a faker, why not slap on the names of the greatest? The market is constructed to confuse.

Few commercially made instruments amount to huge sums. They may sell for what seems a lot of money, but that's the way the violin biz works.

When buying or assessing a stringed instrument, the service of a respected and trained violin maker/repair person is vital. When you don't know the field, it pays to hire a qualified appraiser who knows instruments and the current market. And check out your evaluator.

Key www.fritz-reuter.com for the informational site of Chicago area violinmaker and dealer Fritz Reuter. He's been in the business for decades, and tells it as he sees it. Yes, he's opinionated.

Click on site links to appraisals, buying and pricing.

Reuter himself offers both oral and written appraisals, at reasonable rates.

Finally, know that age is not the determinant of value in violins. It is a factor, but other considerations carry more weight.