Stradivarius Secrets
Many of the Stradivarius manufacturing secrets are a subject of research for modern science. It is known that he used spruce for the top, willow wood for the internal parts and maple for the neck, strip and back. The wood was apparently treated with several different minerals, including Borax, sodium and potassium silicate and a varnish made from Arabic gum, honey and egg white called bianca.
A Stradivarius made in the 1680s or the period between 1690 and 1700 is worth about several hundred thousand dollars. One made during Stradivari’s Golden Era from 1700 to 1720 could be worth several million dollars. The highest priced Stradivarius came up for auction and was sold for $3.5 million dollars but others have been sold privately for much more.
I am trying to find out how much my Stradiuarius is worth.
It’s really ld and has the old wooden box. Here is what it says on the inside
A-Onius Stradiuarius Cremonenfis Facie Bat Anno 17 +AS
On the back is says Conservatory
January 24th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Dawn, Approximately 90% of violins ever produced have the name Stradivarius on a label inside. Many say “copy of” and most don’t.
The violins that had “Conservatory” carved or stamped on the back of the scroll were made in european factories and sold to school districts all over the world. The more violins a school board ordered the better the deal.
Violin playing classes were offered by the schools for a fee and a violin was included whether you wanted it or not. I know people that got these violins with their classes back in the 1940s, & ’50s.
One says he told them he had his father’s violin but they made him take a new one and pay the full price for the class. These violins are usually very well made and can sound wonderful depending on which factory and which era it came from.
Without seeing yours the best guess is the value could be anywhere from fifty bucks to two thousand dollars. You don’t have a real Stradivarius.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:35 pm