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Chapter 5. Depreciation Schedules

The schedules which take up the last half of this chapter show only approximate loss of value -- in other words, depreciation -- caused by the most serious kinds of physical changes. Some damages can at least be mitigated. But the cost of repairs aimed at restoring the essential original parts of a master violin, is NOT included in my listing. Bear in mind that the actual cost of a violin -- to the buyer -- has to include both (1) the sale price and (2) the cost of restoration. In other words, the buyer's real outlay would be his combined purchase price plus repairs.

These schedules are especially useful in determining the relative value -- based on physical condition only -- of violins made by the same maker. Even so, in case of accidental damages to the violin, the same schedules will also help to set a new depreciated value, or to establish the size of one's monetary loss.

The examples provided refer to, and illustrate, the application of these schedules. The schedules themselves are printed after the examples:

Example A. Relative physical value.

Question: What is the monetary value of Violin #2 as a physical artifact -- relative to Violin #1 as a physical artifact -- from the perspective of a collector?

Example B. Depreciation of insured value.

Question: What is the revised value and loss of value to the owner of a violin after the accident?

Damage to the Neck and Bridge.
The Neck and Bridge are not essential original parts in establishing the collector's value.
No depreciation.

Plus total reimbursement of repair cost.

SCHEDULE A. Replacements

Depreciation, resulting from REPLACEMENTS of essential original parts. Before the art of restoring fine but damaged old violins was developed -- indeed, before the desirability of genuine restoration was understood -- repairmen often replaced damaged essential parts with parts of their own (and often of their own design). Because of this, many fine old violins evidence the replacement of essential parts. Even when replacements were made by other famous violin makers, the collector's value of the violin diminished. Quite simply, the violin became less desirable to a knowledgeable collector.

REPLACEMENTS of the original part:

Also depreciating the value of a master violin is the REPLACEMENT of the following essential original parts: the linings, the edges, the label, and any or all of the six corner blocks; in terms of collector's value, any resetting of the F-holes counts as a like replacement.

SCHEDULE B. Damages

Depreciation, resulting from DAMAGE to essential original parts. Injuries to a violin are frequently the result of accidents. But -- oddly yet strikingly -- most untreatable injuries (irreversible damages) are caused within the confines of violin repair shops! Yet there are other causes. Extreme dryness, extreme humidity, unethical alterations, and faulty original construction may also cause damage to and warping of essential original parts. Together, the repair and restoration of fine violins have developed into highly sophisticated modern arts. They are practiced with such skill that depreciating damages are, today, barely detectable -- sometimes, completely undiscernibly -- to most buyers of fine violins. These repairs and restorations are important. They may restore an instrument's artistic value and/or its utility. As a practical matter, we know that they certainly restore the saleability of particular violins! Yet, in spite of all the values these arts sometimes reclaim, there is one thing they can not do. These arts can never restore the original collector's value of any instrument.

DAMAGES to the original part:

There are other types of damage which depreciate the value of a master violin. These are also DAMAGES to essential original parts: cracks, in addition to those already specified above, at the Back, Top, Ribs and Scroll; doubling of the edges; injuries to the varnish (except from normal usage, normal "wear and tear"); warping of the Back, Top and Ribs; and channels in the wood, caused by woodworms.

SCHEDULE C. Ethical Alterations

Depreciation, resulting from ETHICAL ALTERATIONS of the essential original parts. The modern construction of violins, violas, celli, and basses reflects a general agreement regarding playable dimensions -- particularly in regard to the length and width of an instrument's body. This is a relatively recent development. Many of the older masters -- especially when constructing violas, celli and basses -- experimented with the length and width of the body. Today's players, therefore, often find that the instruments of old masters are of little practical use. They're considerably larger than anything the performer is used to, and so feel awkward.

In consequence, a method has been developed to shorten body length -- and thereby make these instruments more "user friendly" in the hands of players today.

ETHICAL ALTERATIONS of the original parts:

Generally speaking, the above are viewed as I have labeled them, as ethical alterations. They nevertheless reduce the collector's value of a master violin. In saying this, I am thinking of ETHICAL ALTERATIONS such as: narrowing the width of the upper and lower bouts on the original back and top, in connection with a shortening of body length; raising the height of the ribs.

SCHEDULE D. Unethical Alterations

Depreciation, resulting from UNETHICAL ALTERATIONS of the essential original parts. In Chapter 6, sec. c. "Ethics of Repair and Adjustment Service," readers will find a detailed description of the most common type of unethical alteration: regraduation (often called, "thinning-out") of and instrument's Top, Back and Ribs. This particular mode of unethical alteration is especially deplorable -- indeed, hideous. Why? It subjects the instrument to dramatic but nearly-undetectable change. Often, it so weakens a violin's structure that its playable days are nearly over -- however resonant and powerful it may sound for the moment. But, in addition to all this, one confronts a final and appalling fact. Private owners and buyers of violins, as many dealers are surely aware, are in no position to discover the injury. They can not detect the damage done. Nor can they be aware of the consequent depreciation vis-a-vis collector's value. Once the instrument has been reassembled for showroom display, the injury is virtually impossible to see -- unless one has fiber optic equipment in hand! The damage is internal, hidden within. It has been inflicted on the inner surfaces of the instrument's Back and Top. The violin's wounds, so to speak, are invisible. Yet the owner or buyer is unlikely to suspect anything, although his pocketbook may one day let him know the difference.

UNETHICAL ALTERATIONS of the original parts:

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