What happens at a Valuation Day?

The violin sitting in your attic or lying under your bed was once treasured by someone and could be worth a lot of money today. Even bows can be worth a lot of money and valuation days can often reveal some very special violin or cello bows.

An appointment at a valuation day is rather like being part of the television programme, Antiques Roadshow. People bring in stringed musical instruments and specialists from Amati appraise them. And, as in the programme, there can be exciting news or disappointment.

During your appointment, you will meet one of our specialists. They will inspect your stringed instrument and bow, and, in most cases, will be able to tell you more information about your instrument and its current market value. There are a handful of instruments that warrant closer attention and research so this work needs to be carried out first before a value is advised.

We are often asked why we provide this service and the easy answer is because some people wish to sell their instrument and we hope they will sell through us, either now or in the future. There is no obligation, expectation or assumption from us that this will be the case and many people simply book an appointment because they wish to learn more about the instrument’s origin.