Bongartz Geigenauktionen - Feine Streichinstrumente und Bögen

Welcome 2009

As we are just in the process of planning the business year ahead, I thought I would seize the opportunity of providing you with a brief review of the last one.

Despite the current global financial situation, which is making the headlines wherever we look, the much feared drop in the price of valuable stringed instruments did not happen. On the contrary, the prices for very good instruments and special collectors´ item remained execptionally steady.Many of those who exited the stock market annoyed at the heavy losses that they incurred have come to realize just how safe a haven the classical musical instruments´ market is from the investor´s perspective in that the capital invested will not vanish overnight.

We found it most gratifying to discover that 2008 was one of the most successful years to date in the history of our Auction House. Just about everybody who is anybody on the European violin-makers´ scene was represented among those instruments sold: Andreas Guarnerius, Giovanni Baptista Guadagnini, Matteo Goffriller, Francesco Ruggieri, Giuseppe Gagliano, Camillus Camilli, Giovanni Baptista Grancino, Nicolas Lupot, Jean Baptiste Vuillaume etc.

The exhibitions and `live´ auctions at Auction House Bongartz in the heart of Europe drew the largest crowds worldwide in 2008. Our high-quality, illustrated catalogs rank well above the international standard, and as one would expect, the positive mood among the purchasers in our auction room ensured top sales quotas with numerous record-breaking prices being achieved. We remain committed to ensuring that we live up to these same challenging standards in 2009 as well.

G.P. Bongartz
(President)