Recently sold
Collin-Mézin is pretty much a household name, and their violins are always popular with teachers and students. Here we have a late example with a Giacomelli label, very nicely made, near mint, and with a great sound.
There’s no denying that the heyday of the Collin-Mézin violin was around 1880. By the 1920s the name had become more of a brand, and there was a workshop emplying 8 people. However, aside from a few lapese like the “Victorieux” violin, Collin-Mézin stayed well ahead of JTL and Laberte, and produced very nice-sounding instruments that demostrated real care in the making.
This example is typically quite flat between the f-holes, very neatly made with a good scroll and artistic corners. It’s in a fantastic state of preservation with hardly a scratch on it.
What a great violin … it’s zingy, super-fast off the starting blocks, with lots of volume and a very satisfying woody core. I’m slightly prejudiced against later Collin-Mézins, but this one has forced me to change my mind. It would be an ideal instrument for an extrovert player or a budding soloist – it seems to function well with any repertoire, and it has just the right amount of personality, not too much, not too little!
in this price range it would be hard to beat for sound and playability, and when you consider the condition and the nice certificate, it really ticks all the boxes.
Dimensions: length of back 35.8cm, stop 130/193mm
Certificate: JJ Rampal, Vatelot-Rampal, Paris 2017 
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