If you’re looking for horns that are not the same old, same old, and you shop on eBay, then a dealer by the name of shresthakimi might be someone for you to check out. shresthakimi regularly has some of the more unusual vintage saxophones for sale on the massive online auction site. Although not all are in pristine condition, some of this dealer’s horns are outright breathtaking.
Such is the case with this remarkable silver plated, Buescher C melody, that has a rose gold wash bell. (More on that later.)
Source: shresthakimi
shresthakimi describes the horn like this:
BUESCHER TRUE-TONE C-MELODY SAXOPHONE
IN SILVER
LOW PITCHED INSTRUMENT FROM 1925.
S.N. 186627
HAS GORDON BESSON PAT. PADS ON THEM
PLAYS BEAUTIFULLY TOP TO BOTTOM.
REST IN PICTURE
The pictures do show us a horn that appears to still have its original silver plate. There’s no evidence that the sax suffered any trauma during its lifetime. And the rose gold wash bell, it looks pretty darn good still too.
Source: shresthakimi
According to Pete’s research from when he owned Saxpics, this horn is a Series II True Tone. The Buescher serial number chart on Saxpics also confirms that this C melody is from 1925.
Now with regards to the rose gold wash bell, according to Bear at Cybersax, Buescher achieved this look not with gold, but with copper. He writes the following about gold and copper washes:
The gold bell wash was standard on silver plated saxophones made in the USA before WWII. There are two techniques for achieving it. A yellow gold effect is achieved simply by briefly plating a highly polished silver inner bell in 24 karat gold. The plating bath isn’t maintained long enough to make the surface layer so dense in gold to be ‘gold plated’ – merely ‘washed’ over with a lovely golden tint. The second method results in a ‘rose gold’ effect, used primarily by Buescher on its silver plated saxes made after about 1925. ‘Rose gold’ is gorgeous, but really not gold at all. The ‘rose gold’ effect is achieved by laying on a copper wash (thin layer of copper plating) instead of a 24K gold wash.
Source: Beautiful Bell Washes & Fine Silver Plate! on Cybersax.com
If you’re into vintage saxes, and this lovely Buescher C melody with a rose gold appearance bell appeals to you, then you have until February 14 to buy it—unless someone beats you to it that is. The Buy It Now price is £565.00, which eBay currently estimates to be $887.39 US.
Come on you C mel lovers out there… This baby is looking for a new home. I know someone out there wants it… :devil2:
Update: Well this gorgeous little beauty sold for the asking price of £565.00. I’m not surprised really. It is an unusual finish, and the horn is in very good condition. If the buyer is a C mel player, I’m sure he/she is very happy with their new eBay treasure.
Belated welcome back from the Auslander. :cheers:
Thank you Russ. I’m sorry it’s taken so long to reply back to your belated greeting. I’ve been playing catch-up. I’ve been answering emails that go back a month. :groan:
It’s bad… I have so many emails that I really do need a secretary I think.
I don’t think I’ve caught up on comments yet either. Looking on the bright side though, that means that things are getting back to normal around here after the great meltdown of 2012. Hey, maybe the Mayans were right after all. 😈