A number of years ago I contacted Pete Hales, the man who had founded and at the time still owned The Vintage Saxophone Gallery, about an obscure French saxophone I was given in about 1980. The manufacturer was Pierret, but the horn was also stamped with the name C. Jeuffroy. The model name stamped on the sax was Concerto with Virtuor.
At the time, Pete didn’t know a great deal about the brand, so he began his research. Eventually all this research led to the creation of the Pierret section of the Vintage Saxophone Gallery.
This morning I was poking around through eBay, and came across a Pierret Modele 5S nickel-plated alto saxophone.
Pierret Modele 5S, nickel-plated alto, serial number 72XX, in its original case.
Source: eBay.com
According the the research Pete had done, he came up with the following with regards to the numbered models of Pierrets: “Modele 1-7 (probably discontinued in early to mid-1920’s; possibly all were produced concurrently)”.
Source: eBay.com
In the photos below you can see the horn has white pads in some of the key cups. According to the seller, these are the original, non-resonator pads that were in the sax. Apparently it is supposed to have most of its original pads, and those are supposed to be in “surprisingly good condition“.
Source: eBay.com
The seller says that “[t]he nickel-plate is in excellent condition on both the neck and body (95%) with no wear on the usual areas – not even the key touches – there is some light scratching on the bell caused by a sax stand.”
I’ve never seen this kind of “light scratching” from a sax stand before. It looks like the finish is coming off…
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
Below you can very clearly see the distinctive, Pierret, leaf-shaped posts.
Source: eBay.com
Source: eBay.com
I have never seen a nickel-plated Pierret, and don’t know if the finish is original. Unfortunately the picture of the engraving is too blurred to see how crisp the engraving really is. Combine that together with the nickle-plating being rubbed off on the bell somehow 
, raises some questions in my mind that I’d want to ask the seller if I were in the market for another Pierret.
All that aside, it is interesting to see another Pierret, albeit slightly older than mine, up for sale. Pierrets are relatively rare birds in the saxophone world. While they don’t command the high prices of Selmers or other French brands, they are every bit the saxophone of their French contemporaries.
I like my old axe. I just don’t play it much. Since I don’t play alto very much at all, my Pierret just really gets the short end of the gigging stick! (It would be the back up to the back up horn.)
Update: This horn sold for 166 GBP on Oct. 19th, which on that day would have been $284.40 US.