J & A Beare Ltd

For over 120 years Beare’s has built a reputation as a respected violin dealer and expert through buying, selling, making and restoring instruments and bows of exceptional quality, and many of which are fine antiques.

Their team of specialists are appreciated by musicians, collectors and investors around the world. Many of the world’s leading performers, both past and present, have chosen to play on instruments from Beare’s. Among them are Joshua Bell, Kyung Wha Chung, Nigel Kennedy, Pinchas Zukerman, Yehudi Menuhin, Nathan Milstein, Isaac Stern, Steven Isserlis, Ralph Kirshbaum, Yo-Yo Ma, Heinrich Schiff, Pierre Fournier, Jacqueline du Pré and Mstislav Rostropovich.

Among notable violins previously sold by Beare’s are fine 18th-century instruments made by Pietro Giacomo Rogeri, Brescia c.1710, by Guarneri del Gesù, Cremona 1737 and by Guarneri del Gesù, Cremona 1735, to name but a few.

Founded in 1892, the firm of John and Arthur Beare merged in 1998 with Morris and Smith, another successful firm of violin dealers based in London. As a result Beare’s directors – Frances Gillham, Peter Beare (a qualified luthier) and Chairman Charles Beare – were joined by Simon Morris and Steven Smith. They all share a passion for fine violins, violas and cellos and, with their authoritative range of complementary skills, offer Beare’s clients world-leading expertise. In 2008 Beare’s received The Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade and in December 2010 they were appointed honorary advisors to the Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain.