Although CCI's activities have often been reported in international journals and other prestigious publications around the world, for many years the Institute lacked the final 'laurel of excellence'. But fate provided this accolade when our name finally appeared in The National Enquirer, under the heading "Junk violin he found in attic worth $500,000." The violin in question had indeed been brought into our labs. We had examined it visually and then suggested the owner contact a reputable violin dealer for an appraisal. Unfortunately, when subsequently speaking to a reporter from The National Enquirer, our visitor must have been rather economical with the truth. It was reported in that august journal that we had carbon dated the violin and had shown it to be 287 years old — an altogether astonishing figure for carbon dating, where plus or minus the nearest 25 years might be considered excellent. We had also apparently taken X-rays of the instrument and had pronounced it "in perfect condition," although none of us remembered having done so. Our radiography log and negative files recorded no such work. Hmmm.

The result of all this very welcome publicity was a flood of enquiries from all over North America, and even further afield, regarding violins carrying such ubiquitous labels as "Antonius Stradiuarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1721" (made by Antonio Stradivari of Cremona in the year 1721). Such factory fiddles, made in Germany, France, and Czechoslovakia and labelled in honour of the great maker, have fooled the unwary for many years. Mind you, even if "all that glisters is not gold," we are still willing to look over your old fiddles and give advice about their care and preservation, because you never know...