In 2017, a single violin bow
sold at auction for $690,000.
You can buy a beginner's bow for less than $50,
but a top-rate professional bow
can often cost thousands of dollars.
A bow like this is completely
handcrafted by skilled artisans.
And just one can take an entire week to make.
Even the most subtle differences
in the way a bow is made
will change how well it plays.
So, why would someone pay so much for a bow?
And what makes it so expensive?
Violin bows are far more complex than they appear.
And so much of what sets the value of a bow
comes down to the artisan who makes it.
Narrator: Sandrine Raffin has spent the last 30 years
mastering this craft at her family shop.
To begin building a bow, she needs raw materials
from specific regions of the world.
The most essential are Pernambuco wood from Brazil
and horsehair from Mongolia that costs $900 a pound.
Typically, horses in cold climates
have thicker and stronger hair,
which won't break as easily while playing.
Narrator: Because of this wear and tear,
even professional ones
must be rehaired every three months,
which is a large part
of a bow maker's restoration work.
So much of this process relies
on the natural instinct of a bow maker.
Narrator: By "nervous," Sandrine refers to bows
that are too stiff for a musician to maintain balance.
They must be sturdy, yet flexible enough to move fluidly.
Narrator: Every small alteration by the bow maker,
from carving the head of the stick
to tweaking the curve of the bow,
determines how well a bow will play
and ultimately sets the final value.
Narrator: So even as ideal as this wood is for bows,
it's up to the bow maker to determine
that the shape of the stick is just right.
Then Sandrine must consider the age of the wood,
another time-consuming element of the process.
Narrator: Sandrine has restored bows made by
master artisans from hundreds of years ago.
These bows only remain playable with routine repairs,
but because of their rarity and centuries-old wood,
just one of them can be worth
tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Whether a bow is ancient or modern,
each one appeals to different people.
And it's up to the musician to decide
whether the price and quality of sound are worth it.
Narrator: Like Sandrine, many esteemed artisans
have studied this craft in France,
where prominent French bow makers like
François Xavier Tourte developed the modern bow.
Bow makers don't typically go to school,
as you would with violin making.
Instead, many must train as an apprentice
for three years under a master bow maker.
That tradition continues for Sandrine today,
as she shows the next generation
how to make bows by hand.