Removing CITES materials from a fretboard inlay.

[Richard R]

Just a thought - if you're in Birmingham then you have the resources of the jewellery quarter at your disposal. They may not be luthiers, but there are plenty of specialists at intricate delicate work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jazzyvee]

On 28/11/2022 at 13:24, asingardenof said:

I can only recommend my old luthier Julyan Wallace in Penzance, currently off of BBC One's The Repair Shop (I knew him before he was TV famous though). Definitely worth a trip to Cornwall for, I reckon.

Thanks for that, I did contact him via his web site and he replied. He is too busy to take on such a job. 

 

[jazzyvee]

On 30/11/2022 at 21:30, Richard R said:

Just a thought - if you're in Birmingham then you have the resources of the jewellery quarter at your disposal. They may not be luthiers, but there are plenty of specialists at intricate delicate work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good point.

[TrevorR]

They are down near Exeter - so a long way - but Jack at Brook Guitars is a wizard at inlays. They take on repairs as a standard sideline so should be open to it. And ask them for a certificate of works to certify they’ve removed and replaced it. 
 

https://www.brookguitars.com

[Hellzero]

And send the invoice to Alembic for a full refund!

[LukeFRC]

On 29/11/2022 at 01:22, jazzyvee said:

I see your point, though i did not buy it from alembic, it was from the original owner via a commission sale. But in any case  alembic export under license from the US Fish and Wildlife department so would have to declare any ivory or risk prosecution if they were going to export out of the USA. However since they didn't export it, i don't think they have any responsibility to do that for me.

Also my understanding of the HMRC information that it was only when the law changed in the UK recently that it became illegal for it to be sold or or shipped out of the country, unless i can prove the ivory does not come from an elephant. Previous to that i would have needed to get a permit. I doubt that alembic would be able to tell me what ivory it is since it was reclaimed from a vintage piano. 
The reality is, if i can't get it replaced, it just stays with me and maybe i can pass it on to a conservatoire in a will or have it buried or cremated with me. 🙂. 

They might not have responsibility - but even if you paid £200 for them to draw up the documents for you that show the ivory was reclaimed from an early piano would be cheaper and less risky than finding someone to remove replace and repair any fretwork.

the other benefit is anything else that is near restricted in the guitar like mother of Pearl will also be documented - who knows in 5 year time what will he restricted 

[jazzyvee]

On 04/12/2022 at 16:31, LukeFRC said:

They might not have responsibility - but even if you paid £200 for them to draw up the documents for you that show the ivory was reclaimed from an early piano would be cheaper and less risky than finding someone to remove replace and repair any fretwork.

the other benefit is anything else that is near restricted in the guitar like mother of Pearl will also be documented - who knows in 5 year time what will he restricted 

I like that suggestion and will contact them about that, but i think i will also need to talk to a uk expert to assess the guitar and the ivory content and if i can get some kind of official exemption certificate or passport type document if it is excempt, that can accompany the instrument if it is sold that will make things easier. But certainly if i could sell it i would not post it, the buyer would have to collect it and if it was going abroad they would need to accept liability for any loss due to seizure at this or the destination country. 

Edited December 11, 2022 by jazzyvee