Made in Vermont, USA

At 305mm, the 16" is our full-size viola and the benchmark every smaller size in our line is modeled from — not the other way around. It's built for conservatory students and working professionals who need an instrument with the depth, projection, and even four-string balance to hold its own in a solo line or a section.

Each V. Richelieu™ 16" viola is graduated by our master luthiers, with the top and back individually thinned to bring out that specific piece of wood's tonal character. Fingerboard and bridge geometry are built specifically for viola proportions, with particular attention to the C string — the register where a poorly built viola falls apart and a well-built one comes alive. Finished with hand-painted oil varnish, it's an instrument built to be a career instrument, not a step on the way to one.

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High-Quality Materials

Every V. Richelieu™ is made entirely in our Vermont workshop, hand-graduated by senior luthiers who thin each top and back to precise, individually judged measurements — not a factory template. Our spruce is hand-split and sourced from Italy and Switzerland; our maple comes from Bosnia. Where we can, we build with FSC®-certified tonewoods and offer GaiaTone and Sonowood as ebony-alternative fittings, so exceptional sound doesn't come at the expense of the forests it depends on. The oil-based varnish on every instrument is hand-painted by an accomplished oil portrait artist — a detail most makers at this price point skip entirely.