Glanville & Co B. Wintermilne Signature Violin Australia 2026

Bron Watkins is an Australian luthier and musician with 16 years of professional experience in instrument repair, modification and construction. They began their career as a guitar technician, apprenticing under prominent guitar luthier Richard “Clyde” Watkins in 2010 and spending eight years at Big Music in Sydney. In 2018, Watkins joined The Sydney String Centre, expanding into orchestral string-instrument repair and learning violin making with Glanville & Co. In 2022, SSC sponsored them to study with master violin maker Hagen Weise in Germany.

A career highlight came in 2025, when Watkins completed the design and construction of the Mezzitone, a custom six-stringed instrument commissioned by violinist Ian Cooper in collaboration with Max Glanville. Combining the scale length of a violin with the lower register needed to play cello repertoire, the instrument explores new possibilities in string-instrument design. Watkins now operates their own workshop in Mparntwe/Alice Springs, specialising in the repair and restoration of stringed instruments in the challenging conditions of the central Australian desert. Alongside their repair work, they continue to make violins for Glanville & Co. and perform with local music projects.