Fender Diamond Collection Now Available
An alert from CR Guitars owner Craig Snyder:
"A very special collection of Fender guitars is up for sale at the Music Gallery (musicgalleryinc.com). The Music Gallery is owned by my good friend Frank Glionna. I've known Frank for many years, even before I opened CR Guitars, and he is the guy I've always turned to when I need a guitar with an "F" on the headstock. He is also a Fender Diamond Dealer and gets the very best of the best. I don't usually tout other shops in news entries, but this Diamond Collection is so special that I felt it worthy of a special mention and a heads up for any interested parties. If you have any questions please contact me or reach out to Frank at the Music Gallery."
Here is what Frank has to say about these guitars:
"I was going through my small collection of guitars here at the Music Gallery and realized that it was the 25th Anniversary of the Fender Custom Shop's Diamond Dealer designation! Here is a little back story on my favorite Custom Shop Collection of all time, the Diamond Collection...
"The Diamond Collection marked the beginning of the Fender Custom Shop showing off true pieces of art in guitar building. It was the early 1990s and Fender wanted to show the guitar community that they could build more than just a working man's guitar. They wanted to show off a staff of builders that not only could build the perfect Fender guitar, like the pre-CBS era guitars, but also take things to the next level and deliver true pieces of art.
"At the time, Fender went to a select number of dealers around the country and offered them oportunities to become a "Diamond Dealer." Each dealer would receive 2 of the Diamond Edition guitars per year. A total of 6 models were created. The first 2 were released in 1994.
"The Fender Diamond Collection consists of 6 guitars and they arrived in the following order...
- Harley Davidson Strat
- Playboy Anniversary Strat "Marilyn Monroe"
- Aloha Strat in honor of Freddie Tavares
- 40th Anniversary Strat in honor of the 40 years of the Strat
- 50th Anniversary Strat in honor of the 50th anniversary of Fender
- Jimmy Hendrix Monterey Strat
"The Music Gallery was one of the very first Diamond Dealers. It marked the beginning of the Fender Custom Shop as we know it today. As the owner of the Music Gallery since 1974 I am very proud to say that The Music Gallery has remained a Fender Custom shop dealer since becoming one of the first Diamond Dealers. All 6 of our examples in the Diamond Collection have been kept here at the Music Gallery in their cases, routinely maintained by our expert resident technician George MacPhail.
"Because many of these guitars were co-branded with other industries (Harley Davidson, Playboy Enterprises, and the Hendrix Foundation) many examples were given to those companies. Only the guitars built for Diamond Dealers had a special addition on the headstock of the guitar. It was the signature Custom Shop logo V with an actual diamond inlaid. All the Diamond Dealer guitars were built with the same diamond inlay. Only the Diamond Dealer guitars had the extra special logo to show it was shipped to one of the special dealers.
"Most, if not all of the Diamond Dealers at that time, sold these guitars as they were made. I decided to keep them as a set. I considered these guitars to be quite special. After all, these were and are truly collectable, unique Fender Custom Shop guitars - true pieces of art. There are countless details to appreciate on these amazing pieces.
"The Diamond Collection you see here is being offered for sale. These guitars have rarely been out of their cases & played, except to be oogled over at special Fender events that we've held at the shop over the years. Every little item that these guitars were shipped with is included, including the scent of patchouli oil on the Hendrix Monterey Strat. Too cool!"
