Perhaps the greatest of all Stradivarius mysteries is why no modern violinmaker has been able to replicate Stradivari's work. The violins of Stradivari's time were treated with a varnish made from the resinous material of any of a number of possible plants. We don't know what method Stradivari used to cook the resin (or for how long he cooked it), but its translucent sheen lent to the violins a robust whiskey color and may have also enhanced the wood's ability to echo sound so clearly.

We can measure the instruments' varying lengths (a little more than 14 inches), depths (about 11/4 inch), and width. Even a marginally talented copyist can make a violin with the specs of a Stradivarius. Yet no one has been able to make an instrument that yields the extraordinary tonal quality of a Strad.

Stephanie Chase, who has studied the essence of the Stradivarius says, "Because the perfection of a Stradivarius has never been matched by another maker past or present, it makes you think we must be missing something...

"I've begun to believe there must be a higher concept, some overriding principle that he abided by that we just have not been able to understand."