favorite harps--or should I say, prettiest harp models

Talk on the harp forums lately about best/favorite harps made me think....I might come up with my own list....but this is based on visuals alone....sound quality or price or brand has nothing to do with it....

maybe I should call this the prettiest harp list.

I'll break it down by category.

Gold Harps
Judging from pictures on websites, it's hard to tell. I've never been one to obsess over gold harps, so perhaps that is strongly influencing my decision. At the moment, when it comes to a glided harp, I think I'd have to go with Salvi's Minerva, which has quite a bit of the wood showing in the column. Carl Swanson has a harp that gives a bit of the gold without going full out, his semi-gilded Empire.

Concert Grands
Although some of the simple styles are beautiful, I prefer ones with carving and more detail. I have a few favorite styles in this category. The Salvi Arianna, Salvi's Victor Salvi 50th Anniversary Harp, the Venus Paragon, Aoyama's Musa 47, s

Other harps I like in this category include Horngacher's Cassiopeia, and Camac's Atlantide and Athena models. Javelot de Gabriel, by Thurau Harps, does deserve mention, although not my favorite it is definitely an intriguing look.