Durability of John Packer euphs
I'm looking to get a new euphonium soon (I'm currently playing on an american style baritone). One of the brands I came across is John Packer, and I found a few of their sterling model (JP374) on Reverb for about $2500, and a few of their regular compensating model (JP274) for about $1500. From my research I haven't really found anything negative about John Packer instruments, but I want to know how durable they are; I've heard that Chinese instruments tend to have thin silver plating and lacquer, and I want to know if this also applies to JP instruments. Also, is it worth it to buy the sterling model, or should I just save some money and go for their regular compensating euph?
Are there any other instruments for about $2500 or less that might be a better value?