I think the better you are the worst your horn can look. It is a status symbol. The audience has a wow factor thinking you have played that horn forever.
I have been on the lower side of finances all my life. Many used items to make do with. If I could get something half way good and make it look like new again, I was a happy man. What others called antiques, my family called "hand-me-downs". My 1926 Buescher True Tone silver Alto will be polished as bright as I can make it. Sorry if I ruined it, but it is a great horn and I want it to look the part.