Is violette dauphine a higher end fig. Thinking of trading my mavra vasilika sika for it. And dont know much about it. The person i am trading with is not a forum member but he is a friend of mine. Opinions are welcome. Thank you

That trade seems good to me.

I haven't grown VD yet myself, but Aaron4USA just sent me 30 cuttings of his "Aaron's Violette Dauphine" to grow out and distribute, so I'd like to hear all opinions of it, too.

If he's a friend of yours then regardless of the Monetary value of the cuttings being offered you should be happy to get something different and help your friend acquire a new variety in return . It's true what goes around comes around, sometimes giving a friend a good variety will give him/her leverage to acquire figs elsewhere and possible share them with you. It's ok to be stingy with cuttings to strangers because you may never speak to them again, but look out for your friends.  that said they both are around $50-100 plants once established depending on size and demand at the time. 

There is Dauphine and Violette Dauphine. These two do not look alike at all. I have grown and tasted the one from Raintree which in my limited experience is excellent for fresh eating but the fruit appears to be smaller than the real Violette Dauphine.

The real Violette Dauphine "was the favorite variety of Louis XIV" and is also called Grise de Tarascon.

http://www.galgoni.com/ENG/Fotos_Maxi/015.htm

Hi Sas,
I think that you mixed it up.

Dauphine is "Grise de Tarascon" and is known to have been grown near Versailles in what was some of the first documented winter protection techniques for fig trees.
Dauphine is supposed to be cold hardy since there is one grown of 8 meters/24' in height here in my Zone7... Well there is at least a second smaller one :) .
"Violette Dauphine" is less known here, because it was not chosen to be grown by some institution, or public garden .
I have both (hopefully not mislabeled - both nursery acquired ) growing since September 2014. No fruits to speak of, for now. Hopefully this season, I'll get to taste both... or may be next season ... Patience ... Patience ...

As for the trade, if the cuttings are from a reliable source, just go ahead. Swap them around. Unless you have a plan for big bucks sometime later on ...

Thannk you everyone for your own opinions. Never seen much fruit pics from this variety

Hi JD, Here's what is confusing for me. The post below shows my Dauphine. The question is do I have a Dauphine or not? :)

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1288737226&postcount=14

I'm also growing a Violette Dauphine cutting but a long way from comparing the two.

This is a re-post of the photos of my Dauphine:

Looks like a lighter version of violette dauphine to me

Posted by another member of this forum, here's what his Violette Dauphine looks like:

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/violette-dauphine-6003318?highlight=violette+dauphine&pid=1274953332

 

Confusion and curiosity abounds !

It was written above "Dauphine is Grise de Tarascon". I was told recently that "Grise de Tarascon" is breba only fig in most area. Is the same true for Dauphine and Violet Dauphine?

From what I have read and seen:
Dauphin is a bronze fig with very light ( golden or yellow?) interior (don't know much about it)
Violette Dauphin is a Purple / Violet fig with red interior. Aaron's Violette Dauphin is of french strain and has nothing to do with regular American version. In fact, the Avatar on my profile is Aaron's Violette Dauphin fig. I am growing 2 and will inquire more. Superb quality, travels very well and taste very good. I have eaten fruits of the mother tree last summer.
He just started to distribute this variety so it is not a regular item in the market and will be awhile until becomes readily available to anybody.
You can read more about it in detail in LosangelesFigForest page on Facebook.

Hi Sas,
Sorry, but ... Are you growing your tree in special conditions like in a greenhouse ?
If not, then, you don't have a dauphine .
There is a strain that is apparently cultivated in Japan ( strain of European origin) that goes by the name "Matsui dauphine" and of course the name gets shortened to dauphine.

Dauphine has a dark colored skin with ribs.

As already written, I'll wait for my trees to fruit before commenting further .

JDS Thanks for your input. At least I'm also growing a "Violette Dauphine" cutting . 
Looking forward to your results.