No chance it was made by De Rosa, IMO. Aside from the build details (as?noted) the 1700 is a mid-level model. Maybe made in Italy, maybe Mexico (my guess), but the BB heart cutout is very common on Benottos (while being arguably somewhat less common on De Rosas, ironically.)
Ed Granger Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
_________________________________________________________________ "eBay # 350233667830
Looks a bit heavy handed to be a DeRosa (look at rear dropouts, no filing, clunky!) but supposedly made in Italia & look at b.bkt. shell cutout!?
Dale"