Great suggestions everybody. I think a Gilchrist is going to run north of 12k but I know them by reputation though I've never played one. I had the good fortune to attend a Watkins Family Hour show over the weekend. Their guest was Courtney Hartman and she played a Lawrence Smart archtop. Here's a video of her with it. Just about the perfect sound for an archtop to my ear. I haven't found any info on price but based on what I've seen of Smart mandolins I'd guess they must be up in that range. Well, I can't seem to embed the video so here's the link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtldB73hiYM