How many silver frames come up each year?

About 220 reach the market on Sellingantiques in a year, listed by 88 different dealers. That makes it one of the broader-shouldered silver categories on the site. The supply is spread across every strand, from miniature travelling frames to the large display pieces.

Which assay offices appear most often?

Birmingham leads with 126 titles, Chester follows with 75. London and Sheffield also appear. Chester frames have become a recognisable sub-strand in their own right, named as such by dealers in the title.

What sizes do these frames run to?

From pocket and travelling frames of a few centimetres up to display pieces around 20 inches. The largest in the sample is a 20-inch George V frame of 1915. Between those poles, 8, 12, 13 and 14-inch frames all turn up, and the word "large" carries 217 titles.

Are there any unusual shapes or novelty forms?

Hearts, ovals and circles all appear, along with double, triple and folding frames. The crossovers are odder still: a vesta case with a photo frame, a stamp case, an inkwell, a desk tidy, a bookmark, a cocktail compact, a silver-framed magnifying glass and a miniature pole screen in silver.

Do foreign silver frames turn up here?

Only once in a blue moon. Single Italian, German, French, Belgian, Australian and Chinese-export examples appear across the whole sample. The category is overwhelmingly British hallmarked silver.

Do any frames carry inscriptions?

A handful have mottoes worked into the silver. "Dinna Forget", "Rosemary For Remembrance", "Friendship is a Sheltering Tree" and "Peace Hath Her Victories" all appear. A Shakespeare quotation and a Romeo and Juliet frame are also in the record.