Historically, a set of six chairs are always worth considerably more than six times the price of a single chair.

Indeed, 12 chairs are worth more than double the price of six chairs. In years gone by, a death in the family meant that sets of chairs were split between the next generation. Very often new chairs were made to match in order to recreate the original set of six, eight or 12 chairs. Clearly such a made-up set will not be worth the same sum as an original set. It is important, therefore, that collectors and buyers should always check that the chairs are of similar age and that there are no new replacements.

Patina is the wear and tear and surface evidence of a long life, so a new reproduction piece can not recreate it in the same way. A check to ensure that all chairs in a set are of the same colour and patination will help confirm their originality.

Another way is to simply lift each chair off the ground with one hand and compare weights; the timber in newer chairs tends to weigh a lot less than in older period chairs.