The set seems to be in France.
Very nice; I wouldn’t be surprised that he may get that asking price either.
This set also appears on one of the French ’ classified Advert’ sites where it is described as “èbéne/argent”…( ebony and silver) and then ebony/nickel on ebay… ?
Looks more like Stainless Steel to me …
Price ? Yes, probably correct .
just out of interest how many instruments by froment are out there? and who taught him pipe-making?
Not enough…
I heard somewhere he was self taught by examining and studying older sets. I have no idea though. Can someone back me up? 
No one bid on the auction.
I love the sound of Mick O’Brien’s Bb set but I don’t have the same high appreciation for other Froment flat sets (Bnat or C).
just out of interest how many instruments by froment are out there?
There must be 200 full sets out there? No?
Personally, buying a 15 to 20 year old Froment set is a lot like buying a 15 to 20 year old car. A nice car though. BMW, Mercedes, etc.
There are certain design elements that may or may not last the test of time that have to be closely examined.
Tommy
Edited to correct my estimate. (2000 
)
Interesting question - how many sets did he make?
Dave Williams told me he worked on the basis of 10 full sets per year (or equivalent in half sets etc). I can’t imagine Froment worked much faster than Dave?
How long was he a professional maker? 25-30 years?
Just guestimating - 250 sets?
How many Rowsome sets are there - for comparison’s sake?
Or does someone know better?
Cheers
A
That sounds about right Andy,
I recall Alain saying he had made himself a C# set during a two week break from paid work… but I cannot see him making more than one set per month… and that is a tremendous rate of work for a one man operation.
I used to manage 10 sets a year during my ‘youthfull enthusiasm years’ and I recall Alain also mentioning a sensible rate of 8 sets per year.
I have been working longer than Alain did and I have just finished my 212th…
Happy New Year to all,
Geoff.
If I could remember my college French, I was going to ask the seller the year they were made. I also wondered if Froment used makers marks or other distinctive features that would make it easy to determine the authenticity and/or age of the set.
All the sets I’ve seen (not many, 3 or 4) have his name engraved on the main stock, with the mention “made for…” as far as I can remember…
…and the year and place too (Kenmare).
Thanks gents!
If anybody is interested in this instrument I can forward the advert from the French web site… just PM me with your email address…
On the other hand you could check out that website and see what else is for sale… you just need a wee bit of French to navigate the classifieds at:
It makes me sad when I think of Alain Froment in the same way you might think about the life of Robin Williams or Vincent Van Gogh. They gave so much to the world and in terms of their own well being got no payback.
RORY
Should anybody interested in the set need that wee bit of French, I can help…