Silver Rope Stanchion

The silver post: 89 cm of polished tube on a weighted base, a ball on top and a hook at the head for a 5 ft velvet rope.

It is the neutral of the three finishes. Gold commits a room to ceremony and black disappears into one; silver does neither, which is why it turns up in hotel lobbies and galleries where the same posts have to work for a wedding on Saturday and a conference on Monday.

It also survives daylight better than gold, holding its colour in a glass atrium where gold goes flat. Ropes clip on with a carabiner at each end — see the rope range — and if the line needs re-cutting through the day, a belt post is the better tool.