Frames. Real Ones, Though.

Handcrafted Frames for Opera Posters | United Colors of Naples
SPEDIZIONE GRATUITA IN ITALIA E EUROPA
Cornice UCN in ambiente
united colors of naples — frames

A story
of broken glass.

For years, we only sold the pieces. Then we realised the wrong frame could ruin them. So we built the right one.

What's inside
Unbreakable
It doesn't shatter. It cracks. Zero shards in your home.
92% Light
Museum-grade clarity. Colours stay vivid.
Solid Wood
Knot-free Ayous. Zero MDF, zero formaldehyde.
Artisan Kraft
Workshop-style backing. Fully sealed.
Invisible Suspension
Anchored in the solid wood. Not the fragile backing. The piece stays perfectly flat.
A true story

For years, we said no.

When you're holding an Opera Poster that's handmade, one of a kind, thought through and cared for down to the last detail, the last thing you want is to see it in some terrible plastic frame, or behind thin glass that shatters out of nowhere, just like that.

Or worse, in transit.
Or, sheer madness, shattered into a thousand pieces by a kid's stray ball, or by pure bad luck.

That's partly why, for a long time, we didn't sell frames.
We'd rather not do it than do it badly.
We focused on the piece.
On the colour.
On the impact it has the moment you see it.

Then we started researching.
For a long time.
Found it, rejected it, broke it, started again.

Until we created something we'd choose for our own home: real solid wood, unbreakable museum-grade synthetic glass.
Inside, proper steel pins (not those flimsy little tabs), 4mm anti-humidity board, a beautiful, smooth back in branded Kraft paper.
An invisible suspension system.
Like the old workshops used to make.

This isn't a frame.
It's the home your piece deserves.

Add it to your Opera Poster.
We'll set it up.
All you have to do is hang it.
That's it.

— Gix, United Colors of Naples
Dettaglio materiale cornice
Every millimetre has a reason.
The Ayous wood is lacquered with a 'Dead Flat' finish — total matte, zero reflections. It feels like velvet. Visually, it disappears. Only your piece remains.
The glass that doesn't break.
It's not glass. It's PMMA XT 3.0mm — an optical polymer with 92% light transmittance and built-in 85% UV protection. Unbreakable. Lighter. Protects the colours for decades, no extra films needed.
Lastra PMMA in luce diretta
Allestimento artigianale cornice UCN
We do the framing ourselves.
You don't receive a frame and a piece separately. Every Opera Poster is hand-assembled by us inside the frame before shipping. A careful, artisan job — piece by piece, one at a time. It arrives ready to hang.
Why not ordinary glass?
Technical breakdown — 3.0mm front panel
Parameter PMMA XT — UCN our choice Ordinary Glass Museum Glass
Impact safety Virtually unbreakable Shatters into shards Shatters into shards
Light transmittance 92% real 89–90% 98–99%
UV protection 85% built-in 20–30% (ineffective) 80–99%
Colour accuracy Perfectly neutral Green/cyan colour cast Neutral
VOC / formaldehyde Zero emissions Yes (sealants) Sensitive coating
Specific weight 1.19 g/cm³ 2.50 g/cm³ 2.50 g/cm³
Cost Moderate Low (but breaks) Prohibitive
The details, for those who want to dig deeper.
Every layer of the frame has a code name and a precise function.
  • ST-WD-AYOUSSolid Ayous Wood Frame
    +
    Genuine solid Ayous wood. Knot-free, straight grain, remarkably light yet rock-solid on the wall.
  • FN-LAC-SATArtisan Dead Flat Lacquer
    +
    Deep matte 'Dead Flat' finish (Gloss < 5%). Zero distracting reflections, total absorption of ambient light, and a velvety touch (Velvet Touch).
  • PMMA-XT-30Museum-Grade Synthetic Glass
    +
    Extruded Polymethyl Methacrylate (3.0mm). Museum-grade crystal clarity (>92%), structural rigidity and real thickness. 100% unbreakable and impact-safe.
  • THE HEARTYour Opera Poster
    Your Opera Poster finds its perfect place at the centre of this protective ecosystem: beautifully preserved over time, ready to fit seamlessly into your space and move you every single day.
  • BR-HYG-40Internal Anti-Humidity Protection
    +
    4.0mm breathable technical board placed behind your piece. It creates a dense network of natural micro-ventilation channels that regulates the internal microclimate, protecting the paper from condensation and yellowing (anti-foxing).
  • SG-AV + FX-PINArtisan Kraft Backing + Steel Pins
    +
    Backed in natural brown Kraft paper, in the style of fine workshop craftsmanship, and reinforced with structural steel pins fired at calibrated pressure. A definitive, dust-tight seal and monolithic solidity (zero unsightly flexible tabs).
  • SUS-HID-BKConcealed Suspension
    +
    An invisible fitting anchored into the load-bearing solid wood, not the weak backing panel. It stops the piece tilting forward: it stays perfectly flat and parallel to the wall.
  • ECO-MDF-0Certified Safety — Formaldehyde-Free
    +
    A 100% MDF-free and formaldehyde-free build. Chemically inert, to keep the air in your room pure and the colours vivid forever.

CREATE YOUR OWN OPERA POSTER.

Any text, any colour, any format. Handmade, one time only, just for you.

CREATE YOUR OPERA POSTER
The process
Opera poster creata a mano — United Colors of Naples
01
HANDMADE.
Every Opera Poster is a one-of-a-kind piece of art, handmade, just for you. No two Opera Posters are ever the same.
Punzonatura opera poster — United Colors of Naples
02
EMBOSSED.
Every Opera Poster is created on 390gsm Fedrigoni Acquerello White paper and embossed with the United Colors of Naples stamp — physical proof of its origin.
Certificato d'autenticità opera poster — United Colors of Naples
03
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY
Every Opera Poster arrives with its own certificate: serial number, title, year. It's yours, forever.
Cornice PMMA opera poster — United Colors of Naples
04
FRAMED.
Complete your piece with a clear PMMA frame, custom-built for every format. It protects the paper, brings out the colours, and lasts forever.
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never sold on its own
Frames are only added
from your Opera Poster.
There's no separate product page. You add it with one click straight from every UCN Opera Poster page — available in 12 formats, made to measure.