Choosing your stone chess set

Whether choosing a chess set that is inlaid with a semi-precious stone, or one that’s entirely made of semi-precious material, your choice will make an amazing addition to any collection, whether starting out or otherwise.  It’s important in all cases to ensure that you’ve chosen a set that you can enjoy, not only as a gaming piece, but also as a gorgeous item of crafted stone to be thoroughly enjoyed.

Inlaid or complete stone sets

You can choose one of a dozen types of inlay or design, whether it’s to highlight an element of the board, or structured around a feature of the stone in use (for example, serpentine often has beautiful structures and patterns within that are revealed especially well when polished), or to highlight the pieces in use.  Whether your pieces are metal or stone, and the inlays are made of matching or identical material is often the choice of the end user, but choosing an elegant, well designed set can often give you more than simply a conversation piece – some people gain inspiration from their chess sets, while others use them as designed statements in rooms where they have them set up.

Three tips for choosing your chess set

There are three crucial tips to choosing your chess set:

1.       Find a stone that you like – whether you’ve got one stone that you like, or several, there’s probably a set for you – your first choice should come down to the pure aesthetics of your chosen set or sets.  You can narrow down from your overall choices simply by ruling out any stones you dislike, or conversely, choosing some that you do.

2.       Choose a budget - Setting your budget can give you an idea of which set you can afford – but if your choices are out with your budget, and you can afford it, you may want to consider raising it. It’s important to look at the quality too – if the chess set is of superior quality, you’ll find that it’s worth more than a sub-standard stone set.

3.       How will you store and use it? – while it’s not essential to consider whether you’re going to store your chess set when not in use or leave it on display, it’s sometimes a consideration – if you’ve got space to leave your set on display, you should do so.  A semi-precious stone chess set shouldn’t be hidden away in a dark corner of a cupboard, so consider whether you can leave it out on a table somewhere and allow people to enjoy it.

Once you’ve chosen your chess set, it should require minimal care – dusting should be the most you need to do.  It’s important to understand that they should be kept as clean and undamaged as possible to preserve their beauty for a lifetime.