Luxury Chess Sets — The World's Finest Chess Sets

What Makes a Chess Set Truly Luxury?

Luxury in chess is not simply a matter of price. It is the convergence of several qualities, each of which must be present for a set to merit the description. Material rarity comes first: the finest sets are made from woods that are slow-growing, legally restricted and increasingly scarce — genuine ebony, aged boxwood, and burr walnut among them. Craftsmanship is the second criterion. Luxury pieces are turned on a lathe and then finished by hand, with the quality of each individual piece checked before it leaves the workshop. Weighting is a third factor often overlooked by buyers: a heavy, balanced piece with a hand-felted base signals quality at every touch. Finally, there is provenance — the name and history of the maker. A chess set bearing the mark of a house with a two-hundred-year record in the craft carries a different meaning from one assembled to a price point.

Design matters too, and in the world of serious chess, design means the Staunton pattern. Created by Jaques of London in 1849 in collaboration with the leading player Howard Staunton, this design became the international standard for tournament and collector sets alike. Any luxury set intended for actual play should conform to it.

Premium Woods: The Foundation of a Fine Set

Wood choice defines the look, feel and long-term value of a chess set more than any other single factor. At the very top of the hierarchy sits genuine ebony (Diospyros ebenum), a dense, slow-growing timber from South Asia and Africa with a near-black heartwood that polishes to a mirror finish. Genuine ebony is now rare, tightly regulated under CITES (the international treaty governing trade in endangered species), and commands a corresponding price. Sets made from verified legal ebony are a serious investment.

Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) is the traditional choice for the light-coloured pieces in a fine Staunton set. Slow-growing and exceptionally dense, it was historically sourced from Cuba and Santo Domingo; today, European and Persian boxwood are more commonly used in quality pieces. The grain is tight and uniform, making it ideal for fine turning and crisp detail. When properly aged, boxwood develops a warm ivory tone that only deepens with the oils of regular handling.

For the board, burr walnut is a benchmark material in the luxury tier. Cut from the irregular growths that form at the base or branches of walnut trees, burr walnut produces the distinctive swirling, feathered grain pattern that makes each board unique. Combined with the straight-grained lighter squares of maple or sycamore, a well-made burr walnut board is a piece of furniture in its own right.

Hand-Carved vs Machine-Turned: The Value of Handcraft

All chess pieces are turned on a lathe at some stage of their manufacture — this is how the characteristic round forms of the Staunton design are achieved. The distinction between a luxury piece and a production piece lies in what happens next. In a machine-only process, the lathe performs every step including the decorative cuts, and pieces go directly from machine to packaging. In hand-finishing, a craftsman uses chisels and gouges to refine the undercuts, sharpen the knight's face, and bring the piece to its final profile. The knight in particular is the mark of a luxury set: as the only non-symmetrical piece, it cannot be turned at all and must be carved entirely by hand. The quality of the knight is the single fastest way to judge the grade of an unfamiliar set.

Weighting: Lead, Brass and Hand-Felted Bases

Weighting transforms the feel of a chess piece from hollow and light to substantial and authoritative. In the finest sets, lead or brass weights are fitted into a hollow base during manufacture, raising the piece's centre of gravity and giving it a satisfying heft when picked up and placed. The base is then sealed with a disc of baize or felt, cut and applied by hand. The weight of the king in a quality set typically ranges from 90 to over 130 grams: heavy enough to feel serious, balanced enough to stand firm and right itself if nudged.

Notable Materials: Beyond Wood

The history of luxury chess sets extends well beyond wood. Ivory was used extensively in European and Asian sets from the medieval period through to the twentieth century, and many of the most famous historical sets in museum collections are carved from it. The trade in elephant ivory has been banned under CITES since 1990, and antique ivory sets present complex legal and ethical questions around resale and ownership. Any contemporary luxury set claiming ivory pieces should be treated with extreme caution.

Silver and gold chess sets exist at the very apex of the collector market. These are typically bespoke commissions, cast in precious metal and sometimes set with gemstones. They function as display objects and financial assets rather than playable sets. At comparable levels of rarity, sets with pieces carved from amber, lapis lazuli, malachite and semi-precious stones are produced in small numbers by specialist craftsmen. Beautiful as objects, they are generally impractical for regular play because the materials are brittle and require careful handling.

Famous Sets in History: The Isle of Lewis Chessmen

The most celebrated chess pieces in history are the Lewis chessmen, discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Carved from walrus ivory and whale teeth, the pieces date to the twelfth century and are thought to have been made in Norway or Iceland. They depict fully formed figures: kings seated on thrones, queens with hands raised to their cheeks, mitred bishops, mounted knights and standing warders. Seventy-nine of the original 93 pieces are held by the British Museum in London; eleven are in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, and one is in private hands. The Lewis chessmen are not simply the finest surviving medieval chess pieces — they are among the most important examples of Romanesque sculpture of any kind.

Display vs Playable: A True Luxury Set Should Be Both

There is a school of thought that separates display chess sets from playable ones, as if exceptional beauty and genuine usability were incompatible. This is a false distinction in the hands of a skilled maker. A well-proportioned Staunton set in fine ebony and boxwood, with a properly weighted board and correctly scaled pieces, is perfectly suited to serious play and perfectly suited to display on a sideboard between games. The pieces should be stable, the knights should face the correct direction (diagonally toward the opponent's queenside), and the board squares should be sized to allow the pieces to stand comfortably with visible space between them. These requirements of good play are also requirements of good design.

Limited Editions and Collector's Sets

Several makers produce numbered limited editions, typically tied to chess anniversaries, world championship years or collaborations with designers and craftsmen. Jaques of London has produced commemorative sets marking key dates in chess history. Limited editions typically feature enhanced specifications — a higher-grade wood, more intricate hand finishing, a presentation box in leather or lacquered wood — and come with a certificate of authenticity. For the collector, provenance documentation and the edition number are as important as the set itself. A limited edition from a maker with a verifiable history will hold and appreciate in value in ways that an unlimited production run cannot.

What to Look For When Buying a Luxury Chess Set

When evaluating a luxury chess set, six questions should guide the decision. Does it follow the Staunton pattern? This is the internationally recognised standard, and deviation from it is a red flag on a set presented as serious. What are the materials, and can they be verified? The wood species should be named specifically, not described vaguely as "hardwood" or "ebony-stained". Are the pieces weighted, and how? Lead or brass weights are the correct materials; plastic or sand fill is not. How is the knight finished? Examine it closely: the detail of the horse's face, the undercut of the neck, the quality of the mane carving. Who made it? The maker's reputation and history are an intrinsic part of the value of a luxury chess set. Finally, is the board of equivalent quality to the pieces? A fine set deserves a fine board.

For further guidance on choosing a chess set across all budgets, see our chess buying guide. For more on the history and design of the Staunton pattern specifically, see the Staunton chess set.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the most expensive chess set in the world?

The most expensive chess sets ever sold have been bespoke commissions in precious metals and gemstones. The Pearl Royale chess set, produced by Boodles jewellers in 2009, was valued at around $4 million and featured pearls, rubies and white gold. Historically, sets commissioned by European royal courts in silver and gilt were similarly extravagant. However, for sets that are genuinely playable and hold lasting collector value, the finest Jaques of London Staunton sets in genuine ebony and boxwood, produced in very limited numbers, represent the apex of what the serious chess world considers truly valuable — combining rarity of material, craft heritage dating to 1849, and direct lineage to the original Staunton standard.

Q: What makes a chess set luxury?

A luxury chess set must satisfy several criteria simultaneously: rare and verified materials (genuine ebony and boxwood rather than stained alternatives), hand-finished pieces with detailing that goes beyond what a lathe alone can produce, properly weighted bases with hand-applied felt, and a pedigree maker with a documented history. The knight is the litmus test: because it cannot be lathe-turned, it must be carved by hand, and the quality of that carving is the clearest indicator of the overall standard of the set. A set that is both beautiful to display and entirely suitable for serious play is the hallmark of a true luxury piece.

Q: Are Jaques chess sets luxury?

Yes. Jaques of London is the original maker of the Staunton chess set, having designed and produced the first sets in 1849 in partnership with chess champion Howard Staunton. The company has been making chess sets for over 175 years and holds a unique place in chess history that no other maker can claim. Jaques sets are produced using traditional materials and finishing techniques, with the pieces weighted and hand-felted in the established manner. As the originator of the internationally recognised standard for chess piece design, a Jaques set carries a historical provenance that is impossible to replicate.

Q: What were the Isle of Lewis chessmen made from?

The Lewis chessmen, discovered in 1831 and dating to the twelfth century, were carved primarily from walrus ivory, with a small number of pieces made from whale teeth. Walrus ivory was the primary carving material of northern European craftsmen during the medieval period, as it was more readily available in Scandinavia and the North Atlantic than elephant ivory. The pieces are exceptional not only for their age and preservation but for the quality of the figural carving: each piece is a fully realised character with individual expression and gesture, making them as remarkable as sculpture as they are as chess history.