I love chess. I spent most of my youth in cafes playing it with my friends. I have very fond memories of those times. So, naturally, I had to design a chess set that was durable, portable, and attractive. We use only the best vegetable-tanned full-grain cow leather for the boards and cases. The entire board is hand-carved by myself, Sonja, or my apprentice John. We then colour it with premium colour-fast leather dyes using fine brush work and other techniques. The case is completely hand-stitched also. The pieces are made by a different craftsperson in Amristar, the world capital of chessmen makers. Every step to make these sets is finely tuned and requires a high level of focus.
For the last 4 years, we have sold these sets all over the world, from Estonia to Spain, to Saudi Arabia, Asia as well as all over the United States. We even have a few Chess Masters owning one or two.
Each set takes an average of 2-3 whole days to complete and is very taxing on our bodies. To keep up with demand, in the beginning of 2021, we made the decision to no longer make them to order. Instead, they will be made in small batches as we can fit it in our schedule. We will offer them for sale once they are complete.
What Type of Sets Do We Make?
Roll Up Luxury Leather Chess Sets
20" Tournament Chess Sets
These travel Chess Sets include the tubular case, a 20 inch leather board and beautiful Staunton-style chess-men. The Chess-men are hand carved from boxwood & rosewood. They are weighted and the king stands at 3.75" as per tournament regulations.
The entire set is made from full-grain vegetable-tanned cow leather. A 2mm thick leather is used for the board. This allows for pliability, so the board will lie flat once rolled out. (Tip: Always roll the board with the square facing out) A 2.5mm thick leather for the case gives it extra rigidity.
Total set weight (including weighted chess-men)
= 1.9kg.
Completely hand-stitched and hand-dyed. The board has the 2" (50-53mm) squares hand-carved into the leather and individually dyed and sealed using a brush.
We currently have 3 main colour themes.
These are:
- British Tan (a reddish brown) with black squares
- Tobacco Brown (light brown) with Chocolate squares
- Midnight Blue with Black Squares
We also occasionally make sets in two special themes.
These take a lot longer to make as there is no room for error with the brush.
These are:
- Tourney Green with Natural Squares.
- Trouney Brown with Natural Squares.
What Colours Themes That We Make?
15" Compact Chess Sets
These compact versions of my popular Travel Chess Sets include the tubular case, a 15 inch leather board and beautiful Staunton-style hand-turned wooden chess-men. The Chess-men are turned from boxwood & rosewood. They are weighted and the king stands at 2.75" .
The case stands at 39cm tall (15.25inches)
Total set weight (including weighted chess-men) = 775 grams
Completely hand-stitched and hand-dyed.
The board has had the 40mm squares hand-carved into the leather and individually dyed and sealed using a brush.
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