Marble has been used as a material for carvings and crafts for hundreds of years, so there is little surprise that marble and other stone materials have been used to fashion chess sets and boards. Marble is a rock that has resulted from a metamorphism of limestone and dolomite rocks. The natural colour of marble depends on how it is formed and what other elements are in the lime stone. Pure white marble is created when very pure limestone morphs with dolomite protolith. Marble is a relatively soft rock that can be easily worked and polished. However more industrial production lines will create products by powdering marble and then mixing it with a resin to effectively create liquid marble with can be moulded or fashioned easily with consistent results each time. This method also allows it to be artificially coloured to any shade.
There are of course other other materials very similar to marble in appearance and feel. Examples include alabaster , Onyx, quartz and granite. Each of these materials posses it’s own unique qualities but they are all naturally occurring minerals. Onyx became extremely popular some years ago with a multitude of products being made in this tactile and attractive mineral. Onyx chess sets became very popular during the craze for onyx products, these days however they are just one of the many types of chess set on the market.
The Regency Chess Company now stocks a carefully selected range of very high quality Alabaster chess sets from the fine Italian craftsmen at Scali. This renowned producer of alabaster and marble products has been producing finely crafted products for long enough to make them the experts in their field. The result is a beautiful range of chess sets that have impressed us and our customers. The sets feature both pieces and boards made from Alabaster, both polished to a smooth gloss finish. Those in the market for a marble chess set will be extremely satisfied with these fine Italian chess sets.
The Alabaster chess sets are available in a variety of colours, we have chosen to stock the red, brown and of course, the standard black and white. The brown set comes in a finely crafted wooden case with soft felted compartments for each piece. It also comes with a set of draughts pieces for those days when a game of chess is just too much. This range topping set is a superb item of beauty and quality, it is heavy and will certainly see it’s way through thousands of games before it begins to feel worn. As the UK’s prominent chess set retailer we are really excited to be stocking these lovely sets, especially the three dimensional variety which although look like a bit of a novelty are actually perfectly functional for a serious game of chess. Our range of marble chess sets has grown considerably during 2018 and we're very proud to be offering some superb products, all sourced from Italy!
Marble is a material that has been utilised for chess boards for centuries, it’s a beautiful natural material that’s extremely hard and lends itself well to the production of chess boards and pieces. We have managed to source a stunning range of marble and alabaster chess sets from Italy. They come with matched boards and each one is unique due to the natural variations of marble. Generally speaking marble chess sets are decorative, ornamental and not used for every day chess playing, but they make a great gift and are the perfect accessory for any classy home interior. We have deliberately avoided cheap imports of marble chess boards from the Far East, instead we have sourced all of our sets from Italy. Italy has a deep tradition of marble craft so it comes as no surprise that their chess sets are superb quality.
While marble isn’t the most common material for a chess set it does represent a significant portion of the chess sets we sell here at The Regency Chess Company. We buy all of our marble and Alabaster chess sets from Italy where they have very strong traditions of turning and working with marble as a raw material. Marble is a naturally occurring material with often stunning patterns and grains present in the surface. No two pieces are identical and with the naturally occurring shades of marble you can make great chess sets from it.
Our favourite marble chess set comes from Italy, made exclusively by Italfama, one of the world’s finest producers of Italian board game products. This set comes in it’s own case and is of fantastic quality. We stock marble chess sets from Scali, another Italian company who specialise in working Alabaster into ornaments and other luxury items.
