I know that rosewood can have a variety of darker and lighter characteristics, but that set looks like either sheesham,or a poor excuse for rosewood,when you compare it to what this seller shows on the site.
I don't want to cause you any anxiety,but you should ask for something closer to what TCE shows on their own site,which is a beautiful example of rosewood.
Good luck.
If I compare Dalbergia Sissoo (Sheesham):
https://www.wood-database.com/east-indian-rosewood/
and Dalbergia Latifolia (what TCE claims this set is):
https://www.wood-database.com/east-indian-rosewood/
the D. Latifolia looks only slightly darker, and actually less red and more gray.
Here is TCE's webpage about Dalbergia Latifloia:
https://www.thechessempire.com/rosewood
Also see the 10x endgrain pictures on the Wood Database pages for these woods, they are very similar in the amount of pores (as opposed to say D. Maritima which looks to have about half as many, or Aniba Rosaedora, which ChessBazaar uses, and has even less).
Both D. Maritima and A. Rosaedora look darker than D. Latifolia, so I guess TCE just uses a lighter species of "rosewood"?
I don't have enough experience or samples for comparison to know if I actually got the correct wood.
I saved the pictures from their website of the Rosewood and Sheesham versions, and I took a picture of mine and matched the boxwood as closely as possible. I really think it looks more like the sheesham version.
Why can't I just order some chess pieces, and get the correct item, that's not all full of defects (see my House of Staunton thread):
(To be fair, ChessBazaar sent me the correct item, and the chips/dings/carving weren't as bad as the set in the photos on their website, so at least they're honest about the quality of their pieces and send what you order).
These are expensive items, not some $2 eBay phone charger.
I bought a rosewood set from TCE a couple of years ago and it looked much darker.
I've had many sets in sheesham and rosewood, and the rosewood pieces were ALWAYS significantly darker, and had an ever so slightl reddish tinge. The pieces in the first picture are definitely sheesham.
Rosewood (Chessbazaar Antique Series Dublin Pattern)
Sheesham (Chess by India Derby Knight Staunton)
Sheesham is Dalbergia sissoo, rosewood is Dalbergia latifolia.
Yep.
My Indian Rosewood from Staunton Castle is super super dark. Not sure if that's helpful.
Here's the bottom line in my opinion....When one buys a set that is shown on a seller's site,it should look like that set! A subtle variation is OK....but....
Those pieces aren't close!
Rosewood is too broad of a term.
Indian sellers will refer to 'Golden rosewood' = sheesham wood = cheap wood = D. Sissoo
What you call 'Bois de rose' in french = Madagascar rosewood = the expensive stuff = D. Maritima
and you have East indian rosewood = D. Latifolia = the red stuff = 'bud rosewood'
and of course, african padauk = the red stuff
so what you got here is cheap shisham wood… yes.. technically a 'rosewood'
whenever ordering from an indian seller, ask precisely for the wood specie that will be used
I can see on their website that you have the 'ebonized boxwood','rosewood' and 'sheesham' options when ordering this set. Since you chose 'rosewood' and looking at the picture, they should have sent you the D. Latifolia set which they didn't.. THEY should pay for returning this set to them
I agree. I had quite a good opinion of TCE but this wld put me off in future.
Nah, they've not sent you rosewood. It's clearly Sheesham.
Sheesh... 🙈
Note that I added an update to the first post:
[UPDATE: The Chess Empire will make a darker set for me and send it, as long as I pay shipping for this one back to India, which I agreed to do.]
One other thing I've noticed is that they used a very dark polishing wax or some other kind of finish. You can see it forced into the pores, grain, crevices, and even places where the pieces weren't sanded enough. Many of the pieces have a dark band above the base.
Regardless of the type of wood or shade/color, it's just kind of coarse and blotchy, as opposed to my sheesham "Lardy" from CB, which looks good for what it is.
Rishi, the owner, emailed me and said "Rosewood comes in many colours and there is no chance that you have received the Sheesham set..."
The basic problem lies in the vague and confusing terminology for different woods, not just "rosewood" (not that on top of "Indian rosewood" and "golden rosewood", there's also "East Indian rosewood"). It's not limited to woods, but basically to any kind of natural products (much in the same way that peanuts aren't actually nuts, strawberries aren't fruit at all, and melons are berries). In my line of business, e.g. bows are divided between "brazilwood" and "pernambuco" - which makes no sense since "pernambuco" is also one of many kinds of "brazilwood".
The basic problem lies in the vague and confusing terminology for different woods, not just "rosewood" (not that on top of "Indian rosewood" and "golden rosewood", there's also "East Indian rosewood"). It's not limited to woods, but basically to any kind of natural products (much in the same way that peanuts aren't actually nuts, strawberries aren't fruit at all, and melons are berries). In my line of business, e.g. bows are divided between "brazilwood" and "pernambuco" - which makes no sense since "pernambuco" is also one of many kinds of "brazilwood".
True. A general practice by chess sellers of putting in the Latin names of the woods would help get around this confusion. In general, that's a good idea.
But even then, there is a lot of natural variation in colour and grain, depending on how the timber was cut and sawed. Not to mention various dyes that may be used in finishing and polishing.
Take a classic wood like walnut, for example. We may think we know what it should look like, but in fact there is a lot of variety.
Here are some search results for "walnut high grain". Some results are coloured veneers, but even allowing for that there is a lot of natural variety in a wood, both in its colour and in how much grain it shows.
[UPDATE: The Chess Empire will make a darker set for me and send it, as long as I pay shipping for this one back to India, which I agreed to do.]
I ordered a rosewood set from The Chess Empire. I also have a Sheesham set from ChessBazaar.
The "rosewood" set is I guess a little darker? But I've seen people post that it should be almost black, like a light ebony.
I don't have any other rosewood to compare it to. Can I get some opinions on whether it's the same? The "rosewood" from TCE is on the left in both pictures. I don't want to accuse them of sending me the wrong wood if it's actually rosewood.
The pieces are also available in Sheesham, so I wonder if they sent me the wrong one. Here's the item:
https://www.thechessempire.com/royal-guard.html