How do you age chess sets?

Hi there.

I'm just wondering if there are ways to age chess sets. Is it such things as patina or can you age them from the look of the pieces for example the King's finial or the look of the Knight.

Are there any articles you can look at online?

The professionals have developed aging process procedure, commonly called as antiqued or distressed set. Some sets have both processes applied like https://stauntoncastle.com/products/1978-olympiad-havanna-3-78-reproduction-distressed-antiqued-ebonised-chessmen

I doubt we mortals can do that .  To get a natural rich glowing patina it takes decades, just leave it in the open, the sun / uv and air take care of it. In a few year you should already see some patina developing. With open I mean inside the house, not in the garden exposing to weather as some do (that's what I read ).

No it's ME lol.

Read my question back and realised it could be taken 2 different ways!

What I meant was how can you tell the age of a chess set not how to 'age' a chess set.

Saying that was interesting to hear that ageing a chess set doesn't actually take too long.

I've got a feeling I've caused even more confusion now 😁

Ooohh maaan that's what happens when I try answering a Q after I woke up in the morning

Now I understand your second question, how can one make a chess set aging by looking at the finials I thought like 'oh wow, that's new to me' 

Haha! I know how all of you feel. I've been on both sides of this.

To answer the OP's question, I think you just have to know the design of the set and when the manufacturer released that set. It can be very difficult to be accurate down to the year for most sets because the design might be the same for many years with only some subtle changes here and there. The other issue is sometimes people mix up their sets, so there might be a Lardy set with one or more Chavet pawns for example. Overall, it is a difficult task but it can be very fun to try to trace the history based upon the available information.

😄

Thanks very interesting. 

@QueenClaudia2003 - that is a difficult question, because age is not something you can easily identify just from the looks and condition of a set. Patina can be an indicator, but many people mistake a worn condition with patina. And it actually works with wooden sets only, because a bone or ivory set will not develop a patina like wood does. And then different timbers age in different ways. In the end, a lot of experience and knowledge is required. It helps knowing some of the basic chess set patterns, like Regency, Barleycorn, Coffeehouse etc. Secondary sources, in particular auction catalogues and books, can be of help. I hope that the book I am currently writing and which I hope to publish soon will be of help in this context.

Thank you. That makes sense as I am trying to familiarise myself with some of the basic chess sets such as Lardy although I seem to think I van tell and then a Lardy will come along that looks nothing like a Lardy I think I knew!

I can tell that some chess sets are Spanish for example but it's a long learning curve.

You will have to let us know when your book is published.