Indian vs US/UK suppliers
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Indian carvers make them all and various retailers contract with them to sell the pieces. The same carvers can be supplying different retailers with essentially the same pieces.
Also, Chess Bazaar is a company based in India. They seem to have their own carvers compared to other places. This is why you will see differences in pieces between them and other companies.
Other companies like Official Staunton, House of Staunton, The Chess Store and most all others which are not in India buy their sets from India and resell them.
On occasion you will see a set from two of these companies that looks identical, and they very well might be the same from the same supplier in India.
Of course there are some sets and companies that have sets made elsewhere in the world than India. Noj (www.noj.si) for instance makes all their sets themselves in Slovenia. There are some other sets made in Europe like some Spanish and French made sets.
[COMMENT DELETED]
I've bought dozen of sets from chess bazaar & almost all are phenomenal and justify their price. Yes, CB do have their own carvers as they offer their custom set service to chess lovers like us. I guess only CB has their own carvers “Correct me if I'm wrong". I really like that chrome knight from CB. It looks like a horse mixed with a dragon, quite the masterpiece IMO. Historically, Alan & CB has created a good number of reproductions together. For chess pieces & boards, CB is my pick. They have a nice selection of sets available at competitive prices.
I would also add the Chess house to your list of chess vendors. Raphael Neff has shown his abilities with his stack chess board(true innovation).
Yes I just read these comments and I agree that the same carvers make sets to the specs that the retailers give them. Case in point The HOS Imperial Collector and Chess Barons Earl Anthony sets 4 inch kings are almost the same. The Knights manes are slightly different. But the price! The Chess Baron set Is 1/3 the cost of the HOS set. Now get this I have a copy of the 41/4 inch JOS set Boxwood and Ebony That I got from ?Games of Berkeley in Berkeley for $199.95 plus tax about $218.00 out the door. The same set from HOJ cost almost $1700.00.Now that's with the king side stamping. Chess Baron has the same set for you guest it $299. Now having collected chess sets for some 40 odd years I can see the minor differences between the sets. So you get what you pay for.You don't have send a mint for a good set.
darensmith a écrit :
Yes I just read these comments and I agree that the same carvers make sets to the specs that the retailers give them. Case in point The HOS Imperial Collector and Chess Barons Earl Anthony sets 4 inch kings are almost the same. The Knights manes are slightly different. But the price! The Chess Baron set Is 1/3 the cost of the HOS set. Now get this I have a copy of the 41/4 inch JOS set Boxwood and Ebony That I got from ?Games of Berkeley in Berkeley for $199.95 plus tax about $218.00 out the door. The same set from HOJ cost almost $1700.00.Now that's with the king side stamping. Chess Baron has the same set for you guest it $299. Now having collected chess sets for some 40 odd years I can see the minor differences between the sets. So you get what you pay for.You don't have send a mint for a good set.
This was to be demonstrated
Apr 15, 2017
0
#8
Hi Rob, I am not going to talk about quality, yes there is a difference between CB and some sets HOS and others sell, let's get past that. the big problem is if you buy a set made in India, which 95% are, and buy it off of someone other than an India retailer you will pay much more for shipping. A couple reasons that seem to elude many. First you are paying a portion of the freight it took to get the set to the HOS. Next you are paying US shipping rates to Australia if again it is coming from a US retailer.
Well you may say okay I know I am paying somewhat to get it shipped to US first but isn't the price of shipping almost the same? That is where people are clueless.
it cost a FRACTION to ship anything from India to the US or Australia for that matter than it cost to ship ANYTHING from the US. The freight companies can not charge companies shiping out of India the same as they charge companies shipping out of the US. The average wages are so low in India if they had our high rates to ship anything they would do much less business. It is so low they can afford to ship out a $75 chess set for free and you get it in about 3 days, it's amazing. Heck they even ship out lesser prices pieces for free. Sure it cost them some money but not bearly as what it cost us to ship from the US to India. I was going to send a chess set back and see if they could recoat it and the shipping alone was $70 to India from US.
So you do have a dilemma and CB might just be your best bet because of the shipping. Again yes I know there is some quality differences according to what set you are looking at. But you can buy a Pinney Liberty set at CB for less than 1/2 the price when you figure shipping cost from the US and thee isn't a whole lot of difference in the quality on this repro, .
Just saying I am sure some will get offended by what I wrote but hey it's a fact. SOme are just die hard HOS fans and there is nothing wrong with that but when you add up the shipping charges you have to evaluate the two vendors.
You can also buy sets with free shipping world wide off of some other India vendors and you may fund one that even makes many of the sets for HOS selling independently on eBay, just saying.
Thanks for all your comments and observations.
May 17, 2017
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#10
Different countries have different prices but all the material are made by Indian carvers,they do fantastic job.When material goes to other countries they make prices according to their currency .
Spiritual_Warrior wrote:
Different countries have different prices but all the material are made by Indian carvers,they do fantastic job.When material goes to other countries they make prices according to their currency .
NOJ makes its sets by hand in Slovenia.
May 17, 2017
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#12
cgrau wrote:
Spiritual_Warrior wrote:
Different countries have different prices but all the material are made by Indian carvers,they do fantastic job.When material goes to other countries they make prices according to their currency .
NOJ makes its sets by hand in Slovenia.
Happens in many countries,some make and sell for fun as well locally but as far as material and wood quality is concerned as there are many types of quality wood available in India and according to marketing stats,more than 95 % of the sets are made and bought from India itself.
KnightsForkCafe wrote:
I use to be a customer of chess bazaar until they came out with a set that has the Crescent Moon and Star on the king like the Cross is on traditional sets. It is a set geared towards people of Islamic faith. I get that however. Islam truly followed according to their Holy Books. Is behaving in the same manner as the Nazis did. The difference is the basis of the superiority. The Grand Mufti of Palestine back in the 1940's collaborated with the Nazis in the final solution to the Jewish problem. The point I am making is we all would be offended if we saw a Nazi Swastika on a King for a chess set. The Crescent Moon and Star gives me that same level of offense. So I no long support chess bazaar for this reason. http://www.chessbazaar.com/the-moghul-empire-series-chess-pieces-in-stained-dyed-box-wood-4-5-king.html
Another charming character ...
KnightsForkCafe wrote:
I use to be a customer of chess bazaar until they came out with a set that has the Crescent Moon and Star on the king like the Cross is on traditional sets. It is a set geared towards people of Islamic faith. I get that however. Islam truly followed according to their Holy Books. Is behaving in the same manner as the Nazis did. The difference is the basis of the superiority. The Grand Mufti of Palestine back in the 1940's collaborated with the Nazis in the final solution to the Jewish problem. The point I am making is we all would be offended if we saw a Nazi Swastika on a King for a chess set. The Crescent Moon and Star gives me that same level of offense. So I no long support chess bazaar for this reason. http://www.chessbazaar.com/the-moghul-empire-series-chess-pieces-in-stained-dyed-box-wood-4-5-king.html
????
Look into the history of what I am talking about. I am not going to apologize for what is true of historical facts about Islam and what the Grand Mufti did back in the 1940's. However chessbazaar.com will regain me as a customer once they get rid of that set.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBXd5Kyy6M4&t=1s
I am not saying that the crescent and star is not a symbol of Islam, although that is being disputed by some scholars, but your ignorance on the subject of the crescent and star symbol in history is alarming.
You do realize that the symbol of the Crescent and Star predates the 1940's by quite a number of centuries, right? I have seen the symbol on coins from 300 B.C. Was that also a symbol of the Grand Mufti?
A coin from the Roman Empire dating to Emperor Hadrian (c. 117 - 138 A.D.) has that exact configuration. I assume you think that was part of the Grand Mufti conspiracy also?
It has also been a) part of a Templar seal from the 14th century; b) part of a Polish coat of arms from Medieval times; and c) on a Croatian coin in the 19th century (after the Ottoman Empire was removed).
In addition, the Chess Bazaar site calls it "The Moghul Empire Set". You do know who the Moguls were, right?
Education, what a concept.
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#18
What is the problem exactly? Most almost all sets have the finial as a "cross" symbol of the crusades, Christianity etc etc, the crusades slaughtered many thousands and was lead by the pope!! Surely it is wrong to point the finger at anyone given that mankind's history is brutal to say the least under any flag, creed or religion
If the problem is the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who was merely Mufti in Jerusalem and not analogous to the Pope, then the behaviour of the Catholic Church at the end of WW2 (and Pius XII during the war) is also at the very least problematic. But it would seem that that is not the real problem here.
greghunt wrote:
If the problem is the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who was merely Mufti in Jerusalem and not analogous to the Pope, then the behaviour of the Catholic Church at the end of WW2 (and Pius XII during the war) is also at the very least problematic. But it would seem that that is not the real problem here.
Bingo. Especially considering all of the other ways a Crescent and Star have been used throughout history.
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Hi, I'm new here signed up today. Sorry if this is all old ground - but I do not see any specific coverage of this topic.
I have been looking at various sites to purchase a set and recently bought a Miletus 4.25in through Official Staunton. Being in Sydney the exchange rate was a killer.
However, I have since discovered the ChessBazaar and see that they have the same set for substantially less, with a very minor height difference (sold as Californian Chrome).
I see the Chessstore.com sells this as a Patton Staunton, and they look all the identical (particularly the knight) - this may be old news to the community - but is the Chessbazaar's set exactly the same or a knock off, if so who makes the original?
I also see the Wellington Staunton at thechessstore is sold via the Chessbazaar as the Indian American. Yet while all other pieces look identical the knight is not as refined in the carving as the chessstore's. So same question as above - or do they produce a some pieces at a higher level of standard for retailers outside India.? What's the story here?
You comments and knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks