Savano Series chess set by House of Staunton (2 versions?)

I found the Savano Series chess set is being offered by House of Staunton at two different price points, with some minor differences in the weight and base pads.

Savano Series Artisan chess set (C$1,656.59)
Weight: 87 ounces
Base pads: leather with embossed logo for kings; luxurious green baize for all other pieces

Savano Series Forever Luxury chess set (C$2,072.47)
Weight: 77.2 ounces
Base pads: leather with embossed logo for all pieces

Does anyone know more about this? I find it curious that this is done in the first place. Considering one has more luxurious base pads than the other I also understand that there has to be a price difference, but a $415 price difference seems curious for the different base pads. Does the Forever Luxury set use a different weighting system perhaps?

Also, does anyone know if 77.2 ounces (2,089 gr) for the whole set is more ideal than 87 ounces (2,466 gr)? It’s a difference of almost 278 grams. I don’t know if that is a noticeable difference.

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I also found that Antique Chess Crafts offers the same set with minor differences as well (and a less minor difference in price):

Luxury Savarno Series Staunton chess set (C$546.54)
Weight: 72 ounces
Base pads: green baize or felt on all pieces; actual material (whether baize or felt) unknown

Note also that ACC names the set Savarno rather than Savano. I don’t know if this is deliberate or a typo.

Either way, I found that ACC offers various HoS sets at lower price points, but with the same level of refinement in the carving as far as I can see. They seem to be using the same Indian artisans. But at least this set is lighter than either of the HoS sets. Which makes me wonder if anyone has observed a difference in quality. Probably hard to say without directly comparing the sets. But generally speaking, have you noticed a difference between HoS sets and ACC sets?

Your picture of the 'Savano' is also very similar to RCM's Marengo set, which looks like it's selling for $375 (US) with their current 25% off coupon.

I've bought six sets from RCM and have been very happy with them. Of the six purchased, only one had a defect, in which they gave me a full refund and also paid for return shipping to a US warehouse.

Regarding the pads of the pieces, I had purchased a 1849 Cook set from Chessbazaar (another good site) which had leather pads and I didn't like them. I'm not sure of the exact reason, but those pads made a noticeable tacky/sticky sound when played. Though, I'm not sure if the pads were real leather or maybe some leatherette/vinyl material. I ended up covering the pads with self-sticking felt.

Oh great to know!

I thought the Marengo knight looked slightly different, but I think it’s just the lighting/shadows. The photo below from the Forever Luxury set shows the design to be pretty much identical. Well, maybe the manes of the Marengo knight are a bit more refined.

The "Forever" collection is House of Staunton's premier line. It uses Frank Camaratta's patented weighting system that uses tungsten powder instead of typical solid lead slugs. From what I remember, the process is labor intensive and carries a lifetime warranty backed by HoS against hairline cracks, even with ebony. Different options at different price points.

Thanks @Pawnerai for pointing out Frank's patent (U.S. Patent No. 11,000,757) and it's quite enlightening. In that patent, Frank makes assertions for the need of such a weighting system, specifically, that it was addressing Ebony's wood properties (or lack of) to accommodate 'hoop' stress at the base. Also noted is that Boxwood is more accommodating of these stresses, and Rosewood better still, and thus less prone to cracking.

I guess I would have to consider if this patented process is really needed if ebony is not involved, especially when the price is seemingly 3 times the price of other sets.

Oh that’s excellent to know! I will prioritize getting ebony from House of Staunton in that case. I’m pleased to have acquired the ebony Wistminster set on clearance from them last week.

By the way, I just found out that Staunton Castle also offers the Savano set, under the name Raging Stallions. They attribute the design of the set to Mandeep Saggu. Does anyone know if he is indeed responsible for the Savano, Savarno, and Marengo sets as well then? Does their design originate with him?

I’ve been wondering why I never see design attributions for chess sets. I would love to know who designed them and in what year they came out, but for modern sets that information is very hard to find or completely absent.

Of course you can use it for practical chess ... at home, in games with longer time controls. It may not be suitable for Blitz (too ornate, too heavy) or use at a chess club. By nature it's more of a display set. I loved those knights, but not the rest of the set, so I purchased those same knights from an Indian maker coupled with a different set of similar proportions:

I don't think HoS would allow coupling knights with different sets.

I just found the same set on The Chess Store. So let me summarize all versions with their prices and weights:

House of Staunton:
Savano Series Artisan chess set ($1,656.59)Weight: 87 ounces
Basepads: leather with embossed logo for kings; luxurious green baize for all other pieces

House of Staunton:
Savano Series Forever Luxury chess set ($2,072.47)Weight: 77.2 ounces
Basepads: leather with embossed logo for all pieces

Antique Chess Crafts:
Luxury Savarno Series Staunton chess set ($546.54)Weight: 72 ounces
Basepads: green baize or felt on all pieces; actual material (whether baize or felt) unknown

Staunton Castle:
Raging Stallions Series Luxury Staunton chess set ($911.58)Weight: 87 ounces

The Chess Store:
Strategos Staunton Chess Set ($1,659.87)Weight: 80 ounces