If you insist upon the best you should opt for turned metal chessmen. These are made on a metal working lathe instead of moulded. The finish and quality is immediately visible as being far superior to the moulded metal sets.  Turned metal chess pieces also exhibit the lathe lines, which are seen as a desirable feature.

All metal chessmen are usually solid metal and therefore extremely heavy. There are now many excellent designs to choose from, many of which are made in Europe.

So what makes this collection so special? The first thing is the design of the chessmen, they are by far some of the most elegant and beautiful chess pieces available on the market today. The second thing is the quality of the chessmen. We are told that they are all sourced from the worlds finest manufacturers of chess pieces, the same people responsible for the range that made House of Staunton a household name and the same people who manufacture the Jacques reproduction Staunton chessmen.

Chess sets in the collection are not made in huge quantities, all are limited editions and certified as such.  If you are looking for something really special then The Regency Collection should be your only choice.

One huge factor to consider when you choose a board is if you would like a solid wooden board or a veneer one. Some people will refuse to entertain the idea of a veneer board, assuming that they are somehow inferior. There are however plenty of advantages to veneer boards. Firstly they tend to be extremely consistent, in a batch of 50 boards you can expect each one to be almost identical. Because they are more ‘manufactured’ than their solid wooden counterparts they should be without flaw, precise and very clean.

Veneer boards are also a lot less expensive than solid wooden boards. If you desire a luxury hardwood such as ebony you will pay huge sums for a solid ebony board whereas a veneer version might be one third of the price. The solid ‘board snobs’ should certainly take a few moments to check out some really high quality veneer boards. They may well be pleasantly surprised!

Solid boards, while a lot more expensive are not to everyone tastes. Because each one has to be completely hand made there are plenty of inconsistencies. I like to think of solid wood boards as being something you would expect to find in an antique shop in years to come, whereas a veneer board would sit better in an ultra modern designer home.

Due to the nature of their construction solid wooden boards will certainly age better. Over the years we can expect our chess board to receive the odd dent or knock, of course no chess board is immune to this (apart from maybe a plastic one) but dents in solid wood certainly look a lot nicer than they do in veneered wood.

Another factor is that solid wooden chess boards are a lot thicker and heavier than veneer boards. A veneer board might only be 10 or 12mm thick compared to 25mm on a solid board.

What about the finish? Veneer boards are often finished in thin satin varnishes with the wood grain left open. This gives off a nice natural look and feels good to the fingers. It’s also easy to maintain as it does not require polishing. Solid boards however tend to be lacquered to quite a fine gloss finish. Which does look very elegant, especially when the reflections of the fine chessmen can be seen in the board. It does however require plenty of polishing and will pick up finger prints like you wont believe!

But lets not get too hot under the collar about chess boards. After all, if you choose the wrong one and you have bought online you are within your rights to send it back and exchange it for another type. Of course make sure you try to avoid those retailers selling cheap Chinese chess boards. Instead stick to reputable sellers who import from Europe.

A luxury chess set will last longer than a lifetime, in many cases it should last multiple generations. There is also something extremely satisfying about a fine chess set. You don’t have to be a fan of chess, or even a fan of fine crafts to appreciate a lovely chess set. There is just something magical about them that is impossible to explain. A total of 32 (34 on a luxury fine set) pieces, each one carved with such loving attention that it could be sold as a fine gift on it’s own!

One mild irritation about buying a chess set is the problem of where to find one. It’s almost impossible to find a decent selection in a high street shop. Even the specialists chess shops don’t sell particularly great chess sets. Online shopping is the only answer it seems but with Christmas round the corner there will be plenty of the usual suspects piling the sets high and selling them cheap.

Plan ahead and do your research, buy from a reputable retailer who is happy for you to drive over to their premises to sample the products before you buy them. Be fussy and remember that the UK consumer laws mean that if you buy online you have the right to return it for literally any reason and for a full and complete refund. Always ask a retailer if the photos on their website are the actual photos of items from their stocks. It’s not unheard of for less reputable sellers to steal product images of high quality products and use them to sell their cheap wares. Aside from getting themselves sued in the new year it’s also bad practice on behalf of their customer service which results in disappointment when the products arrive.

So when you type buy chess sets into google this Christmas do your best to ensure you buy from the best and if you do make a mistake don’t worry about getting it returned and getting your money back. Good luck and Merry Christmas!

One of the most striking things about the regency website is their amazing product photography. I am informed that they do this themselves and only photograph the exact items that they stock on the website. This means you can be sure that you will receive exactly whats in the photos when you order, not a generic product sourced from another manufacturer long after the original photo was taken.

Already they seem to be holding stock of some unique and exclusive designs of Staunton Chessmen but one of the striking things about their range is their selection of chess boards. Many of the UK based chess retailers seem to stock a fairly small range of boards whereas these guys have a vast selection that includes basic veneer boards right up to luxury solid hardwood boards.

Already some long established budget retailers have begun copying The Regency Chess Company, like all great things, imitation is inevitable. It would appear that if you want to buy the cheapest chess sets, buy from somewhere else. If you want the best, buy from Regency.

Was I impressed? Well in a word yes, and no. Although I did see a great deal of chess sets, some for hundreds, others for thousands of pounds I didn’t see anything that looked like it was of immeasurable quality. My keen eye is always trying hard to spot faults and many faults I did spot, even with one set that was the most expensive one in a very well known department store.

It seems that price can’t be your gauge to quality, while some chess sets may appear to be ‘reassuringly expensive’ it seems the reassurance of quality is not to be assumed lightly.

At face value the social networking sites don’t immediately jump out as being the place to go to market your online business to new clients. Lets not forget however, that millions of people the world over are using social networking as a way to communicate, network and gain information about their interests and hobbies.

The social networking scene is not to be seen as a place for an instant quick fix in terms of advertising or promotion. Instead see it as a longer term branding exercise that will win you real support from your customers. Of course, being featured all over the webs social media networks will mean you have to work extra hard at pleasing your customers. People will be talking and twittering about you so make sure they only have the chance to say nice things about your company and your products.

You have probably seen the many listings on ebay for elaborate and seemingly high quality chess sets at an amazingly cheap price. More often than not these sets are in India or China waiting to be posted to you for a fraction of the cost of buying the same set in the UK. There is however a catch, well more than one actually, that you need to be aware of.

Firstly there is the postage fees. It goes without saying that buying your chess set from the far east is going to cost a lot in postage. It’s very common for a seller to advertise the set for pennies or just a few pounds and then make their real profit on the postage costs. This is all well and good until you receive the goods and they were not what you expected. The seller will happily refund your pennies, but will regard the pounds already spent on ‘postage’ as non refundable.

Then there’s the quality. It’s a well known fact that India produces some of the worlds finest chess sets, there is a vast number of chess manufacturers and artisans working there to produce chess sets, in some cases for quite prestigious names in Chess. The market over there is vast and it seems anyone and everyone wants a look in. It’s easy for an ebay trader to buy a few sets from a local chess makers. A few rupees will buy them the pile of rejects that a supplier has weeded out from their stock thats intended for export. It’s all too easy for them to find their way onto ebay at tiny starting prices.

While buying from an Indian ebay seller might seem like a great way to save a few pounds it’s seldom worth it. All the proper producers of chess are too busy dealing with their real export customers to worry about ebaying off a few sets here and there so you can be sure that the set isn’t coming from them. Expect massive shipping times and a level of customer service that’s typical of a company 6000 miles away.

Remember that UK chess suppliers are governed by strict trading standards regulations whereas a small time ebayer in India or China is answerable to no one should your transaction turn sour.

The explosion in online shopping has enveloped the chess set market and the internet is now the place to visit for the biggest selection of chess products available. The vast selection is not without it’s problems, how is one to know what to buy, or who to buy it from? The large players like Amazon and ebay are in on the act as well as a number of other huge online shopping portals. Then there is the minefield of independent e stores offering a vast array of products and service levels.

With 1000s of different chess products it’s difficult to gauge if the set you are looking at is indeed worth the money. Cautious buyers often stick to well known brands such as Jaques, Gibson and House of Staunton. This can limit ones choice somewhat and is not the best way to bag a good value bargain.

An online chess retailer should be upfront about the products they are selling, giving the full details of where the product is made and how much it weighs. Both of these factors are paramount in determining how good a set is. Look for security certificates and membership seals on the sellers home page, check their authenticity. It’s too easy for a rouge seller to launch a retail store for the sole purpose of liquidating a load of bad stock. If the site doesn’t give the ‘trust’ feeling move along to the next one.

The old saying ‘The camera never lies’ goes out the window when it comes to buying chess sets online. A competent studio photographer can make even the cheapest set look good online. A certain importer of cheap Chinese goods has been known to supply product images of genuine European versions of their cheap copies in order to boost sales of their chess boards and pieces.

If buying an expensive set make sure the seller offers an excellent returns policy, if the photos and description have mislead you use their returns policy to get the set back to them in exchange for a full refund. Compare their products to those from another site, with all the smoke and mirrors it’s easy for a seller to dress up a budget set to look like it’s worth more.

Remember that paying by credit card offers excellent protection, if everything goes wrong use your rights under the consumer credit Act to get your money refunded. This safety net allows you to take full advantage of the vast selection of lovely chess products available on the internet.

The growth in global trade means that many of the smaller online chess retailers buy their stock abroad, sometimes from brokers who source stock from artisans in remote parts of the world. Some online stores will import limited quantities of highly crafted sets which means you can buy a unique or rare chess set without having to pay an astronomical price for it.

Finally, don’t be scared of ordering your chess product online. There is an increasing amount of excellent stock out there thats not to be missed, just go careful, use your head and remember…. if it’s too good to be true it probably isn’t true.