Issue No12 - Polo De'Marco Magazine Issue No12 Polo De'Marco Magazine | Page 27

Cheque Mate! Check
out the Most
Expensive Chess
Sets Ever
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely
players! – William Shakespeare
The game of Kings and Queens calls for a battle of quick wit,
clever schemes and of course, a royal price tag, like these
extremely expensive editions.
4500 back-breaking hours across 30 master craftsmen birthed
the entirely hand-made, 14-carat white gold Royal Diamond
Chess set. Embellished with almost 9,900 black and white
diamonds weighing 186 carats in total, this extraordinary
creation was designed by French artist and master jeweler
Bernard Maquin. The most popular edition in the Charles
Hollander Collection, which also includes the Diamond
backgammon set and the Diamond Roulette Wheel, the Royal
Diamond Chess costs anywhere between $400,000 to over $1
million.
This glittering chess deck, designed by Victor F. Scharstein,
offers an oriental twist to its typically classical constructions,
right down to the pieces’ scholarly robes and shrine-like
figurines. Made of gold, each piece meticulously embellished
with diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds, along with other
semi-precious stones. The Art of War Chess Set costs $750,000.