Chess Bazaar $30 upgrade for lacquer

Does anyone know the difference?  Do you recommend it?  I did not choose this with my last set and it seems pretty shiny anyway...

I agree it seems logical that they would show an example photo on the web site, if the lacquer makes a difference.  then again it might be difficult to capture an increase in shine from a photo. 

But I imagine that the labor and material cost to do the lacquer is about the same regardless of the size or price of the set, so it makes sense to me that it is a $30 flat fee.  

I don't know how they do it, but I picture setting the pieces up, and spraying with a spray can.  Done.  But I don't know. 

I could see selecting a lacquer option when buying a dyed/ebonized set, to eliminate potential color bleed.

The lacquer covered pieces are basically painted. They feel in the hands as if they are painted. They are very shiny. In theory this protects the pieces better - HOWEVER, if you do drop one or knock them into each other some of the lacquer can chip off, a scratch or a dent on a polished boxwood piece can be ignored or buffed off, on a lacquered piece it is -much- more noticeable and can only be fixed by finding a matching lacquer and applying it perfectly. Also with time lacquer tends to darken and can change the look of the pieces quite a bit, neither good nor bad, just something to be aware of.

So as an overview lacquer: changes the way the pieces feel in hand, makes them very shiny, can be subject to chipping, seals the wood better possibly offering surface protection, cost more money.

Personally there is no chess set I got un-lacquered that I regret getting that way. And the two sets I got lacquered I wish I did not. Your preference may vary, maybe you will love it.

Thats exactly what I thought when I got an ebonized lacquered set, and then a bishop gently bumped a pawn in a game. A tiny lacquered flake got knocked off exposing LIGHT boxwood under the black lacquer. 

I abuse regular ebonized chess sets and after a while the dark pieces will get a bit worn on the corners. But they dont turn bright light boxwood. They look great after being used if anything. Lacquered? Looked like a bright  white speck among shiny black. I had to go buy gloss black nail polish to dab on the flaked of area and cover it up.

Good info, thanks!

Yes, probably why they started offering it because of the bleed. But properly prepared wood and then sealed properly will not bleed. You do not need to put shiny lacquer on it to seal up the color. Take a look at any set by NOJ that is dyed red or deep red. They do not bleed and do not have that high gloss thick lacquer over them. NOJ I believe uses a few coats of sealer on their pieces but they put a lot of labor into a set.