heirloom set advise

hello members, I am not new to chess, but I am new to this forum.. I registered so I can get some advise on making a big purchase for an heirloom quality set and board.  

I am leaning towards House of Staunton (Sultan) chessmen and two boards, one a veneer 1/2" board of elm/ebony squares for everyday use, and one build to order African palisander / maple burl solid wood board for "display"..    My primary concern is country of origin..  I know the boards are made in the US and UK, but the pieces aren't marked with country of origin.. with a retail price over $1000, I imagine it's not China, but where is the question?  Where are the "finest" chessmen made today?  I called a store in NY that told me India, but that surprises me as I imagined it would be Italy, Spain, France, or some other EU nation.. is India really the source of top of the line chessmen?

thanks for any advise.

Sam

Some here have corresponded with HOS on where their sets are made. The gist is that the best of the HOS sets are made in England, by an Indian carver I bet, (except the mammoth ivory ones, which I think are carved by a Russian artist), and the rest come from India.

Not all sets that come from India are equal.

HOS has had a long relationship with their Indian producers and have established a level of quality control. A random order from some Indian outfit and you really can't be confident of a set equal to what HOS sells.

In my opinion the best Staunton sets come from HOS, and if you want something like an antique Jaques in a new set, HOS is clearly the best.

I own 3 wooden HOS sets, two of which are a Collector and a Collector II. They are quite nice.

Hey, thanks bud.. Yeah, I also got told that "most of our expensive" sets are made in Europe when I called... and the set I'm buying is one of their most expensive (barring the ivory and non Staunton ones).  But from what I gather by what you're saying, the Indian's are the best at this art..  What got me confused is the statement on HOS's website (FAQ #3) saying that Indian made sets are of low quality..  

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/KingCart/faq.html#003

From the above link...

"Most Indian-made sets are relatively inexpensive. They are almost always of very poor quality. They will have burn and tear marks, burrs, poor finishes, etc. The Indian manufacturers also have no regard for U.S. and International copyright laws, and will make counterfeit copies of most anything on the market. But, you get what you pay for. "

For many years the fact that HOS sets were made in India was something they just avoided talking about. Probably something to do with distancing themselves from the stigma of lower quality--and common--sets on the market via India.

There was a local fellow who was getting sets made to his specs from India. No question their carvers can do excellent work. The issue in his case was quality control. In the end the quality of the finish on his sets was somewhat better than the HOS ones, though the designs weren't nearly as good for my tastes.