Local finds

Your new Lardy is a good find.

I always had a Lardy set and Chavet set on my list but I never imagined being able to find one in good condition. I bought my first Lardy recently and really loved it. Vintage is good. There is just something nice when the set has an aged look that was achieved naturally.

Yes that's a good idea, Lardy or Chavet. The difficulty I'm having is there are an awful lot of sets that look extremely similar (in my inexperienced eyes) to Chavet sets. Lardy seems to be easier to distinguish because of the Knights whereas with Chavet there are a lot of Knights with sticky up ears or is it just the big gob that makes Chavet easier to spot?

Didn't realise that Spanish set you could still buy new. Wonder if the set on ebay is indeed vintage then? 

It's tough with chavet to recognize if you haven't studied on them as there are many reproductions from several vendors in India (or Lardy for that matter).

I have no knowledge about Spanish pieces so I can't tell, but I'd imagine since it exists for decades there must be vintage sets  out there to be found on eBay.

66mm faux mopane and faux zebrawood plastic set

It can be tough. I believe Chavet used European boxwood. Some were ebonized black. Some were stained brown while others were painted (red, green, blue). If the set is made of some other material like sheesham, Indian boxwood, etc, then it isn't a Chavet. Also, start with the knights. Here is @FrankHelwig's photo of a vintage knight versus vintage. Distinguishing knights from different eras would be very difficult for most. Luckily you don't need to do that. Chavet was the only one who made knights like these. If you see these and they are made of European boxwood then it will probably be a Chavet set. 

I thought you were done buying sets. Haha!

Excellent recap mister buddy!

"I thought you were done buying sets"...uhmmm, just one more!

Hi guys,

New comer here within the chess set owners club!

I recently acquired two chess sets: one is a Lardy. I bought it £20. Was it a fair price or was it a rip-off?

Also I acquired this other set + board for €60. What do you think?

Do you have info on the set? It did not come with the original box and the seller did not know it (it was his father's) King is 8 cm high, pieces are felted and weighted. The board is from Rechapados Ferrer.

Thanks!

As for Lardy pieces it's a basic mainstream set so that is bit overpriced but the slide top box has a nice touch of Lardy logo, you don't see that often so that makes up for it a bit.

That's a sweet deal on the Chavet set + RF board. The pieces looks like the current 121/4 series and both the pieces and board are coated with some varnish by the previous owner though. That RF board looks like walnut de luxe (45mm square size?) and that board is not high gloss by default.

Yes RD board is 50x50. Both pieces and board are super glossy (maybe too much to my taste, photos on marketplace gave a slightly different tone). Thanks for the precisions!

Haha! Me too.

@TheOneCalledMichael I did not know you and Mandeep are best friends. Your photos of your Staunton Castle sets are being advertised on his website.

[edit] I guess my photos of the Staunton Castle 3.5" Morphy did not make the cut. Haha!

The Staunton Castle is steal of the century, I think he's loosing money when selling one so that's why

As mentioned to you, I think the use of your photos is both funny and looks bad. I did a double-take when I saw it. I think he should have asked you first. After all, the chess community is small. Anyone actively reading content here at CB&E would have noticed your photos. Oh well. 

@MCH818 thanks for information about Chavet that's very helpful.

First time doing thr '@' not sure how to do it.

Oh it worked!

They are really nice photos.

Thank you for the kind words sister!

You're welcome!