African black wood is a very good alternative to other ebonies.
There are many species which are called 'Ebony' all pretty pricey but not all endagered.
There are also several kinds of wood called 'boxwood I only use Buxus sempervirens AKA European boxwood. These Indian and Chinese made sets use locally sourced boxwood substitutes, some of which whilst more quickly grown are very good if dried correctly.
@cghori, the problem is that many of the woods that are used to make chess pieces and boards are on endangered species list and becoming harder and more expensive to get. See Most Endangered Wood Species for a list. I wish it had been offered in ebony, too, but African and Madagascar ebony are in very short supply right now. You can expect prices to skyrocket. It's no surprise that CB, famous for reasonable prices, now charge pretty large dollars for ebony sets.
So if the set was available in Ebony, it would be out of your price range and you would not have purchased?
How many sets do you own?
HOS Mammoth Ivory?
DEFINITELY out of my price range. I've spent into four figures for a couple of sets, but nothing that expensive. I could afford it, but it would cost me my marriage! I also counted my collection today. I was shocked. 110 chess sets of various sizes between 2-3/4 - 5", and 33 travel sets of various kinds. That doesn't count three more sets on the way: one from Russia, one from Denmark, and one from England. I'd say more than half have been acquired since I joined this forum about two and a half years ago...SMH.
Wow-you really have an addiction! You could buy the Ivory but tell your wife that you will forgo buying sets for a couple years. How many boards do you have?
URL still not working, Alan
Very nice, FrankHelwig. Congrats on the new set and thanks for sharing!