Start searching the forums here and elsewhere, I've seen several forums here about chess sets and dealers. I'm pretty sure Jaques of London and House of Staunton are both reputable dealers, not to imply anyone else isn't. Just to begin scratching the surface here, see
http://blog.chess.com/NimzoRoy/nimzoroy-and-chess-set
www.cln.org/searching_faqs.html
Some boneheads get insulted by the last link, I hope you're not one of them and it proves helpful GOOD LUCK!
Check out The Chess Store, as well. TCS is HOS's main competition, they also have good products. You mentioned a Portable set are you talking about a tournament set? Tournament sets are usualy roll up boards with plastic pieces. And can be found several places like Wholesale Chess and American Chess Equipment. www.wholesalechess.com or amchesseq.com.
If you are looking for a very portable set that play well you need a plastic tournament combo w/ bag and roll up board. Check out the Ultimate pieces at American Chess Equipment, or the Crown series at TCS, Or the Marshall series at HOS, or the Premier pieces at Wholesale. Get it in a combo and your are set.
If you are looking for wood peices to travel with, concider the German Knight at TCS, the Championship at HOS, the Classic set at Wholesale or the Ultimate Wood set at American. The wood set may not be available in a combo and you may have to buy the board and bag seperately.
Thanks BigLew - to clarify, I'm looking for a wooden or bone set, with a 'clamshell' case (doubles as board and storage space for pieces). I've found a set from Chess Bazaar that has a set of bone pieces and a 12 folding inch board. King height 2.4" - I think I can cope with it being 1/10" under my preference. Does anyone have experience with Chess Bazaar bone sets, or bone (Staunton style) sets in general?
sorry I came to this late, but I have just received a set of Rosewood pieces from Chess Bazaar and was very impressed by the speed of delivery and quality. I prefer them to the service I've received from other sites in the UK!
(and I have no links with the company)
if they did customized sets (e.g. if you want to buy multiple sets you soon end up with loads of similar looking boxwood white pieces and it would be nice to have more colour choice) they would be perfect!
I had good luck with Chess Bazaar also. Bought a nice ebony and boxwood 3" set for around $50 delivered from India! OK, these aren't collector quality knights (they belong to the well known "Great Dane" school of Staunton), but nicely weighted and carved pieces. I picked up a 16" folding board on Ebay for around $20 used (with near throwaway original pieces) and was in business. Your mileage may vary. What's with the bone rather than wood?
One thing with sets made from organic materials is their ability to be susceptible to the elements. I play a lot of OTB games that take place outside almost all year round and a friend of mine has a beautiful hand carved teak set that he brings on occasion. The pieces though are very weathered and worn from the many years he has played with them outside but they still hold as well as a Plastic set similar to those in tournament.
My question then is: is this meant for year round play in say an indoor and outdoor environment or is this an investment in a good quality set that both looks and plays well for when friends and guests arrive. If your answer is yes to the first part of the question, I would suggest using 2 different sets, bringing out the tournament set say in serious weather (even if you are under a canopy, wood reacts funny to water and temperature). If this is a house set for casual games, then the problem is esentially solved as you will not be taking a wood and bone set to the park.
Because your flag icon shows international, I am unsure as to where you are. However, at cigar and pipe shops in the United States, we usually sell both nice sets that would meet your specifications as well as clocks and other items for chess. Perhaps there is something local that is similar? I have found that some of the most beautiful sets I have seen have come from these places or even from importers and antique shops. Just an idea to pursue a bit more local as well.
Regarding the bone versus wood, I simply prefer bone because it won't crack or split as easily as woods such as ebony, and won't chip when dropped like stone. Plus, the most desireable sets of yore were elephant ivory; bone seems to be the closest equivalent on a shoestring budget (I'd rather not spend $13K on the HOS Mammoth Ivory set.)
It sounds to me like you have some fairly good ideas of whaqt you want. i might suggest looking local at some import/export shops or even markets/bazaars as you might find some good bargains on hand-crafted sets.
Best of luck in your search.
Sorry for joining late, I have brought 5 sets from chessbazaar and 2 from chess baron in the last year and I see no difference in quality but there is a huge difference in prices. I assume this is because all chess vendors are getting these sets made in India and when we shop from a vendor like chessbazaar the customer is getting the product directly from the manufacturer saving a lot of money.
I'm looking into purchasing a good quality portable chess set. What's the verdict on Jaques of London versus House of Staunton versus Mark of Westminster? Are there any other makes I should consider? I'm looking for something portable, so king height 2.5-3.75 is preferred, as are folding boards with storage compartment(s) for the pieces. I've also seen sets from an online shop, Chess Bazaar, which look just as nice as any of the others mentioned, but at a fraction of the price. Has anyone had experience with Chess Bazaar?