Which Dubrovnik Set do you like betterChessBazaar or House of Staunton?

Chessoholicar’s Dubrovnik set is much higher quality with the charm and elegance characterizing the original Dubrovnik set.

I tend to like the HoS's version over CB's version.

if only i had a coupla hundred to get a board and pieces. if only...

Hos. No contest. Cb’s Dubrovnik knights look like unicorns.

You would..?

CB knights have this horn that may not appeal to many people, however, their queens and kings are more accurate than House of Staunton.

Best original Dubro 1950 is the one made by Staunton castle. The repro of the knight is higher than any other producer, and it can be compared watching the video Vidmar Dubrovnik 1950 in YouTube. https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/new-dubrovnik-1950-options-by-staunton-castle. Best dubro II is the one made by Noj. IMHO

Anyone can confirm if this is an IA chatbot experiment?

I agree that Noj makes the best reproduction copy but their prices are a hard pill to swallow IMHO. Since money is an object for me. I would get the HoS version over the CB version. HoS version is good enough for me for the money.

The Noj Dubrovnik is the best reproduction ever. The Staunton Castle repro looks too artificial. If you examin closely Staunton Castle’s ebony wood and plain boxwood Dubrovnik set, you notice that the base of the chessmen lack the groovy curve of the original Dubrovnik and the pawns are almost average staunton design. Even the knight’s head is still somewhat bigger and fatter than Noj and original version. You see the differences better in SC plain boxwood copy than in the antiqued version. Overall, SC tried his best to reproduce the legendary Dubrovnik set but this did not prove an easy task. The Noj version is still at the top of the list but the price is a big deterent to many buyers.

Also, sourcing maple and walnut, which NOJ first started out in and still make, is not easily sourced in India.  But Mandeep did a great job for this repro.  He is the only one that came close to the original knight after NOJ.  And yes if you want the best you will have to pay up. 

Who is Mandeep?

 

Sorry, I should have used his companies name of Staunton Castle. He did nail the knight pretty good in this set.

I think that noj 1950 knight is easier to carve and inferior to the SC one, if you compare with the original vidmar dubro 1950. I will upload some images

It is also true that walnut and maple are much higher quality and more expensive wood than Indian rosewood and Indian boxwood which understandably is part of the reason why Noj set is more expensive. Also, it is obvious that Noj has spent more time and effort to produce their 1950 Dubrovnik and their work quality and wood-turning technique is much superior to Staunton Castle but still I believe Noj price is too high and needs to be moderated. In fact, if Noj reviews its prices and deflates them they will become number one seller of chess.

I would kindly have to disagree with you that walnut and maple and much higher quality are more expensive than Indian Rosewood.  In India, everything is relative to the economy of the country but I do not want to get into that.

I just had a 52-year-old Maple cut from my yard that would have made dozens if not more chess sets.  Indian Rosewood, especially dark grain which is beautiful, for me at least is much more desirable than maple. People work with the wood that is available to them without importing. The extra trouble an Indian manufacturer has to go through to import wood into their country would add a big expense to the set.  Anyway, we underpay for chess sets from India. One day all these sets from India will be 3x the price and people there will make a better wage which they deserve. That time is coming faster than people might realize. 

OMG 🙄

 

As a three men operation, they may have no such ambition. And as long as there is a waiting list for their sets, the prices are not likely to drop.

It's the invisible hand of the market slapping us silly.

-Izmet Fekali

That is wrong. Walnut is higher quality and more expensive than Indian rosewood. There are other types of rosewod which are good but they grow in Africa not India. Indian rosewood has bigger pores and grains making it cheaper and more profitable for making chess sets. The same thing is true of Indian ebony which is cheaper and lower quality than African and Brazilian ones.
European maple is also better quality than Indian quazi boxwood and it also looks more beautiful.

As for chess prices, they will not be increasing but decreasing as more and more manufacturers enter the chess market. Royal Chess Mall is a good example of a new entrant.
A luxury chess set that cost $500 back in 2005 can now be bought for as low as $200. Also, manufacturers are becoming more and more skillful creating better and better quality chess sets which overshadow their old sets leading to their price decrease.
Buying modern chess sets for playing with is OK but as investment definitely NOT a good idea.

Walnut and Maple while good woods. I don't like them being used for chess pieces. Since most wooden boards tend to have Walnut and Maple in them. Especially Maple being the main choice for light squares on a chessboard. Personally I think that Ash is a much better wood than Maple. Better grain patterns. Yellows much better than Maple. It is lighter than Maple but just as hard. That is why Baseball Bats are made out of Ash and not Maple.