Unusual chess sets

Because it's Christmas time and everyone is buying, giving, searching for gifts, I thought to share with you a selection of unusual chess sets. There are so many extremely beautiful collectible and rare items on the market that my task, very enjoyable though, became kind of difficult:)
Some of the chess sets presented underneath are available for purchase, some are taken from private collections and others are works of art from famous designers.
There are only two problems:
1. They are quite expensive
2. It's difficult to play with these sets:)


I will start by presenting you one of the most expensive chess sets in the world:

Renowned French artist and master of jewelry, Bernard Maquin created the Royal Diamond Chess set in 2005 bringing the game of chess to a whole new level. Noted for its abililty to combine fine art, jewelry, and the classic game of chess, this is one of the most expensive chess sets in the world.

Thirty craftsmen, under the direction of Maquin spent over 4500 hours creating the expensive chess set. The work was done all by hand and when it was completed, the artists used 1168.75 grams of 14 carat white gold, and approximately 9900 black and white diamonds, bringing the total weight to 186.09 carats and the total cost to $500,000.

This posh chess set is part of the Charles Hollander Collection, one of the most respected names in the diamond industry. 

But if you thought the Hollander set would make your chess game bling-bling, then you haven’t seen the most expensive chess set in the world yet. This label goes to the Jewel Royale Chess Set from Britain. Boodles, a British custom jewelry company commissioned its production.

Valued at over £5 million ($9.8m USD), this single chess set is the most expensive and exquisite game set of any kind in the world. Constructed of gold and platinum, it contains diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls and sapphires. The king piece alone weighs 165.2 grams of 18 carat yellow gold and has a spiraling mid-section graced by 73 rubies and 146 diamonds.

Further on you can enjoy the variety of unusual designs of Chess sets:

Flowers:

Designed by the chess sculptor: Oleg Raikis

Vertical Chess Set:

Givan Design Studio

Eating, Drinking and Playing Chess:)

Salt and Pepper Chess set

Edible Chess Set

Mario Chess Cake

Table Chess Set:

Fantasy and Mythology:

Fairies vs Faires

Dragons and Wizards

Gods of Greek Mythology

The Eastern Hemisphere:

Australia

China

Japanese Sumo Wrestlers

Glass:

From the movie:
"Lucky number Slevin"

Wood: 

Steel:

Doorknobs for cabinets

Origami:

Geometric painted chess set:

There are plenty of sets, with differents motifs, to choose from: sport, celebrities, music etc. If we cannot afford to have them all, we can at least enjoy looking:)