The Royal Diamond Chess set

Black knight. The last masterpiece of a talented French jeweler Bernard Maquin – The Royal Diamond Chess set

The Royal Diamond Chess set
Wanting to pay tribute to his family’s long involvement with jewelry, Charles Hollander came up with the idea of creating one-of-a-kind luxury items. “I happened to share my dreams of elite objects with my designer Ms. Stolarsky and Beauty Gems’ Bernard Maquin, he recalls. I had in mind a collection which would show off the sparks of our diamonds”. His ideas, together with Mr. Maquin’s designs, the skilled labor of craftsmen in Beauty Gems’ factory let this unique chess set appear.
The famous French painter and jeweler, Bernard Maquin (1932-2004) created the most expensive in the world Royal Diamond Chess set worth $500,000. In particular, thirty jewelers, led by Maquin spent over 4,500 hours on creating the royal collection, done from start to finish by hand. Besides, the artists and jewelers used 1168.75 grams of 14 carat white gold, and approximately 9900 black and white diamonds. Weight was 186.09 carats. According to Mr. Hollander, he wanted to offer privileged chess players an object crafted with love and passion. True to his reputation of being a diamond jewelry pioneer, Charles Hollander has created a rare prestigious symbol of joy and pride.

Made of 9900 black and white diamonds Chess set

Thirty jewelers, led by Maquin spent over 4,500 hours on creating the royal collection. The work was done from start to finish by hand. The artists and jewelers used 1168.75 grams of 14 carat white gold, and approximately 9900 black and white diamonds. Weight was 186.09 carats.

The Royal Diamond Chess set was probably the last masterpiece of a talented French jeweler, but not the only his creation – Bernard Maquin and his Beauty Gems colleagues made a gorgeous Roulette Wheel as well as a Backgammon set made of over 60,000 diamonds.

Immediately successful with five diamond chess sets already produced and sold worldwide, the Charles Hollander collection now also includes diamond soccer and golf balls, diamond roulette and backgammon game plus a diamond masbacha composed of 33 black diamond praying beads with a special addition of three partitions made of 18 carat gold with diamonds. Shown in top class jewelry fairs, like the Basel fair in Switzerland, they have all received praises from leading designers and jewelers. “I would call them the most glamorous pieces I have ever crafted”, says Mr. Maquin, who was coordinating the production of a new chess game in Bangkok.