Thanks, guys. The white pieces are boxwood and the black pieces are ebony. Ebony is rare and expensive. It's also very dense. It's one of the few woods that won't float in water. HOS offers various woods at various prices. Money can be saved by purchasing the "ebonized" black pieces which are (visually) almost identical to ebony.
HOS also offers the only legal new ivory sets available anywhere. They're literally crafted from 30,000-year-old Mammoth tusk ivory. The tusks are considered to be fossils by the feds, hence the legality. But those start in the $5000 range, depending on the market, so that ain't gonna happen at my house anytime soon.
This one is their "Collector Series" with the 4-inch king. Note that four queens are included. They have larger (read: taller) sets, but I prefer the 4-inch size for play. The larger ones get a little awkward. The HOS is also a distributor for Jaques (pronounced "Jakes") of London, but I consider those sets to be terribly over-priced (thousands). The HOS set is a virtual steal by comparison.
The included coffer is simply astounding. It's truly gorgeous. Gone are the days of hiding the ugly chess box when the set is put away. You'd be proud to leave this box out for everyone to see. I may get some better photos tonight as all my studio gear was in storage yesterday (pending my relocation to GA).
I'll probably buy the board from the HOS also. They have an exceptional model crafted from amboynia and birds-eye maple. They don't give 'em away, though. The cover photo on their
HOME PAGE shows the board I want.
Man, I forgot all about that online chess we had around here...