Guides

Luxury chess sets sit at the crossroads of art and strategy. If you love fine craft and want a board that feels like a museum piece, you’re in the right place. Below we unpack the craft, the design choices, the care routine, and why Pilardi’s one-of-one boards, handcrafted in Isfahan and curated in Paris, are made for refined home play and display.

1. Craft, technique, and provenance: Khatam-kari and Tazhib

Khatam-kari is a Persian marquetry art. Fine rods of wood, bone and brass are bundled together, sliced into thin sections, and hand-assembled into geometric star patterns. Some pieces also include mother-of-pearl. Artisans in Isfahan build the mosaic by hand and then level the surface, so each panel reads like a fingerprint of the workshop: no two boards match. You can see the technique across the Khatam Chess & Backgammon Set, Golden Edition and the Black Edition. The Golden Edition takes its name from the warm golden tones within the khatam inlay, not from gold leaf.

Tazhib is the Persian art of illumination: the gold-and-pigment ornament historically used on manuscript pages. At Pilardi that vocabulary is hand-painted onto wood, which is how the Tazhib Chess & Backgammon Set in Indigo and the Turquoise Tazhib set carry their painted panels.

Two constants run through the whole range. Every game board is walnut wood, and every surface is sealed under a clear protective resin finish that keeps the inlay and the painting safe from daily handling.

Ghalamkari, the Persian block-printing tradition, belongs to a different part of the house. Carved blocks and natural dyes are pressed onto cotton, as in the Block Printed Cotton Textile, Firouzeh Spread. It is a textile craft, not a board finish, and it pairs well with a chess set on a table rather than appearing on the board itself.

Provenance is straightforward: handcrafted in Isfahan, curated in Paris, and shipped worldwide from Paris. That traceability reassures collectors who worry about hidden mass production.

For a deeper look at Khatam-kari’s history, see Wikipedia’s Khatam entry. Details on Ghalamkari’s block-printing process appear in its Wikipedia page.

2. Design depth: boards, motifs, and the art of staging a luxury chess set

The first design decision is the one people rarely expect: every Pilardi board is reversible. Chess lives on one face, backgammon on the other, so a single object covers two games and folds away without a second box on the shelf. Each board arrives with chess pieces, backgammon checkers and a protective hard case.

Motifs draw from Persian miniatures, calligraphy and architectural arches. Geometric khatam stars carry one mood, painted scenes carry another: the Hand-Painted Polo Chess & Backgammon Set and the Polo Miniature Chess & Backgammon Set with khatam marquetry both put a horseback scene at the centre of the composition.

Scale is the other choice. If the board will live on a console or a smaller games table, the Compact Khatam & Tazhib Chess & Backgammon Set keeps the same craft in a smaller footprint. Check the dimensions listed on each product page, since every board is one-of-one.

One honest caveat: these sets are made for refined home play and for display. They are not tournament equipment, and they are not built to competition specifications. Buy them for the room and for the evening, not for the clock.

Explore our curated collection to see how these choices play out: Luxury Chess & Backgammon Boards.

3. Care and preservation of one-of-a-kind pieces

Because a luxury chess set is both functional and collectible, proper care extends its life. Keep the board out of direct sunlight, since UV exposure dulls painted pigment and wood alike. Aim for a stable indoor humidity rather than a room that swings between damp and dry, which is what makes wood move.

Dust with a soft, dry cloth. If a mark appears, a barely damp microfibre cloth is enough. Avoid solvents, alcohol and household cleaners, which can damage the clear resin finish. When the game is over, store the board in the protective hard case it came with, and never stack heavy objects on top of it.

Travelling with the set calls for the same hard case inside a padded outer box, with the carrier told that the contents are fragile. Pilardi ships worldwide from Paris.

4. Pilardi in focus: one-of-a-kind pieces, process, and gifting ideas

Pilardi’s signature object is the one-of-one khatam chess and backgammon board. The work begins in Isfahan, where an artisan prepares the walnut body and builds the marquetry from bundled rods of wood, bone and brass. Painted editions add hand-worked tazhib ornament before the surface is sealed under clear resin. The finished piece is then curated in Paris. The Khatam Chess & Backgammon Set, Turquoise Edition is a good example of the full sequence.

Because each board is assembled by hand, no two are identical. Small variations in the pattern are the signature of the method, not a flaw, and they are the reason the range is described as one-of-one.

If you already own a board, the checkers are worth upgrading on their own: the Premium Khatam Backgammon Checkers Set and the Khatam Backgammon Checkers Set carry the same marquetry language.

For gifting, pair the board with a Hand-Painted Ceramic Coaster or a Hand-Painted Decorative Tray. Together they make a tabletop narrative that invites conversation at a dinner party or in a design-led office.

FAQ

What makes a luxury chess set different from a regular one?

A luxury set is defined by material and method rather than by rules of play. Pilardi boards are walnut, decorated with khatam marquetry built from wood, bone and brass, or with hand-painted tazhib, and finished under clear protective resin. Each one is handcrafted in Isfahan and is one-of-one.

Is a Pilardi chess board suitable for regular play?

Yes, for play at home. The boards are reversible for chess and backgammon and come with pieces and checkers, so they are meant to be used, not only admired. They are not made to tournament specifications.

How should I store a luxury chess set when not in use?

Keep it in the protective hard case supplied with the set, away from direct sunlight and away from rooms with swinging humidity. Wipe dust off with a soft dry cloth before closing the case.

What comes with a Pilardi chess and backgammon board?

Every board is reversible, with chess on one face and backgammon on the other, and it is supplied with chess pieces, backgammon checkers and a protective hard case.

Where are the boards made, and where do they ship from?

They are handcrafted in Isfahan and curated in Paris. Orders ship worldwide from Paris.

Conclusion

For collectors and designers who want authentic Persian craftsmanship on a board they will actually play on, a one-of-one Pilardi khatam or tazhib set is a rare thing: an object that works as a game and as a piece of the room. Because every board is unique, the one you like today may not be there next month. Browse the Luxury Chess & Backgammon Boards collection and order yours, shipped worldwide from Paris.