In addition to its 250th anniversary book, Baccarat has now lays out the giant chess set. This anniversary chess set is made of crystal – trademark of the luxury French manufacturer. Oki Sato, founder of Japanese design studio Nendo was in charge to design this luxurious board game. The set comprises 32 chessmen cut by hand from midnight blue and clear crystal, mimicking Baccarat’s iconic Harcourt glasses. The cutting process alone took 200 hours.
“Baccarat has a very long history and tradition, but there is always fun in the product, and I wanted to express that,” said Sato.
Limited to only 50 sets, this collector’s item will retail at estimated price of €20,000 ($27,300).
The iconic French brand celebrates their 250th anniversary, a commemoration of a name that become renowned for unmatched craftsmanship and design with a plenty of events. Beside a yearlong exhibition at Baccarat’s museum in Paris, displaying the house’s art de vivre, the venerable crystal company will add its crystal touch on the windows of a number of department stores around the world, starting with a “Fire and Ice” theme at Bergdorf Goodman next month, while the opening of the first Baccarat Hotel & Residences is slated for later this year, also in New York.