German Metal Chess Set by Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik (WMF), 1903

Here is another version of a very special and rare chess set made by WMF, i.e. Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik in Germany. The pieces are made of brass, one side gilded, the other side silvered. These sets have been subject to discussion among collectors, more of which you can read here.

According to information I received from the WMF archive this type of set (only) appears in the 1903 catalogue. All the pieces are hallmarked "I/O" on the underside. This hallmark was used exclusively by WMF. The mark stood for a normal silver plating, i.e. 1g of precipitated fine silver was spread over 1 dm² of surface on both sides. In addition, this version comes with little sticker on the underside of each piece reading "Vernis 5", which may be an indication of a particular type of coating, as the translation of the French word "vernis" would be varnish or coating. Further, most WMF sets I have seen came with a board box with a metal chess board on the lid, which had uniformly silver squares. This specimen came with the same type of box and board on the top of the lid, but here the black squares are covered with niello, a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper silver and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal surfaces. The box is framed with red velvet. The interior is lined with purple silk and features recesses for the individual pieces.