It’s rather unexpected and delightfully refreshing to find a Rolls-Royce designed not for the road, but for the living room.
Yet here we are, with the introduction of the Rolls-Royce Chess Set.
Unboxing a chess set has never been so ceremonial. In true Rolls-Royce fashion, the playing board opens with a singular, deliberate motion. As the lid rises, a leather-lined tray emerges gracefully, presenting the magnetically suspended pieces as if summoned by the hand of a phantom butler.
It’s a moment of theatre, a nod to the coach doors that open with a similar flourish on their cars.
And those magnets aren’t ordinary either. Rolls-Royce engineers tried no fewer than six varieties to get the feel just right, enough to keep each piece in place, yet light enough to glide as if moved by strategy alone.
The design language is distinctly Rolls-Royce. The leather-clad base gently arches like the waft lines on their grand tourers. The pieces themselves, formed from ceramic-coated aluminium and topped with stainless steel crowns, feel like sculptural artefacts. You don’t so much grip them as you do admire them.
It’s no coincidence that the tactility is reminiscent of the organ-stop controls found inside the marque’s cabins. Even the black and white pieces play by their own aesthetic rules, with a satin finish on the former and a subtle iridescence on the latter.
Four veneer finishes have been selected from the same woods used in the cabins of their cars. Each square is laser-cut, hand-laid, and chosen from the same log to ensure the grain flows as naturally as the game itself.
The whole set is framed in polished aluminium, anchored by a discreet Spirit of Ecstasy badge at both ends, lest anyone forgets where this masterpiece comes from.
And of course, customisation is at the heart of it all. Thirteen leather hues let owners tailor the set to the interior of their Phantom or the palette of their personal library.
Nick Abrams, Accessories Designer at Rolls-Royce, explains it best: “Knowing that many clients enjoy chess, we were inspired to create our own Chess Set as a natural evolution of the sense of hosting and occasion that defines the Rolls-Royce experience.”
Whether it sits in a Mayfair drawing room, a Manhattan penthouse, or a private yacht off the Amalfi coast, the Rolls-Royce Chess Set is more than just a conversation piece. It’s a declaration that elegance, intellect, and design need not be confined to the road.
The Rolls-Royce Chess Set is now available for commission through all Rolls-Royce showrooms and Private Office boutiques.
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