The Craft

A great game begins long before the first move. It begins with the board it is played on.

MONOLITH exists for one reason: most chess sets are made to be put away. Ours are made to be left out.

Materials with a memory

We work in solid timbers — oak, walnut, maple, mahogany — in cast metal and in crystal glass. Materials that weigh something in the hand, age well in the light, and stand flat on the table year after year. No hollow plastic. Nothing that apologises for being in your living room.

Built to be played

A beautiful board that plays badly is furniture. Every MONOLITH set is a real instrument: weighted pieces, two camps you can read at a glance, proportions that respect the game. Our magnetic sets hold their position when the board moves; our folding sets become their own case; our drawered boards keep all thirty-two pieces where they belong.

An object first. A game always.

The measure of a chess set is not only how it plays — it is whether you leave it out when the game is over. That is the standard every set in this collection was chosen to meet.

MONOLITH — sculptural chess sets, delivered tracked and free across the UK, with 30 days to change your mind.