Japanese design studio Nendo has recently unveiled its latest design for a chess set made with Harcourt glass, a type of crystal introduced in 1841 by France’s storied Baccarat.

Instead of adding new elements to Harcourt’s distinctive style, the designers at Nendo isolated six distinctly different elements from the glassware’s overall pattern to represent the king’s crown, the hem of the queen’s robe, the bishop’s mitre et al.

The pieces are made from transparent and midnight blue crystal. Owing to crystal’s multifaceted nature, even subtle variations in the position and angle of cuts induce dramatic changes in the impression of the pieces.

The crystal board lays emphasis on the transparency of the pieces and the deep blue cross pattern on the board’s base glows through to illuminate the chequerboard pattern. There’s also that dash of red, which is an emblematic accent of Baccarat.