Recycled Chess Set With a Storied Past

I first came across this recycled chess set on Coolest Gadgets and was instantly enamored with the idea. Created by artist Armando Ramirez and sold via Novica, these eco-friendly chess sets have an artistic, slightly industrial feel to them. What's not to love about the originality and inventiveness of creating a full chess set from only recycled materials?

So what makes this line of chess sets so appealing? Well, they actually started out life as assorted car parts. In fact, the bishop may have been one of your old sparkplugs! With recycled metal pieces and a "rustic" finish, the chess set manages to find beauty in rusty, old car parts, like the car's ignition that is incorporated into the queen and king pieces.

Ramirez started out by making toys from recycled mechanical parts, and later moved into sculptures. As part of the creative process, he searches for appropriate parts and then soaks the used metal pieces, cleaning and removing impurities. Lastly, he solders the parts together to create his sculptures. He uses primarily old bike and car parts to create his one-of-a-kind recycled metal sculptures.

His chess sets are a little expensive (around $200), but I think it's worth it. Where else are you going to find a chess set with the same storied past? And there is something to be said for supporting independent artists like Ramirez, who recreate old junk as functional artwork on a daily basis.