The Beginning
 The Art of War Chess set came about for no apparent reason, other than something in my mind, around the middle of June 2003, said build this beautiful chess set of gold and rhodium and diamonds and rubies and emeralds and sapphires!!! I had thought about this set for almost 30 years and whatever it was that told me to begin building it, was not of this dimension. I had no idea as to how to finance this project let alone construct it, but yet it seemed that some unseen and outside force told me to begin building this beautiful chess set now and not to worry about anything.
                       By December 2003 I had 11 gold pieces cast without the jewels. I was showing them to people and was asking for ideas. Within weeks I had many suggestions from various people. By July, 2004 we were well on the way to having 32 pieces completed and the jewels being set.
            I had begun trying to put an idea together for the chessboard and the case. I had just enough money to buy 68 ( the 4 extra to be used as a prototype) gold squares measuring 1 ½”x 1 ½” and 1/16” thick. 
            This project cost me about $50,000.00 dollars and the squares were completed near the end of November 2004. I thought naked feet should support the chess board and that 2 yellow feet with diamonds in the toenails would be beautiful, while rubies in the white gold feet’s toenails would also be beautiful. Yet something was missing. I slept on it for about a week; when boom it hit me out of the clear blue sky. Chess is considered a game of war. So I now had my name “The Art of War Chess Set!!” It hit me again, boom, put 4 sayings from the book, “The Art of War” on the 4 sides of the chess board. So I took 1 saying from each of the 1st 4 chapters of the book and put 1 saying on each side of the board. The Chinese Characters were cut out from a solid sheet of 14 k gold and then inserted into the solid ebony wood. 2 yellow gold sayings and 2 white gold sayings. Wow the board turned out exquisitely beautiful. The case became the next project for this gorgeous set. I called on an old friend and a 15 year customer of mine for the board and now the case. I called Tom Scott at Scott Models once again and he helped me design the case. Looking at the case one can see how much effort was put into it. The 4 samurai cut from 14 k solid gold sheets and embedded into the lid of the case, are Japanese and the writing on the board Chinese. However the set depicts an Oriental theme without prejudice toward any country. The case has 8 solid gold balls for feet, each ball containing 8 jewels which 8x8=64, the number of squares on the chess board. The solid gold handle has 21 beautiful jewels depicting a 21 gun salute. The hinges are solid gold as are the lock and key. The case was finally complete in early October and just in time for our planned showing on Veterans Day November 11, 2005.
            Bingo, Bingo, Bingo. My attorney, Shawn Mc McCormick suggested we donate money from the showing and the sale of the chess set to the surviving children of those servicemen who died in Afghanistan and Iraq defending our freedom. That is when it hit me why something told me to build it. Someday this elegant chess set could produce hundreds of thousands maybe even millions for those surviving children of our service men and women who died while defending our freedom. But wait, what about those who are wounded badly and can’t work. Why who knows, maybe enough donations will happen that those children will also be helped. “And who says God doesn’t exist”  I say Baloney, he does exist. It’s really ironic that I served in a battlefield area in Vietnam. Its ironic my middle son served in Bosnia and Iraq. Its ironic my youngest son is in a boot camp school and is thriving under strict discipline. My oldest son was a Marine, my father was a Marine in the Pacific theater in WWII and my grandfather was a marine in France in WWI. I am glad that God pointed me in the right direction to show me how to help those who most need and deserve our help.

Victor F. Scharstein

Participants who built this beautiful set.

• Luis Camero- Marios Casting 55 N.E. 1st St. Suite 51 2nd Floor Miami Florida 33132 305-374-2894 ( casting gold pieces)
• Sergio Ramos- Sergio’s Fine Jewelry 423 S Semoraw  Blvd Orlando Fl 32807 407-341-0152 (Jewel Setting)
• Bill Stuller Sales Centers 1 N.E. 1st St Suite222 Miami, Fl 33132 305-358-6035 Supplied Chessboard squares.
• Curt Bihl Bihl Borthers Jewelers – 8th and Dayton streets Newport Ky, 41011 859-261-9431 Jewel Setting
• Thomas Scott- Scott Models 607-400- Redna Terrace Cincinnati Oh, 45215 513-771-8005 Ebony Board/ Ebony case
• Rafael Crespo- 6602 Cocos Dr. Orlando Fl 32807  321-278-5320 helped with entire building.
• Oliver Bewsey- Austin  Bewsey Studios 4650 Wilmer Ave Cincinnati Oh 45226 513-871-8660 Photography
• Jim Geers- F. James Geer Co. 4865 Duck Creek Road Cincinnati Oh 45227 513-351-7667 Finished pictures.