I made this chessboard out of 100% Verde and Bianco Italian marble stock. The base is a solid slab of Verde marble. The chess pieces I found at a gaming specialty store in my hometown. I was going to cast the pieces out of the dust left from cutting the marble squares, but Christmas was near and I wanted to give this as a gift to my brother - my favorite chess partner and the one who taught me how to play. The board is exactly 18" by 18" and weighs about 30 lbs!!