Diamond

DIAMOND

The IPP competition 2002 was the first competition Vaclav Obsivac, a Czech wood craftsman, entered a puzzle in the competition of said year. It is called DIAMOND (looks like one from the outer shape) and is unfortunately no longer in his portfolio on his website VIN & Co. However, he would have made a copy for me on demand but luckily my puzzle friend Bernhard Schweitzer had a spare one and so I saved Vaclav the work and bougth it from Bernhard for 15 Euros.

After solving quite a few puzzles from Vinco now I was used to the coordination motion moves needed to take the puzzle apart into its 8 pieces. Since there are always 2 pairs of each piece the reassembly process is not too hard even after scrambling the pieces and a waiting period of one day . You can quickly "produce" two similar halves and slide them together. It took me about 15 minutes in total for dis- and reassembly. My difficult rating is therefore a 4 out of 10. The pieces are beautifully crafted and domestic wood is used. The fit and movement of the parts is really excellent but I think I have to thank Bernhard here because I read somewhere that Vaclav's earlier puzzles were not waxed and this being one of his first designs (I guess) I was wondering that everything is working so smooth.

This puzzle - if you come across it - is a purchase recommendation. Great shape, fun to play with and superb quality for a low price.