SCHOONHOVEN - According to the Dutch daily newspaper AD it is the most expensive mahjong set in the word. Janny Schoonhoven (55), silversmith at the Dutch 'silver town' Schoonhoven, is working on a ten kilo mahjong site, made of pure silver (silver content 925).

Janny: "I think the price of the set will be some 35,000 or 40,000 euros. That's 40,000 or 50,000 US dollars. Yes, it's quite some money. But it is worth every penny. Look, isn't it beautiful? And then, I do not even charge for every hour that I spend on this project."

A mahjong set of massive silver - that's 136 regular tiles and 8 flower tiles, each 57 grams, plus 88 chips, four wind markers and two dice. Ten kilos of silver, packed in an exclusive wooden case. Each individual tile costs Janny about eight hours of hard labour.

For that price, you can also buy an expensive sportscar or the most exclusive kitchen in your penthouse. But then again, who has an exclusive set like the one Janny Adelaar is making right now? Er… if you can play with it at all.

'Silver is a rather soft metal', Janny admits.'But, when the set will be ready, I surely want to play one game with it, though.' That would be the most exclusive game in the world, where a pong would be worth 900 dollars and a kong even 1200 dollars - of you were allowed to keep the tiles.

Who can afford a set like that? Janny is quite optimistic. "I need just one buyer. And I am sure he's out there, somewhere:

Even if she cannot sell the set (which comes in a beautiful hand-made case), then all the hard work is not for nothing. Janny also offers individual tiles, somewhat larger than the tiles of the set. "I have sponsored the Dutch Valentine Tournament, by donating them one silver Red Dragon", she says. "Players can buy lots to win this very special prize." The profit is for the organizer of the tournament, mahjong club Bamboo Eight.

Editor's Note: Janny has determined the price of the silver mahjong set, with the beautiful hand-made wooden case which goes with it: it costs 52,500 euros (64,880 USD) including taxes.

A bronze set wich looks just like gold 

Watch the YouTube movie about Janny's silver mahjong set