Go stones
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The pieces used to mark the moves on the go board are known as stones. They are made from quite a variety of materials. Traditionally they are black and white, but any two colours can be used as long as they are easily distinguishable.
Japanese and Korean stones are biconvex, lense shaped. Chinese stones are flat on one side. For both shapes, the commonest material for moderately priced stones today is glass.
Traditional Japanese stones are made of slate (black) and shell (white). Traditional Chinese stones are sintered (powdered and then melted together) jade (black) and sintered quartz (white).
There are also plastic stones; these are cheap but usually neither look good nor feel right in the hand. Ing stones, common in Taiwan, are plastic with a metal center. Historically, in Asian countries, materials such as bone or wood have also been used.
In old times, when go boards were decorated, stones could be made from gems or other material. Jade stones were commonly used in China's upper classes and are still used in some Chinese tournament games (e.g. Sonoda Yuichi versus Zhang Wendong, 1989).
Go stones made from semiprecious stone are available from Algoritmic Artisan. See this
review.
In China, especially near Jingdezhen, ceramic stones are available. While I prefer the pricier glass ones for their sound and heft, the ceramic ones actually look a little nicer. -- Michael Richter)
A source for ceramic and marble stones is Go gamestore.
Japanese Stones 碁石
Should you want to buy shell and slate stones, be prepared to pay for them. The slate is (relatively) easily found, but the shell is (very) expensive. Shell stones are also judged to be 'better' (and more expensive) if there is a large number of visible lines on them, especially if the lines are straight.
Shell stones are often identified by "grade". For stones made from shell harvested off the coast of Japan the grades are: Flower (Hana), Moon (Tsuki) and Snow (Yuki), from lowest to highest. Snow grade are the whitest stones with the finest pattern (and thus the most expensive). Moon and flower or "standard" grade have broader lines and slight discoloration. For stones made from clams harvested off the coast of Baja California (Mexico) the grades are Standard (Jitsuyo), Moon, and Snow. Japanese clam stones are several times the price of stones made from Mexican clams.
The price of shell stones also varies considerably depending on thickness. It is quite difficult to find shells large enough to give stones 10 mm and above.
For more information, see http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/online_shop/english/go/goishi.html.
Chinese stones, Yunzi 云子
Go/Weiqi stones from Yunnan, a province in the Southwest of China, called Yunzi [云子] Yunzi
Additional material here moved to Yunzi page.
Ing stones
Ing stones are plastic with a metal center.
For details, see the Ing stones page.
Make your own stones...
Ender: Does anyone know of a walkthrough somewhere or have an idea of how to make your own stones from the slate and clam raw materials? I would imagine that it would be much less expensive than buyin them pre crafted...
Malweth: This seems like a daunting task! One or two stones might be possible, but unless you have some previous stoneworking (and shellcrafting) ability, this will likely cost much more than buying them... simply because (as a beginner) one's bound to use about 10 times the materials.
If you're treating it as a learning experience and don't mind the extra expense, go for it! You're bound to get something you're proud of (and likely quite frustrated with ;)
See also Caring for Go stones, Making Your Own Equipment, UnusualMaterials.