This is one of the world’s most loved and prized veneers. It ranges in color from lustrous chocolate-brown to purple-black with a cream colored sapwood—all very saturated with a vivid contrast. It has a lively variegated stripe and occasional bee’s wing figure and, when flat cut, produces a characteristic cathedral pattern. Increasingly used as a substitute for the extremely rare but prized Rio rosewood.
Bolivia
Named for a city in northern Brazil, sucupira is a South American hardwood with a character similar to rosewood or teak. It has a warm chocolate color with a fine yellow stripe, a lustrous finish, and a lively interlocking grain that is rarely figured. Flat cut veneer produces a beautiful cathedral pattern.