Amboyna burl is among the world’s rarest and most expensive veneers—holding the distinction of being the original wood used on Rolls Royce dashboards. Leafs are small in dimension due to the small size of the burl. Deep yellow-orange to red, amboina burl has an unsurpassed depth and beauty prized in high quality architectural woodwork and cabinetry.
Southeast Asia
Bamboo is one of the fastest growing woody plants on earth, reaching hundreds of feet just months after harvesting. This unbridled regeneration makes bamboo a natural, renewable choice for architectural veneer. Colors range from creamy-yellow to warm amber; the grain is straight with distinctive knot-like markings characteristic of the species. Available in light or dark offerings with narrow or wide stripe patterns.
Dillenia is a canopy tree that grows over 100’ tall in the Malaysian archipelago—with straight, branch-free, trunks of 80’ and more, and buttresses up to 12’ high. The heartwood is a rich reddish-brown with an occasional purple tinge. The sapwood is wide, orange-brown to pink, and subtly defined. Conspicuous medullary rays give this wood a lacy and lustrous surface in quarter cut veneer.
While there are many ebonies, Macassar ebony is the best known and most commercially significant. This dramatic, bold wood is nearly black in color with thin, contrasting yellow-brown stripes and a beautiful sheen. Because the tree is small, veneer is rare, precious and highly sought after for cabinetry and architectural millwork. Also available in recon.
At first glance, paldao resembles American black walnut. This enormous tree is most often found along streams and marshy soils in Indonesia and the Philippines. Paldao grows with a remarkable buttress encircling the lower trunk creating 40’ diameter growths which remote tribes believed held sprits. This is a beautiful veneer: a grey-brown background streaked with highly decorative dark stripes. Flat cut wood produces a cathedral pattern; quarter cut wood has a stripy contrast and is often finely figured.
This elegant, tobacco-colored veneer is similar to Brazilian Rosewood, but somewhat less contrasty in color. Rich hues range from dark chocolate brown to violet and even black in lively combinations that produce a one-of-a-kind look prized for architectural use. Flat cut, the wood shows a beautiful cathedral pattern; quartered it produces a straight or broken stripe effect.
Satinwood is a pale gold wood with a rippled grain and straight striping. Typically figured, Satinwood often produces a bee’s wing or mottle figure. Satinwood is used for decorative inlays on table and conference tops. It is also used for high quality furniture and cabinets. Select logs are sliced to produce extremely attractive veneers for high-end architectural paneling, cabinets, and marquetry.
Teak is among the oldest commercial lumbers and remains a popular wood today, particularly in Asia, the US, and Scandinavia. It ranges in color from straw colored (which some consider the most desirable) to dark, dusty brown with fine, dark, contrasting stripes. Flat cut, the mineral streaks provide a contrasty grain structure in the cathedral pattern, much like American walnut. Pure golden teak without mineral streaking is available, but rare. Reconstituted teak is a manmade product that provides the beauty of teak with outstanding consistency in color and grain from sheet to sheet. Also available in recon.