Rosewood, also known as rosewood

Rosewood is also known as rosewood, which is actually the translation from rosewood, the name in English. Name rosewood comes from the fact that, freshly cut, it has a sweet and very persistent scent, similar to rose flowers. Sometimes the scent can last for years. Unlike species like oak, acacia, cherry, nuc, ulm, which can be found in Europe, rosewood is an exotic wood specific to the tropics, with most commercial species from Central and South America, Africa and South Asia. In fact, under the name palisander around 300 species belonging to the genus Dalbergia, spread all over the world. They have in common a sweet smell and a distinctive color that is not identical for all species. However, they all have a reddish tinge that combines with brown, orange, maple or black. The wood is hard and very precious with a characteristic natural sheen. The color, luster, and hardness have led to uncontrolled exploitation of the wood over time, which has resulted in protective measures for all species of the genus, with felling being restricted.

About rosewood species, wood characteristics and uses below.

Hard, hard wood in great natural colors

The species of rosewood is the rarest, most exquisite and most prized wood in the world. Each piece made from this wood is unique, exuding strength and elegance at the same time. Dense and with full, rich hues, rosewood has been used for centuries to make luxurious furniture, high-value musical instruments, clocks or jewelry boxes.

The heartwood of the rosewood has a wide variety of shades, from golden orange to greenish-black. Darker bands are interspersed in the base color of the heartwood, giving the appearance of ribbons. Darker or darker colors can also appear on the same piece of wood in the form of straight or interlocking stripes in striking patterns.

Rosewood is hard, dense and strong. It is a very slow-growing wood, sometimes taking over 300 years to get a large enough piece of heartwood. The average anhydrous density is between 800 and 900 kg/m³, but some species can be even heavier than water (the wood sinks, not floats on water). The vast majority of species are resistant to rot and insect attack, even termites. It's like a kind of immunity that makes them not need insect fungicide treatment.

Dalbergia, The genus to which the rosewood belongs has over 300 species. They differ in color, number and arrangement of pores. Species such as Kingwood, Blackwood, Tulipwood, Cocobolo, Sissoo or Bois de Rose also belong to the genus Dalbergia. But the best known species of rosewood are Dalbergia nigra, Brazilian rosewood and Dalbergia latifoliaIndian rosewood.

Brazilian palisander, a species almost impossible to find

Brazilian rosewood has been used for hundreds of years to make guitars with its special look and resonance. It's so prized that it's called by connoisseurs Cadillac of wood species. Much of the appreciation is also due to the fact that it is very hard to find. Intense logging during colonial rule, as well as clear-cutting and burning to make way for diamond mines or coffee plantations, has almost wiped out the rosewood forests. The area of Atlantic coastal forest, similar in density to the Amazon rainforest but largely made up of palisander trees, is thought to have disappeared by 90%. Since 1998, the Brazilian rosewood is a protected species.

The tree is native to Brazil and can reach 40 m in height, with trunk diameters up to 1.5 m. In cross section you can clearly see the difference between sapwood and heartwood. The sapwood is light yellowish, while the heartwood can vary from a dark chocolate brown to light purple or reddish-brown, with contrasting dark stripes. Fine black stripes can sometimes form a unique pattern called cobwebsn. The texture is uniform, medium to coarse, with medium-sized open pores. The fiber tends to be straight, but can sometimes be coiled or wavy.

Brazilian rosewood has a density of 835 kg/m³ and a hardness of Janka 12400 N. It is highly resistant to rot and insect attack. It works well by hand and mechanically, but the tools must be sharp and it melts quickly. It gives off a pleasant rose scent during processing. Turns and polishes easily, but there may be problems with gluing due to the oil content.

Brazilian rosewood is listed in CITES Apendix I, the most restrictive and includes finished wood products. It is the only species whose restriction has been tightened, all other species in the genus Dalbergia are in Appendix II. Because it is almost impossible to find, it is often replaced by cocobolo, Honduras or Indian rosewood.

Indian rosewood replaces Brazilian rosewood in guitar making

Dalbergia latifolia, Indian rosewood has been traded for hundreds of years. Logging is now strictly controlled by the Indian government and logs are auctioned only to government-approved buyers. Export is strictly controlled by the government so that this precious timber will remain available long into the future. Export controls date back to the early 1980s and the wood exported must have high added value, such as veneer or components for musical instruments and furniture.

The tree is native to India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. It can grow up to 30 m tall and 1.2 m trunk diameter. Also called Bombay rosewood. The heartwood, different from the light-colored sapwood, can vary from golden brown to deep purplish-brown with darker brown streaks. The wood darkens with age, becoming deep brown. Texture is medium and pores quite small. The fibers are usually tightly interwoven.
The pores are diffuse, medium to large, with no specific arrangement. The Indian rosewood has a much larger number of pores than the Brazilian rosewood, which is a recognition feature. Narrow rays, invisible to the naked eye.

The anhydrous density is 830 kg/m³ and the Janka hardness 10870 N. It is resistant to rotting and insect attack. It is difficult to process because of the interwoven fibers and quickly melts tools. When processed it gives off a rose scent, but less pleasant than Brazilian rosewood. It glues well, but there can be problems when coloring due to the resins it contains which come to the surface. Insulator must be used. It has been used since the 1960s as a replacement for Brazilian rosewood for making classical guitars.

Uses of rosewood

Rosewood is a precious wood, very expensive and hard to find. It has been used extensively in the past to make luxury furniture, clocks, watches, travel trunks and jewelry boxes, wall paneling and ceiling paneling for temples and palaces.

Today, furniture made from rosewood is very expensive and very rare. Most often species that look similar but are not part of the Dalbergia genus are used. Genuine species are mostly used for luxury items such as pens, pipes, chess sets.

Rosewood is a resonant wood whose sound when struck is clear and clean. That's why it has been used for hundreds of years to make guitars, as well as wind instruments such as bassoons and clarinets.

Due to its dark color it is commonly used for inlaying.

The special color of rosewood has led to the development of dyes in similar shades. Sometimes the fact that it is mentioned palisandru furniture may lead us to believe that it is of the species. It is, however, furniture of a common species, colored in rosewood. One identifying feature of the original furniture is the wide variation in color on the surface of the same piece of wood. Furniture in rosewood color is uniform, and even if the wood used has a more special pattern, the wood cannot reproduce the natural shades of rosewood.

Species increasingly hard to find

Massive logging over centuries has driven the rosewood to near extinction in many parts of the world. This has led CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) to put all species of rosewood under protection, with restrictions on their exploitation.

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