Bloodwood Veneer

Bloodwood — Brosimum rubescens, sold in the trade as satine — is the most saturated natural color in the veneer catalog: a clear, intense crimson straight out of the tree, with no stain or dye involved. Freshly sliced, it does not look like a real wood. It is also very dense and very hard.

It does not stay that color. Bloodwood oxidizes under light toward a darker, browner red over months — still handsome, but not the crimson that was approved. This is the single most important thing to know before specifying it, and the most common cause of an unhappy conversation a year after handover.

You can slow it considerably with a UV-inhibiting finish, and you should assume some shift regardless. Say at order that the color matters and we will talk through what is realistic. Available raw, two-ply, paper-backed, and pressed to panel, sequenced from one flitch.