exotic · species
Santos Rosewood Veneer
Violet-brown ground with dark, decisive striping — the widely available rosewood alternative for architectural work.
Color can be highly varied, ranging from reddish/orange to a dark violet/brown, usually with contrasting darker black streaks. Narrow sapwood is a pale yellow and is clearly demarcated from the heartwood.
Santos rosewood is Machaerium scleroxylon, also sold as pau ferro or Bolivian rosewood, and the most useful thing to know about it is that it is not a true rosewood at all. True rosewoods are Dalbergia, and the whole genus went onto CITES Appendix II in 2017, which is precisely why santos is now on so many drawings: it gives you the violet-brown ground and the dark, decisive striping without the permits.
It is a genuine substitute rather than a compromise. The ground runs from warm brown to a distinct purple-violet, the stripe is sharper and more regular than most Dalbergia, and it is dense and hard enough to finish to a very high polish. Where it differs is consistency: the violet cast is strong in some logs and almost absent in others, so approve the flitch rather than the species.
Sequenced from a single flitch and supplied raw, two-ply, paper-backed, or pressed to panel. If the specification says “rosewood” without naming the genus, ask us before it goes to tender — the two answers have very different lead times.
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Tell us the format, the quantity and the delivery city. Or call (502) 330-5688 — Todd will tell you honestly whether the flitch will carry the job.