Cocobolo (pronounced koh-kuh-BOW-loh)

Widely considered one of the most beautiful woods in the world, cocobolo is native to Central America, and grows from Panama to Mexico. This richly colored tropical hardwood is typically orange and reddish-brown, but can be seen in a variety of colors ranging from orange, brown, yellow, and red, with occasional highlights of purple and black. It is a very hard and dense wood, which makes it an ideal choice for musical instruments.

Cocobolo’s gorgeous coloring and texture all but gauranteed its use in ornamental and decorative pieces. It is used in sculptures, carvings, musical instruments, chess pieces, cutlery, jewelry, knife handles, and more.

Unlike many premier hardwoods, cocobolo is a small tree; it reaches 45 to 60 feet tall, with a diameter up to 2 feet wide. The trees are often irregularly shaped, and it is said that the most beautiful cuts are harvested from particularly stunted trees.