Latin Name "Pterocarpus Macrocarpus Kurz". Synonyms: Burmese rosewood, Burma padauk, Asian rosewood. Family: Magnoliopsida - Rosidae - Fabales - Leguminosae. Density 0.56 to 0.80. Application: furniture, door frames, cabinet-making, railways and bridges. Source: Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Durability: Excellent. Rosewood is a hardwood bright red in color, deepening in time to a very deep red. Usually fairly dense and heavy, coarse textured, with prominent open pores. Density varies as a result of growing conditions, generally machines well regardless of density. Burma leads Asia in forest management and conservation with most of her original forest still in tact. Nearly all of the Burmese timbers are taken from large managed plantation areas still employing very traditional extraction methods such as elephant logging, ensuring the least disturbance to the surrounding flora and fauna. Burma is famous for it's variety of hardwoods. These are Padauk (Burmese Rosewood) Teak and Pyinkado just to name a few...

And its Art: The shining, playful, and reflected light of mother of pearl has attracted the attention of human beings since the beginning of the world. Societies, tribes, and nations have all added the technology of their day to their experience, knowledge, and understanding, and they have turned mother of pearl from one form into another. Though mother of pearl is quite widespread around the world, its assumption of the aspect of a magnificent branch of the arts after a past of many centuries began when it came into the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Mother of pearl is the shell of mollusks such as mussels and oysters as well as of pseudo-pods (such as snails), though if we were to refer to it only as "shell" we would be slighting this extraordinary creation of God.  Types of Mother of Pearl: (1) White Mother of Pearl: This is from pearl-bearing oysters. Its reflective properties are high and it is one of the most commonly used types of this material. (2) Iridescent Mother of Pearl: This is a type in which the colors of pink and green are predominant. (3) Chip (Variegated) Mother of Pearl: This is a multicolored type. (4) Stone Mother of Pearl: This type of mother of pearls is white and has low reflective power (5) Mat Mother of Pearl: This type of mother of pearl is dull grey and has a low reflective power.

Latin name "Afzelia Xylocarpa Craib" (Caesalpinioideae, Pahudia cochinchinensis). Family: Leguminous, A. Siamica, Apocynaceae Common names: Makha Wood, Maka, Afzelia Burl, Burl Wood, burled wood, Makamong, makhamong, Makhaa Burl, Beng, Ma-kha-yai, Makaa-Mong and monkey pod wood. Origin: S.E. Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma. Burl Wood is a hard woody hemispherical outgrowth on a tree strongly and heavily built.[NL][NL]Makha wood is a rare hardwood, highly prized which gives an outstanding finish. The wood is hard, heavy and dense and develops a beautiful patina as it ages. The wood is finely figured and highly valued for it's attractive and luxury-class red wood. It's mainly used in furniture industry, flooring, trim and construction of fine musical instruments. It's also used in cabinetry, home building and sculpture. This beautiful timber is used for cabinet work and wood carvings, as well as for construction of bridges, house posts, etc. The tree grows in the deciduous forest.[NL][NL]Makha is considered as a large-sized tree with an average life of 200-300 years. It can reach 30 meters in height and more than a meter in diameter. The seed pulp is used in making cigarettes and the bark is used in traditional herbal health drinks. The buried wood near the base of the trunk is especially valued. An old Makha tree can measure up to almost two meters in diameter. It has a light brown or brownish pink bark. The wood is very durable, and used mainly for burly constructions, such as a post, sleeper, or structure of a sailing boat or ship, etc., or can be used as a gun's stock, part of a musical instrument, such as a drum. It has a very precious burl. Its burled grain stems from a damage to its trunk caused by an insect's bite or mould. It automatically produces the burl to rehabilitate itself. The burl normally grows out close to its root or a few meters higher up. This special grain without any conduit can be as large as one meter wide; but normally it is considerably a small piece of wood, compared to the whole tree. To get a large piece will take almost a generation. Therefore, large piece is extremely difficult to get. Due to the limited wood supply in Thailand, Makha products are normally not made in large quantities. Each piece is made by hand and hand-rubbed to enhance the beauty of its unique burled grain.