Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia Nigra)
Scottishwood
| Posted in Wood and Materials on
Hi, I have been trolling the internet for a while now, trying to find the worth of some Rosewood I have. Is there anybody on here that could help me please? I have 88 Board feet in total in 3 planks
Replies
We have an awesome lumber yard near where I live, Hearne Hardwoods. Here is what their site says about Brazilian Rosewood:
"Brazilian Rosewood is the most revered lumber of all time. Due to uncontrolled harvesting, the tree is now protected by the Cites Treaty and can not be internationally traded. The heartwood is orange brown and it holds onto its color as it oxidizes. This is the species used on the finest Steinway pianos, Martin guitars and Bentleys prior to the Cites ban. If you are fortunate to find some pre-ban stock you will probably be shocked by the price and underwhelmed by the available board quality, these boards would have been sorted hundreds of times over the last forty years by those wanting to make that special guitar or piece of heirloom furniture. The quest for the Holy Grail of lumber continues…"
Given that Ebony is $100 - $150 per board foot and Brazilian Rosewood is more rare, if your pieces are in good shape, you could conceivably have $15,000 to $20,000 of wood. Congratulations.
I am very lucky that Hearne Hardwoods is in my backyard. They are an awesome lumberyard with lots of exotics species. Here is what their website has to say about Brazilian Rosewood.
"Brazilian Rosewood is the most revered lumber of all time. Due to uncontrolled harvesting, the tree is now protected by the Cites Treaty and can not be internationally traded. The heartwood is orange brown and it holds onto its color as it oxidizes. This is the species used on the finest Steinway pianos, Martin guitars and Bentleys prior to the Cites ban. If you are fortunate to find some pre-ban stock you will probably be shocked by the price and underwhelmed by the available board quality, these boards would have been sorted hundreds of times over the last forty years by those wanting to make that special guitar or piece of heirloom furniture. The quest for the Holy Grail of lumber continues…"
Ebony is rare, but available, and goes for $100 - $150 a board foot. Brazilian Rosewood is very rare and not available. I think you could have $15,000 - $20,000 in your 88 BF. Congratulations. BTW Hearnes can be found here: https://www.hearnehardwoods.com/rosewood-brazilian-lumber-2/
Brazilian Rosewood is very, very rare and protected by the Cites III Treaty. I don't know the actual value, but it is more rare than Ebony and Ebony is $100 - $150 per BF. Given that, you may have $15,000 to $20,000 worth of wood. A veneer maker or instrument maker is likely to pay the highest price.
Beasley7 you have just made my day. I was in the process of applying for CITES paperwork but cancelled it as Kew Botanical Gardens seem to be the only place in Britain that can confirm the species for me and they want £180 per sample tested, and as I have 3 planks I just can't afford to pay it. I will just need to keep a hold of it until I can find a cheaper means of getting it analysed. I don't suppose you have any suggestions? Thanks
Glad I could make your day. Unfortunately, I don't know of any testing services. If I had to start from scratch, I would go to universities with a forestry program. Ask one of the professors what it is and if she would certify it.
You may want to consider finding a buyer, and then allow the sale to be contingent upon the buyers validation of species. That would at least limit your investment. You will also want to have as much info about how you came in possession of the wood as possible. Any buyer will want to know its legal.
Thanks for the advise, although I think it could be a while before I can move forward with it. The wood came from a farm I used to work at, the owners auntie was a furniture maker (Catherine McCaig) the wood had sat in a store for at least the 48 years of his life. It has been stamped at some point so I believe there must be paperwork out there but we could not locate it.
You could see if there's a price on Bellforestproducts.com Might give you an idea of its value.
Mikaol
Hello, I am interested in buying your Brazilian Rosewood. Please let me know if you are up for selling them. [email protected]
Go to any Luthier or vintage guitar shop, they will know if what you have is Brazilian. The value depends on the quality and dimentions of the boards and my rule of thumb....things are worth a lot of money, that is, until I have it and then somehow it's not worth all that much when I go to sell it!
By the way, dalbergia nigra is CITES listed and would be likely confiscated if you attempted to export it or even export something you made from it.
There's a moral question confronted with woods like that. Here in the US it is legal to use it if you have it. You can't import or export it. So if it's here it's presumed " legal". I don't know how they handle it in other countries.
On one hand there it is, you have it, probably harvested before the ban ,and Brazilian has been regulated since 1967. It seems a shame to waste it but the thinking goes if someone has something someone else will want one too. So the question is should you use it? Illegal poaching is devastating tropical forests and the profits are such that sometimes officials that are supposed to be protecting the forests seem to be involved.
Your guitar hero plays a guitar made with Brazilian rosewood, it has a genuine ivory nut and saddle ,he plays using a tortoise shell pick and wears a leopard skin hat when he performs. You want to be just like him.. if you have enough money and you want it, you get it.. I was on a transpac boat one time. It had a sail locker bigger than my shop and the sails were stored in cabinets made of giant single slabs of Brazilian rosewood that went floor to ceiling on both sides. Enough rosewood to cover Martin guitars production run for maybe a decade! To store sails in a work room! You know,to impress your friends over at the yacht club while you share your Balvenie 40!
The Luthier Augie Lo Prinzi saw the ban coming many years ago and loaded up a lifetime supply of Brazilian rosewood. In a conversation I had with him he said " Here's the thing about Brazilian" and he held a piece by one corner and plucked it with his other hand. The piece of wood rang for a full minute! It does make the finest acoustic guitars. A Luthier makes two identical guitars , one East Indian rosewood and one Brazilian. The Brazilian will sell for thousands of dollars more than the Indian, same amount of work. Brazilian rosewood guitars are still being made ,old slabs do show up. Just think twice before you take your new guitar on a world tour. I know of two big slabs that could be available myself. The people that own them, one of them doesn't really know what they have and the other will never get around to using it. I have a little bit myself tucked away. Enough to make one guitar anyway. Also, a couple of 4" square chunks about 3' long that I've been staring at for years hoping to come up with a worthy idea for ! So if your passing it on maybe you should think about where it's going and for what and not just by who writes the biggest check.
Dear Pantalones868,
Thank you for a lot of good thoughts. (With a bit of exaggeration and sarcasm ^__^) The most of small time luthiers I know are nature lovers and are very conscious of environmental issues and do their best to contribute to its well being. I for one served two summers as a wilderness ranger in Washington State from which I gained my appreciation the nature. I am constantly looking for a batter way to resaw with my bandsaw so that I wouldn't waste any wood. I slice my rosewood to .125 inches thin, so I don't use very much wood to make a guitar. I refused to buy Brazilian Rosewood from the Ebayer who sells the most Brazilian rosewood guitar wood on ebay. I know he illegally imports from Brazil. I look for BR from people who had it for a long time well before 1992. Once in a while, I come across some and put them to good use. Please let me know if you have connections. I want to keep on making guitars for another 20 years before I retire. Warm Regards.
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