Malachite
Malachite is a carbonate mineral, mostly found as stalagmitic masses. Malachite often results from weathering of copper ores and is often found together with azurite goethite, and calcite. It has a vibrant green color and is typically associated with copper deposits with nearby limestone. Large quantities of malachite have been mined in the Ural mountains located along the border of Russia and eastern Europe. It is also found in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Tsumeb, Namibia, Mexico; Broken Hill, New South Wales, England, Lyon; and in the Southwestern United States especially in Arizona at Bisbee and Morenci.
Mother of Pearl
An organic-inorganic composite material produced by some mollusks. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Pearls and the inside layers of an oyster shell are made of nacre. Nacre appears iridescent because the thickness of the aragonite platelets is comparable to the wavelength of visible light. This results in constructive and destructive interference of different wavelengths of light, resulting in different colors of light being reflected at different viewing angles. Chief sources are the pearl oyster, found in warm and tropical seas, primarily in Asia; freshwater pearl mussels, which live in many rivers of the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Rosewood
The most appreciated rosewood in the western world is Brazilian Rosewood which is now listed as an endangered species It is also known as Rio rosewood or Bahia rosewood. This wood has a strong sweet smell, which persists over the years, explaining the name "rosewood". Many of the cues manufactured today use old stocks of rosewood or rosewood from a number of different trees in the world. Other rosewoods can be found in tropical America, East India, Southeast Asia, and Madagascar. Rosewood is known for Its rich shades of brown and is an excellent wood for cue making.
Snakewood
Snakewood grows as a spreading tree, usually with two or three main trunks. It can grow up to 15 feet high and 24 feet wide. The Snakewood tree does not grow leaves but instead has phylodes,. These are bluish grey in color. The flowers are yellow, and held in cylindrical clusters about two inches long. Snakewood grows primarily in Western Australia. The wood of other trees with wavy grain or wavy coloration has also been called snake wood. The Grain of snakewood is almost hard to beleive until you see it.
Tulip Wood Tulipwood is the yellowish greenish wood yielded from the tulip tree, which is found on the Eastern side of North America and also in some parts of China. In the United States, it is commonly known as tulip poplar or yellow poplar, even though the tree is not related to the poplars. In fact, the reference to poplar is a result of the tree's height, which can exceed 100 feet. The wood is very light, but very strong Tulipwood is also known as "Brazilian tulipwood" and is a classic high-quality wood, very dense with a lovely figure. It is used for inlays in furniture and for small turned items. Available only in small sizes, it is rarely used in the solid for luxury furniture. It has a very pronounced grain and makes a great inlay material.
Turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a naturally occurring chemical result of copper and aluminum. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue. In recent times turquoise, like most other opaque gems, has been devalued by the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics onto the market, some difficult to detect even by experts. The Southwest United States is a significant source of turquoise; Arizona, California (San Bernardino, Imperial, and Inyo counties), Colorado (Conejos, El Paso, Lake, and Saguache counties), New Mexico (Eddy, Grant, Otero, and Santa Fe counties) and Nevada (Clark, Elko, Esmerelda County, Eureka, Lander, and Mineral County).
Zebrawood Zebrawood is distinctive for its zebra like light and dark stripes. The term, "zebrawood" is shared by several different woods with this particular appearance. The most common species available are from West Africa, (Gabon, Cameroon, and Congo). They are an equatorial tree of medium to large size, gregarious, commonly growing in pure strands along riverbanks. They can grow to heights of 150 feet with trunk diameters of 4 to 5 feet. When cut it gives off an unpleasant aroma which disappears as it dries.
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