The wood trim in my XJ12 is walnut that instead of the light wood inlay, is black. I assume that black inlay is rosewood.

Most of the Vanden Plas and XJ12(X305 not XJ81) I've seen with wood inlay have the light inlay (boxwood?), and I've never seen black inlay before. But then again, I'm just getting introduced to the XJ40, so my experience is very limited

Is the black inlay standard and unique to all or some XJ12, or was just a general XJ or XJ12 option that most didn't choose, or....?

And is the dark inlay rosewood?

 

Hi Al,

That is quite a distinctive look! The traditional woods for black inlays are ebony or an easily-dyed species such as poplar, which is "ebonized," or died black to resemble ebony.

The distinctive grain of most rosewoods is most evident on wider sections, so in my experience (repairing musical instruments and veneered furniture) rosewood is rarely used for narrow inlays.

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if your inlays are genuine Gabon/Gaboon ebony, a species traditionally used for the black keys on pianos (diospyros crassiflora).

Cheers,

Don