The flame woodgrain pattern in the Palisander rosewood is exceptionally nice on most every surface of the puzzle, inside and out. I still love the contrast in tone that comes from the European olivewood tip pieces even though they have darkened somewhat over the years as compared to the circa 2006 photos.

The olivewood is somewhat soft, so great care must be taken to not chip or dent any of the namesake twelve points! Currently one of those olivewood tips has a small chip, and another one has a barely noticeable ding, yet they are so small that I do not think they detract from the overall stunning beauty of this showpiece puzzle.