The End of Golden Rosewood?

[I wish it was April 1st and this was a April Fools joke.]

Just received the following email from The Chess Store. Looks like another blow for chess set collectors.

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"The End of Golden Rosewood?  

Our wood chess set suppliers have notified us that Sheesham (Golden Rosewood) and East Indian Rosewood, the darker version, have been banned for export by the Indian government. The organization CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) has deemed that these woods which are commonly used for making a wide range of  craft products including chess sets, need to be protected because of over harvest. Naturally, with a ban on the two most popular woods used for chess pieces will have an immediate impact on availability and price.

Our suppliers are working with the Indian government and CITES to get certificates that will allow them to export their chess sets as they do have some level of inventory of previously harvest wood. But the long term prospect does not look promising.

Without a doubt sheesham and rosewood chess set prices are going to dramatically increase, perhaps double or more in price and very soon. The big concern is, will be able to get them at all?"

Well, whatever it takes to support the survival of these overharvested close to extinction species.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/29/wildlife-summit-cracks-down-on-illegal-rosewood-trade

So, what's left?

I mean, honestly:

1 - Red Sandalwood is banned

2 - Ebony is very restricted and soaring in price

3 - Bois de Rose (Madagascar Violet Rosewood) is banned

4 - Brazilian Rosewood is strictly banned

and now:

5 - Sissoo (Sheessham) Rosewood is banned 

6 - East Indian Roseewood is banned

Am I left to believe the only woods left that are readily viable for marketing are: African Padauk and Boxwood?

Hopefully, from now on, we won't only have natural wooden chess pieces that are orange-red and ugly tan-yellow. lol (I'm sure this isn't true, but it still is at least somewhat a threat in my mind.)

^^^^

I believe that Chess set manufacturers, especially in India, will find other woods to use for making pieces.

Look at how The House of Staunton already has offered some of its newer and more expensive sets in woods we have not seen used before.

It is already a fact that sets from Noj are distinctly not Rosewood of any kind, or for that matter any wood native to India.  They use European Walnut and European Maple.

The market will demand wood sets.  The vast majority of carvers and Chess piece makers are in India.  They will need some type of wood to use for their occupation.

Yes, this marks a significant change or shift in the Chess piece business.  But I think the industry will recover.  I don't see us all needing to fall back to using plastic pieces.

Also note that this ban on all types of Rosewood and Sheesham affects other Chess products like boards and boxes.

Agreed. To think these trees were around from time immemorial just to be cut down to extinction for our silly chess pieces.

Good to keep things in perspective.

Actually the problem comes from China.  The Chinese have a very high demand for furniture made of Rosewood and Sheesham.  This is the reason for the lack of these types of wood.

I feel for you loubalch.  I remember that you like Sheesham for Chess pieces.  I have actually bought about3 or 4 sets in Sheesham or Golden Rosewood and I must admit I do like the coloring.  I'm probably going to buy another on Monday before it disappears.

On the other hand, it must be noted, mind you, that those substitute woods are now too under the same protective measures; since the first wood is over-exploited, so too will go those substitutes. Already, most to all treasured rosewoods are restricted like flags bound to flagpoles - 

- Cocobolo

- Kingwood(!!)

- Tulipwood

- Brazilian Rosewood

- Bois de Rose / Madagascar Violet Rosewood

- African Blackwood (Valuable "original" Ebony!!)

- Cambodian Rosewood / Siamese Rosewood 

- Honduran Rosewood

Even those great guitars, sadly, must come to an end; especially when all we're doing is consistently finding substitutes to ever replace the replacing woods that keep going depleted due to our exploitation. It's a system that I think simply doesn't work, for it might eventually prove non-sustainable.

Gee what a shock .

It's indeed not just the Chinese.

They're just one of the primary ones responsible for the major plummet. Especially as far as Red Sandalwood and Bois de Rose is concerned.

Maple Mahogany Ash etc. etc. Lots of different kinds of wood to make chess sets out of. Hopefully, manufacturers use the new wood more conservatively than in the past. This new ban has hit guitar makers pretty hard too. Rosewood is used in guitar making quite heavily and guitar makers are now switching over to other woods. Ebony and Pau Ferro as well as Wenge for fretboards among others. Wenge is a dark colored hardwood that might make for interesting chess pieces. Yes, things are going to change in a big way, but the sky isn't falling. There will be shiny new sets using new wood and I wager they will be beautiful and unique. Wenge for the dark, birdseye maple for the light would look stunning in my opinion  Peace 

Isn't Red Sandalwood. African Paudak and Bud Rosewood all the same woods, just different names?

who makes sandals out of wood?

No, red sandalwood (Pterocarpus santalinus) and African padauk (Pterocarpus soyauxii) are  separate species of of woods (from the same genus). Red sandalwood has been on the endangered CITES list since 2000.

Bud/Blood Rosewood is an alias companies use to denote any number of reddish/burgundy colored woods. Shortly after red sandalwood was banned, companies started calling their red sandal chess sets 'bud' or 'blood' rosewood in order to circumvent the ban. Although there are a few species of red rosewoods, most 'so called' bud/blood rosewood sets today are actually made of padauk.  

I have bought several HOS Bud Rosewood sets. One set was advertised as Blood Rosewood but the packing box said Paudak.  Isn't that false advertising?  

I bought an HOS Sultan set years ago when it was Red Sandalwood but now it's called Blood Rosewood.  Do you think the current sets are actually still Sandalwood?

False advertising? I guess that depends which side of the fence you're on. if you're a dealer, you'd probably consider it a euphemism. In fairness to them, most are resellers who are receiving finished products from small manufacturers, who may be getting their wood from any number of sources and may not even know the species of woods being provided. So, to simplfy things, they began calling it bud/blood rosewood.

This would be known as "lying".  The dealer needs to call the small manufacturer, and if they don't know what kind of wood it is, they need to call their source.  It's not that hard.

It may not be hard stateside, but this is rural India we're talking about. A guy pulls up with a truckload of acceptable looking timber. If you want the load, here's the price. Otherwise, it's off to the next small shop. It's hard to trace when it's sold "as is."

Great.  Then when the customer asks, you tell them "we actually don't know what kind of wood it is, but it is beautiful as you can see...".  You don't say it's Golden Rosewood, or Honey-Roasted Teak, or Pearlescent PineOak.  If you don't make the sale, then maybe your rural supplier will ask for specificity next time.

This is the very definition of "false advertising"...the fact that it may have become accepted/commonplace among such merchants is no excuse...it's just showing a disturbing trend towards lack of integrity when selling to customers on far flung shores that will never be able to find, much less complain, about the source of any problems they have with the product.