Santos Rosewood has been found on luxury furniture and musical instruments since the endangerment of traditional Rosewoods. Though Santos Rosewood is not part of the rosewood family itself, it does share many visual properties with Rosewood, and is heavily used in favour of other premium timber such as Mahogany and Ebony. The high-gloss Santos Rosewood finish is hand-built in the UK. This rosewood finish is far more labour intensive, requiring 40% more time to manufacture compared to the standard finishes of the 800 Series. Bowers & Wilkins use the distinct grain of the Santos Rosewood with thirteen layers of lacquer to provide a luxurious finish which can be polished to a near mirror shine taking over four weeks to manufacture. The stand-mount 805 D3 Prestige Edition costs £5,500 a pair, excluding stands and the larger, floor-standing 802 D3 Prestige Edition costs £19,500 per pair.
Bowers and Wilkins have recently released a limited edition of the 802 D3 and 805 D3 in the premium Santos Rosewood (Pau Ferro), which is highly regarded for its beauty and acoustic properties.
28
DEC
2018