The Beauty of Wooden Jewelry Boxes Produced from Maple Burl

Expert artisans and craftsmen have been creating wooden jewelry boxes for many years. Intricate designs and hand painting make them valuable items, sometimes even more than the precious treasures they are meant to hold. They come in a variety of styles and sizes that make them ideal for small jewelry like rings and bracelets to bigger items such as lady’s gloves and necklaces.

In the past, jewelry boxes made from precious materials like gold, silver and ivory were commonplace. Wood, silk and porcelain were the other materials that were used in some parts of the world. Some of these exquisite jewelry boxes have become collectors’ items themselves.

The range of materials used in making jewelry boxes today make them suited not just for women but men and children alike. Wooden jewelry boxes have since become popular among jewelry connoisseurs around the world. These boxes are available in an extensive range of wood types available today – cherry, oak, maple, etc.

The natural beauty of wood is highlighted in the fine craftsmanship of these boxes. This is the reason why wood is the perfect material in making chests, dressers, and cabinets to hold valuable heirlooms and other precious items. Artisans favor the use of maple, along with walnut and cherry, when creating wooden pieces like furniture and smaller trinket and jewelry boxes.

Aside from being durable, when properly stained and polished, maple shows beautiful intricate lines. Maple, in general, is great for making a variety of wood products. Maple burls are abnormalities in the tree caused by natural stress or injury from insect infestation or fungus infection. Most burls attach to the roots of the tree and they form bulbous protrusions covered by bark.

Some maple trees have burls that grow and spread in great size that they sometimes cover the entire trunk. In woodworking, however, they are highly prized by craftsmen because of the spectacular patterns they produce that make the wood even richer in detail. They are very hard to work with because they’re very delicate and only experienced artisans can create masterpieces out of maple burls.

Artists, wood sculptors and expert furniture makers know the value of burls and the pattern they create on the surface of the wood. Native to the Pacific Coast region, the Big Leaf maple trees are where you’ll commonly find maple burls. The wood is primarily used in producing veneers and laminates for furniture, but they are also used in manufacturing musical instruments and interior panels as well.

Rare types of wood burl are used to make more valuable items such as expensive furniture trimmings and hand-crafted chests and jewelry boxes. The color of maple burl is darker compared to regular maple wood and they range from yellow ochre to deep set brown. The highly figured pieces have whorls and uneven patterns making them unique and more valuable.

This is the reason why jewelry boxes made from maple burl are great not just as gift items but also as keepsakes. Preserve your heirlooms with finely crafted wooden jewelry boxes and bring the Old World charm as they are passed on from generation to generation in the family.

This article was written by Oliver Ocampo of MarqART Gift Shop. Our jewelry boxes are original works of art, no two creations are the same. Each wood shown has its own unique wood grain pattern and color. MarqART comes from combining the words marquetry (wood inlay) + Art (a creation of beauty) an apt name for our products. A fine addition to your dressing table or as a gift. Please visit http://www.marqartgiftshop.com to browse & buy exotic jewelry boxes that will give you a lifetime of pleasure!