This clam shaped box is turned from a beautiful piece of curly spalted silver maple (Acer saccharinum). The lid and the base were turned out of the same piece of wood to ensure an almost prefect match. The wood features considerable curl and chatoyance that shimmer in an almost 3-D way. spalting lines on both sides of the box demarcate the outside spalted wood from the un-spalted heartwood in the center part of the box providing considerable visual interest The lid features a two-part ebonized hard maple knob that has a simple curved profile on the outside and a decorative disk on the inside. Texturing on the bottom of the box provides a little surprise when the box is handled. Finished with a blend of oil and varnish and then buffed to a semi-gloss finish, this box feels as good as it looks, and will only get better with time.