This cigar holder/divot tool is made from Snakewood (Piratinera guianensis), also called Leopardwood, a very dense and extremely rare wood native to South America, especially Dutch Guiana or Surinam, along the northern coast between the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. Snakewood is noted for its unique grain pattern of regular black markings on a background of red to orange and with a specific gravity that can reach as high as 1.37 it is arguably the hardest, densest wood in the world. It is often used for violin and cello bows, conductor batons and pool cue handles
A good argument could be made that this is the most expensive wood in the world. Its extraordinary hardness also makes it very brittle and highly prone to cracking as the wood dries. The trees are very slow growing and trunks rarely grow larger than 10" in diameter, always with cracks and the wood is never seen in board form. Instead it is cut up into narrow blanks, around the cracks, and there is much waste to get blanks which are crack-free. When highly figured, these blanks can go for as much as $400 a board foot or more.
This piece comes from the interior portion of a log and is particularly dense. It has a very nice combination of the classic Snakewood patterning and the deep, reddish/black hues of the heartwood. It is just under 3" in length and 7/8" in length. The cigar cradle is 7/8" long, 3/4" wide and just under 3/16" deep. It will comfortably hold cigars up to 52 ring gauge in any length.
