The wood is beautiful; smooth as satin.  We ran into difficulties with assembly, however.  Several parts were attached in the wrong places from the factory, and had to be moved to complete assembly.  Holes for safety hinges were drilled in the wrong spot as well.  There was a horizontal crack in the wood at the top back about 5" long, but the lid hides it and we hope the side assembly will keep it from cracking further.  We decided that for our purposes, even with the crack in the wood, it would be more practical to keep the trunk than go to the hassle of returning it.  I have built virtually an entire household of flat shipped furniture, but I could not have assembled this trunk by myself. My son, who has carpentry skills, was able to correct all the defects and assemble the trunk.  It looks nice, but I would advise care in purchasing if you have little to no "fix it" skills.