Just keep objects from on top of it for several months and watch it darken before your eyes. North-Central Pennsylvania, from where I get ours, produces the finest Cherry in the entire world. Like Birdseye Maple, it looks much better in person than in a photograph, Cocobolo - our specialty, is a dense Rosewood from Central America. Colors range from orange to deep purple with almost black grain lines. Grain pattern varies from parallel lines to flame patterns, eye-like patterns and full curls.
Finished pieces mature into a rich red-brown to dark purple.
I choose ours from Mexico, which produces the most beautiful colors and grain patterns. Cocobolo is my specialty. Granadillo - is a dense, closed pore wood from Mexico. Reminiscent of, yet more precious than, the best of black walnut. For box and drawer bottoms, I use Baltic Birch, the highest quality of plywood.