The Model R, Rollerball Pen

ANCIENT KAURI

It's called ancient kauri, and it's up to 50,000 years old. Yes, 50,000! The oldest workable wood in the world, ancient kauri shows just the earliest signs of petrification. Called "whitebait," this phenomenon creates small veins of mineral deposits that give the wood a one-of-a-kind luminescence.

50,000 years ago, in what is now Northern New Zealand, a major natural event felled huge forests of kauri trees that had been growing for some 2,000 years. This event also created bogs in the area that protected these giants from the elements. Today these trees are typically found under farmland from which they are carefully excavated before the ground is returned to its previous contours.

Just for some perspective, here are a few things that happened on Earth less than 50,000 years ago...

• 16,000 years ago the depressions that would become the Great Lakes were fully formed.
• The last Ice Age ended approximately 5,000 years ago.
• Homo Sapiens reached the area from which these trees were recovered only around 40,000 years ago.

SINKER CYPRESS

Prior to the onset of modern industry and logistics, loggers practiced log driving, where floating logs down river to a temporary sawmill was the first step in the process of creating lumber. The term "lumberjack" comes from this process. Occasionally logs would sink and become trapped in the silt at the bottom of the river. If enough silt was laid down before rot and erosion set in, the log was preserved.

Today these century-old remnants of pre-industrial America are recovered from the bottoms of river beds, becoming one of the most sought-after varieties of reclaimed lumber on the market.

SALVAGED INDONESIAN TEAK

Too many woodlands are diminished as the result of deforestation. One contributing factor is improper systems of recycling. We source our teak from IndoTeak Design, whose prerogative is to salvage the highest quality teak without any damage to the environment. By properly utilizing FSC Recycled 100% teak salvaged from Indonesia, their production operates as a zero-waste process. This means no trees are cut down as a result of their work. Instead, the wood is saved from 100-300-year-old structures that would have otherwise been demolished. They also provide excellent working conditions for their team in Indonesia.