Artistic and streamlined, this pen and pencil set, made from African Blackwood, is a writing pleasure. The 24kt gold plating offers a bright pure gold plating that will give your pen a rich and luxurious look. Our 24kt gold uses a "premium rack plating" process and is covered with an epoxy coating for extreme durability. We guarantee it's beauty and durability with a guarantee. What is African Blackwood? African blackwood (botanical name: Dalbergia melanoxylon) is a small, heavily branched deciduous tree in the Family Leguminosae (=Fabaceae) that is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. It normally reaches a height of 4-8 meters, very occasionally 19-20 m, and often has multiple trunks. Old trees may have a trunk diameter at breast height (DBH) approaching 1 meter, although few trees at present have a DBH over 50 cm. The tree and its timber have many different local and trade names. The most important local names are mpingo (a Swahili name used in Tanzania, Kenya and elsewhere in East Africa) and pau preto (Portuguese name for blackwood used in Mozambique). Within the timber trade, the wood is often referred to as ebony or grenadilla, although both these names are also widely applied to other timbers