Rolls-Royce has used abalone shell marquetry in a motor car for the first time, with its latest Phantom Extended Private Commission drawing on the natural iridescence of the shell to recreate hummingbird motifs.
Named Phantom Hummingbird, the one-off commission was created as a private tribute to a client’s wife and was curated by the carmaker’s Private Office Dubai.
The abalone shell, combined with mother-of-pearl, is used to depict hummingbirds on the car’s two Picnic Tables and a botanical motif on the Rear Waterfall panel between the rear seats.
Each hummingbird consists of 53 individual pieces of abalone shell and mother-of-pearl, while the botanical design contains 84 pieces.
Rolls-Royce said the marquetry took more than nine months to develop as its craftspeople had to develop new techniques to work with the unusually fine and brittle material.
Six iterations were required before a suitable process was established. The shell and mother-of-pearl pieces were reduced in thickness before being carefully fitted into the veneer and lacquered for durability.
Each piece was laser-cut slightly larger than its final size before being filed to its precise shape by hand. Craftspeople then worked each edge until it fitted its neighbouring piece without visible seams.
Once the pieces were cut and fitted, each Picnic Table and the Rear Waterfall panel required a further eight hours to complete, taking the total time spent on the three panels to 45 hours.
“The natural world has always been a rich source of inspiration for Rolls-Royce Bespoke commissions, offering extraordinary forms and colours for our designers and craftspeople to interpret. Our clients continually invite us to explore that inspiration in new and unexpected ways, as this remarkable Private Commission so perfectly demonstrates. The introduction of abalone shell into Rolls-Royce marquetry presented our designers and craftspeople with a fresh creative and technical challenge, resulting in an elegant tribute to the hummingbird’s mesmerising presence,” said Phil Fabre de la Grange, Head of Bespoke at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
The exterior features a Wildberry lower body and White Sands upper body, separated by a hand-applied White Sands Coachline featuring a hummingbird.
Inside, Ash Burr veneer forms the background for the marquetry panels, complemented by Silver Birch details, Creme Light leather with Moccasin and Tan accents, Seashell carpets and a Starlight Headliner.
Rolls-Royce said the design takes inspiration from the hummingbird as a symbol of joy, resilience and finding beauty in every moment.
