The Truth on Koa Wood
After years of doing this, I've found most companies selling Koa wood products don't really care about the wood quality or if it is truly Koa. They don't have a background or interest in wood working and therefore the wood is an afterthought. Don't get me wrong, there are some great ones out there too so look around before buying. Beware though, there are quite a few passing off random woods as Koa too.
It was an eye opener as to how fast my Tungsten Koa rings were copied and flooding the market. I found out many of these companies own a factory and create thousands of designs each year. It's hard to compete with that sort of volume so I decided to focus on what I love...the wood...and perfecting a few products.
We only use 5a rated curly Koa...the very best. Wood is graded much in the way diamonds are and the best is obviously the most expensive. A friend bought a small block the size of a soda can for $450 on eBay.
We hand select, sand and finish our Koa in our small shop in Honolulu. We also draw our own designs and create our own products. We were the first to create tungsten rings, phone cases, and the waterproof koa watches...all of which are being copied. I guess imitation is the greatest form of flattery...or at least that's how I'll take it.