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Birdseye Maple

Birdseye maple has a medium density and variable color, making it an attractive wood for use in chess sets. The outer rings of the tree create lumber that's usually a creamy, light amber color with darker birdseye patterns. The inner rings, called heartwood, might be deep amber or reddish with dark brown birdseye.

Depending on the frequency of the birdseye swirls, each 1/8" to 3/8" wide (0.3-1 cm), the wood may be extremely valuable. Wood-workers prize the timber because it "turns" well on a lathe, meaning it can be shaped into decorative canes, chair legs, or handles.  After it's finished, birdseye maple is durable doesn't scratch easily.

Refined specialty products, such as the dashboard of a Rolls Royce, are made of birdseye maple.  Since it is such a rare and unusual timber type, it's very expensive, often several times that of ordinary hardwood. Boxes and bowls for jewelry, thin veneer, chess boards, humidors, canes, furniture inlays, handles, and guitars are made from the decorative wood.

Items made with this wood are more expensive, not only because the wood is more expensive, but because working with the grain of the wood can be difficult.

Source: Wikipedia