Phantom Hummingbird Debuts Abalone Marquetry at Rolls-Royce
A Private Office Dubai commission, created as a tribute to a client's wife, introduces abalone shell inlay to Goodwood's craft repertoire.
Rolls-Royce has unveiled Phantom Hummingbird, a Phantom Extended Private Commission and the first car in the marque's history to feature abalone shell marquetry. Curated through Private Office Dubai, the car was created by a client as a tribute to his wife, with the hummingbird chosen as a symbol of joy and resilience.
The craftsmanship is extraordinary. Abalone and mother-of-pearl are set into Ash Burr veneer across three panels. Each rear picnic table carries a 53-piece hummingbird, 18 pieces in the wings alone, with Silver Birch elements cut from a single log, while the panel between the rear seats holds an 84-piece botanical design. Development took more than nine months and six iterations; every piece is laser-cut fractionally oversize and hand-filed, and the three panels absorbed 45 further hours of finishing.
The rest of the specification is equally considered. Creme Light leather with Moccasin and Tan detailing, Seashell carpets and a Starlight headliner fill the cabin, while outside a Wildberry lower body meets White Sands above, linked by a hand-painted hummingbird coachline.
It is a reminder that true bespoke at this level is measured in months of experimentation, not option codes.
Source: Rolls-Royce PressClub
