For those not familiar with the term, a rosette (as it applies to an acoustic guitar) is the decorative ring that encircles the sound hole. Depending on the type of guitar, the rosette can be anything from a single band, to the beautiful mosaic designs you see on the finest classical and Flamenco instruments.
Many people mistakenly assume that these rosettes are painted; however, except in the case of some cheap imports, they are actually intricate wood inlays, sometimes consisting of pieces as small as 1/124 of an inch square (a little over twice the width of a human hair). If you find it difficult to believe that a luthier could position and glue together such tiny pieces of wood, you’re not alone—to do so one piece at a time would be extraordinarily difficult. Fortunately, there’s a technique that makes it a little easier, though it remains a very delicate process.
The technique predates the modern classical guitar (first devised by Antonio Torres around 1850) and is reported to have been originally developed on the Iberian Peninsula during the Nasrid dynasty of the 13th and 14th centuries. It involves the creation of mosaic tiles through a unique procedure not unlike making and slicing a log of hard salami.
Instead of using single pieces, the luthier cuts and dyes strips of wood, which are then assembled in a specific order, and glued into a log. The gluing operation is done using a press that forms the correct curves and side angles, so that when the log is sliced into tiles, each tile will fit perfectly with the one beside it to form the circular design. This circle is assembled between rings of wooden herringbone, created ahead of time in a similar way. Finally, the completed rosette is inlayed into the top of the guitar and sanded level with the surface.
In high-production shops, the entire design is assembled as a log, which can then be sliced into individual rosettes. But many traditional luthiers remain faithful to the old-school methodology of assembling each rosette by hand, which allows them to change the design with each guitar they build.
