The pen is handmade from Ancient Bog Oak. Ancient Bog Oak is from the Fens in England and the wood is between 4-6,000 years old. The wood was buried in peat bogs which preserved it from decay and left it in the early stages of fossilization. The very dark brown almost black color is an effect of the tannins in acidic water which stained the wood. A Certificate of Authenticity is included with your purchase. The pen hardware is 24kt gold plated with a black center band stripe.