Rolls-Royce Motor Cars on Thursday unveiled the Phantom Hummingbird, a Phantom Extended private commission featuring the automaker’s first use of abalone shell marquetry in a motor car.
Commissioned as a private tribute to the client’s wife and curated by Rolls-Royce Private Office Dubai, the bespoke model uses abalone shell and mother-of-pearl to create hummingbird motifs inspired by the bird’s iridescent plumage.
Each of the two picnic tables features a hummingbird made from 53 individual pieces of abalone shell and mother-of-pearl, including 18 pieces in the wings. A separate botanical motif on the rear Waterfall panel comprises 84 pieces of the materials.
The marquetry took more than nine months to develop, with Rolls-Royce craftspeople completing six iterations before finalising a technique for working with the thin and brittle abalone shell.
Each shell fragment was laser-cut slightly larger than its final dimensions before being shaped and fitted by hand. The three marquetry panels required a combined 45 hours to complete, according to Rolls-Royce.
The interior uses Ash Burr veneer as the background for the marquetry, with Silver Birch incorporated into the picnic table motifs. The cabin is finished with Creme Light leather, Moccasin and Tan detailing, Seashell carpets and a Starlight Headliner.
The exterior features a two-tone Wildberry and White Sands finish, separated by a hand-applied White Sands Coachline featuring a hummingbird motif.
“The introduction of abalone shell into Rolls-Royce marquetry presented our designers and craftspeople with a fresh creative and technical challenge,” said Phil Fabre de la Grange, Head of Bespoke, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Published On Sep 17, 2026 at 02:25 PM IST
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