MATERIAL ATLAS

ZitanWood bodies, rear plates and spinner buttons

Zitan is used for different woods and different parts. Start with where it appears in the product.

From the central buttons on Tangdao to the wooden body and rear plates of Shangshangqian, wood can serve quite different roles in a fidget.

Keep the original xiaoye, daye, Indian and Indonesian labels when comparing the wood surfaces, metal fittings and internal parts.

Tangdao Master pairs a hardened steel body with buttons described as zitan wood. The central wooden parts and outer metal arms have separate roles.

Tangdao: wood at the centre

Several Tangdao three-arm spinners in wooden trays, with round buttons placed separately from the metal bodies — Separate buttons and three-arm metal bodies make their relationship easier to see. The storage trays are not identified as zitan.

At the 2026 Shanghai EDC Show, TIERI introduced the Tangdao Master three-arm spinner as hardened steel with zitan wood buttons. Its triangular metal body surrounds the round central buttons, whose rings, holes and raised dots give the wood surface several levels.

The photograph of the separated parts makes their relative size and shape easier to compare. The wood is named only as zitan; the description does not specify xiaoye, daye or a botanical species.

Shangshangqian: two wood names within one family

GD describes its xiaoye zitan Shangshangqian as using old stock of Indian xiaoye zitan, paired with a copper Cai plate and dense track. Wood forms the outer body, while the copper plate adds its own shape and track configuration.

This update lengthened the shapes at both ends. GD also documented selection, cutting and machining. Natural grain was supplied at random; references to selected rippled grain concern that batch and do not promise the same pattern on every piece.

The first Shouxing article uses the different name daye zitan. It specifies a PEEK slider and 12 steps across the full dense-track travel. Its plate options are brass with copper beads, aged copper with brass beads, and brass that is sandblasted, surface-polished and then gold-plated. The wood body, slider and plates are separate configuration choices.

Jixing: wood on the rear plate

The metal-bodied Shangshangqian version named Jixing has a zirconium-alloy body described as finely stonewashed and heat-blackened. Its front plate is finely sandblasted stainless steel with brass inlay; xiaoye zitan is specified for the rear plate.

This configuration places the wood surface on the back and a metal plate on the front, unlike the wooden-bodied Shangshangqian. The same article lists African blackwood rear plates for Jixiang and Jiyun, so their configurations remain distinct from Jixing.

Ruyi: similar labels, separate versions

Jike EDC takes the outline of its Ruyi mechanical slider from a traditional haitang-shaped window. One side has a ruyi-shaped button; the other carries persimmon-calyx and ruyi motifs. The maker describes interlocking internal components retained without screws. Overall dimensions are approximately 56 × 26 × 14.5 mm.

The product lists an Indian xiaoye zitan version, labelled Zitan, and an Indonesian xiaoye zitan version, labelled Hongtan, alongside a black-and-gold African blackwood version. Keeping the original version labels avoids treating similar trade names as a single wood species. The dimensions describe Ruyi as a product, rather than a property of zitan.

Keep the source name before assigning a species

This page uses Zitan to retain the Chinese trade term instead of translating every case as Rosewood or Red Sanders. iPlant has separate entries for tanxiang zitan, Pterocarpus santalinus, and zitan, Pterocarpus indicus. The short Chinese name alone is not enough to identify the wood in every finished product.

The level of detail follows each product description: Tangdao says zitan wood, GD names Indian xiaoye zitan and daye zitan separately, and Jike distinguishes Indian and Indonesian versions. Botanical references help explain the names; they do not identify the wood in these finished pieces.