Intarsia is a woodworking technique that uses varied shapes, sizes, and species of wood fitted together to create a mosaic-like picture with an illusion of depth.  Intarsia is created through the selection of different types of wood, using their grain pattern and coloring to create variations in the pattern.  When applied to lapidary, different colored stones are used to create the pattern.  Then the whole is polished using normal cabochon techniques.