Thank you for the positive comments. I can also take the bad ones if you have them!
Bill - I agree with you on the inserts. The only thing is that if you are the one receiving the turning, you probably have no idea about the kind or availability of the inserts. I also have a lead on some small metal stars that I am going to try that I think will look good.
Rob and Bruce - Leopardwood, Lacewood, same animal called two different names as far as I know. The flecks are just like QS white oak. They only show up on the QS portions. The board I used was totally 100% QS and looked awesome as a board. You can see from the shot above that where the ring starts to flatten out for the top, the rays start to pick up again. If I had used a flat-sawn board, I think that the rays would show up on the sides of the vase instead of the top.
Mohammad - Think about a cabinet door. There is a panel trapped in a slot in the frame. This prevents any damage from the wood moving. This is the same idea. The bottom ring is made and a rabbet is cut in the ring. A disc of wood is inserted into the ring with 1 drop of glue on the end-grain and it is all turned flush. The second ring is then glued on top of the first ring, being careful not to get any glue on the disc, effectively leaving you with a trapped disc of wood that will allow wood movement without tearing the piece apart. This is not my idea by any means, it came from Malcolm Tibbetts' book.