The color of the magnets in the picture is not reproduced. The long cylindrical magnets are made of shiny metal. The rest is black. The magnets came with small chips, about as much as you can see in the picture. The magnets are smaller than I expected. The largest donut magnet fits a thin pin through the hole, but not a pencil. The benefit of the smaller size is that my 4 year old doesn't get his fingers caught.