MARBLEX's Natural Stone News

This month, STONETECH addresses the second half of the question: "are all stones created equal?" The simple answer, of course, is "no." That article generated many questions, the biggest one being "how can a customer tell the difference between stones?" The following is part two, of a two-part series. Here are some things to look for in dimensional stone:

1.       Grading - Because there is no documented system, like the GIA has for diamonds, a customer is completely reliant upon what the supplier tells them. Smaller companies and the guys who place the median flowers advertising granite from 39.99 per square foot almost always get their materials from the cheapest source, with little regard for quality. In some cases, materials are even dyed to make them appear darker or with more contrast. This happens quite a bit with Chinese materials. In fact it even happened to my own mother at her condo in Morgantown. The builder had to pull all of the tops and replace them with a better quality material. Any sign of color coming off on the hands should be a warning. The customer is at the mercy of what they are told.

2.       Processor stickers/Source - Without being in the business, the average customer would have no way of knowing who is who in the supplier world. Many of our stones are processed by Antolini Luigi in Italy. In fact a lot of stones originate in Brazil, go to Italy to be finished, and are then shipped to the US. These materials are the best of the best. These materials generally have stickers on them from the processor.

3.       Reputation - What is the reputation of the company? Do they have awards? Are they members of NARI, ASID, NKBA, NVBIA, etc? The customer should always do their due diligence on any company. In the case of MARBLEX, I will take it one step further: Does the company carry accreditation from the Marble Institute of America? Actually, we are about to become the first company to accomplish this in the DC Metro region and only the 14th in the US, so the answer is very doubtful. This of course is not official yet, as I have one more administrative thing to complete. But it is one of the strongest indicators that a company is at the pinnacle of the stone industry from a variety of angles, including material quality.

4.       Comparison - Lastly, have the customer go look at materials at one of these bargain fabricators. Have them evaluate several stones for the aforementioned criteria. Then have them come to us and compare their findings to the same types of material. I am working on a display that will show the differences between several types of stone in Grade 1 and Commercial (or lower) qualities.

Look for more stone grading tips next month. Please send any questions about natural stone to blair@marblexinc.com and we will answer them in the STONETECH column.