Marble: discovering the beauty of a sort after stone

We asked our guest expert Nicholas from Stone Wiz to give us a tour of his favourite marbles and explain what makes each of them so special.

Marble is a type of stone that is being used in an increasingly high number of projects, thanks to its versatility and unique features. From everyday residential to luxury developments, there is not a single scheme on where this material cannot be used.

The most popular of all marbles, which has been used globally for centuries with the most diverse types of applications, is the White Carrara marble. This very sought-after stone originates in the homonymous city of Carrara, in Tuscany, Italy. The cost-effective pricing and uniform colour are probably what make this iconic marble suitable for any project. Hundreds of quarries are excavating blocks of this natural stone every day, giving it a lot of variety and availability.

Another marble coming from the same Italian region is Calacatta Oro. The main difference with White Carrara is that the background colour of this stone is milky white, and it presents dramatic veining running through its face. Due to the much lower number of quarries extracting this marble and its geological rarity, the cost of this stone is often much higher, making it a more luxurious choice.

Staying in the theme of popular white marbles, we cannot forget to mention the classic Arabescato marble. Although the name is simply descriptive of the bold veining, there are quite few quarries producing this type of stone. The most popular ones are certainly Vagli and Corchia, which produce this material with a white base colour, and respectively grey and deep green veining.

Moving to the opposite end of the colour spectrum and over to nearby Spain, we can find the popular Nero Marquina. Characterised by a black background colour, this material often comes with striking white veining. Some fossil inclusions can also be spotted on the face of this stone. As with lots of darker stones, this is a marble that can look just as beautiful in a honed finish as it does highly polished. The Iberian Peninsula is also home to Dark Emperador and Crema Marfil, another two materials widely used for interiors. Dark Emperador is a striking brown marble covered in delicate white veins, which adds a classic luxury to any project. Crema Marfil offers a more uniform and plain cream colour, which contrasts perfectly with the darker tones of the aforementioned marble.

Whatever your taste, there is certainly a marble for every occasion and there is more to discover on all things stone over on Nicholas’s website. Keep an eye out for more insights to come from Stone Wiz.