Come Again? My Granite Kitchen Countertop Isn't Actual Granite??

Geologists must find what is classified as granite for kitchen countertops, amusing.

The stone supplier has a different set of criteria for granite than the geologist. The stone supplier classifies any rock that is crystalline with large grains, and harder than marble as granite. True granite is far more specific than that to a geologist. True granite is light in color and consists of 20 to 60 percent quartz and no more than 65% of feldespar. Then, it can have a variety of different dark minerals. So, this lovely Titanium "granite" listed above is not granite because of its dominant black color. That's right, there is no such thing as black granite. So, why not call something by its true geological name?

Here are some examples of true granite: Luna Pearl, Calendonia, Blanco Perla, Blanco Taupe, Bainbrook Brown, Crema Atlantico, Desert Brown

(I think you get the idea)

So, we can keep things simple. I mean who wants to remember the difference between gabbaro, gneiss, or periodite (to name a few). Or, how much feldespar v.s. biotite does this particular slab have? It would be information overload for the common person...well... finding out that you have pieces of a semi-precious stone like garnet in your slab is pretty cool. But, at the end of the day the homeowner is more worried about if the "granite" they love will withstand acid exposure, daily wear and tear of a well-lived in kitchen (i.e. harder than steel), and looks gorgeous too. Stones marketed as granite fulfills this list.

As the natural stone market for kitchen countertops grew, a vast array of quarries that could be marketed as granite were discovered, especially in Brazil. After all, the country of Brazil has the most quarries of granite in the world (about 70%) with different colors and vein movement from that of geological granite, which is very consistent. These introduced an explosion of exotic countertop options in the market, such as the ones below.

The beauty of these slabs are their rarity, no two slabs are exactly alike and as each slab is cut from the quarry, the movement and coloring changes. No one can replicate the uniquess of kitchen countertops made from these granite slabs. The only difficulty is choosing which one! But that's what people like me are here for, to help narrow down the options.