different stones to different uses
granite
It is a light-coloured igneous rock with grains large enough to be visible with the unaided eye. It forms from the slow crystallisation of magma below the Earth's surface. Granite is composed mainly of quartz and feldspar with minor amounts of mica, amphiboles, and other minerals. This mineral composition usually gives granite a red, pink, grey, or white colour with dark mineral grains visible throughout the rock.
Granite is nearly always massive, hard and tough, and for this reason, it has gained widespread popularity as a construction stone and is perfect for kitchen worktops.
picture: Imperial Rose
limestone
It is a sedimentary rock mainly composed of the mineral calcite. The primary source of the calcite in limestone is marine organisms, although other sources do occur. Limestone makes up about 10% of the total volume of all sedimentary rocks. Limestone is perfect for use in bathrooms and kitchens as tiles, shower trays, cladding and vanity tops.
picture: Palmyra Stone
marble
It is a metamorphic rock resulting from regional metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate rocks. It comes in a vast range of colours from white, green, red to black and its veining generally contrasts with the base stone colour.
picture: Arabescato Vagli
onyx
It is formed of bands of chalcedony in alternating colours. It is cryptocrystalline, consisting of fine intergrowths of the silica minerals quartz and moganite. Its bands are parallel to one another, as opposed to the more chaotic banding that often occurs in agates. It is often used to create walls with light behind them due to its translucency.
picture: Onyx Tiger
quartzite
It is a hard, non-foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to grey, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink and red due to varying amounts of hematite. Other colours, such as yellow, green, blue and orange, are due to other minerals.
Its use for countertops in kitchens is expanding rapidly. It is harder and more resistant to stains than granite.
picture: Azul Imperial Venato
sandstone
It is a sedimentary rock composed of mineral or rock particles the size of sand. The colour depends very much on the type of sand from which it is formed but tends to have a warm tone leaning towards red, yellow or orange. The stone is often used for building and paving materials and other outdoor uses.
picture: Santa Fiora
slate
It is a fine-grained, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It splits easily into sheets and most commonly comes in green and black shades. It is most often used for floor tiles, hearths and kitchen worktops.
picture: Black
travertine
A sedimentary rock which is deposited from the water of mineral springs or streams saturated with calcium carbonate. When pure, travertine is white, but often it is brown to yellow due to impurities. It is a hard and durable stone, typically quite porous with numerous cavities. It is used as floor and wall tiles, for cladding, and to make bathroom items such as basins and stands, vanity tops and baths.
picture: Travertino Silver
composite stone
stoneCIRCLE offers composite stones as quartz and sintered stone.
We have a range of different quartz composites from the market-leading producers including Q-Stone, CRL, BQS (Beltrami Quartz Surfaces), Unistone, Caesarstone, and Silestone. All of these quartz composites are composed of a high percentage of crushed quartz mixed with bonding agents and colouring pigments. They are an excellent replacement for granite or limestone.
Composite stones have most of the qualities of natural stone whilst having a consistency of colour that does not occur naturally and some people prefer this uniformity of look. Silestone offers a 25-year warranty on their materials.
picture: Silestone Chrome quartz
Sintered stone is the latest technology in composite stones. The raw materials differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Still, most contain minerals found in natural stone and porcelain which are subjected to very high heat and pressure to fuse them. There's no need for binding materials such as the resin found in quartz composites. The resulting materials are extremely tough and lend themselves to many different applications from countertops, to panels and flooring and can be used both internally and externally.
We offer the following brands:
Dekton, from the makers of Silestone, contains raw materials found in glass, porcelain and quartz work surfaces. It is highly resistant to UV light, heat, frost and abrasion as well as scratch and stain-proof. More information can be found on the manufacturer's website.
Lapitec uses natural minerals that are found in granite and porcelain with no binders. The chemistry and mineralogy are similar to granite but with the crystalline structure of porcelain. Its colour is highly stable, and it has virtually zero porosity. Find out more on the Lapitec website.
picture: Dekton Trilium sintered
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