Marble has a unique history, and it has been and continues to be a very popular natural stone. One reason is how much there is to say about its remarkable aesthetics. Let’s dive into this blog article to discover a short history of marble, its uniqueness and qualities, and more.
A Brief History
The use of marble can be traced back all the way to the first century in Italy. It was used by skilled artisans to construct such things as houses and temples. And on the more artistic side, they made statues, theaters, and arenas. Marble was also prominent in Greece and Asia Minor during the early centuries AD.
Constructing such incredible structures like the Parthenon in Greece (shown above) was an extremely difficult task. All of the lifting and hauling had to be done by humans unlike how work is done by machines today. In today’s day and age, manufacturing and countertop fabrication has become far more safe and easy.
Qualities and Composition
Marble is a metamorphic rock that has a wide range of colors and styles. It is well known for its glittering and shining appearance. In fact, that is where its name comes from. The Greek word marmaros means “shining stone.” This stone is composed of 4 main minerals: calcite, dolomite, aragonite, and serpentine.
Pros and Cons
Now we’re going to discuss the pros and cons of having this stone as your countertop material.
Pro: Color Diversity and Uniqueness
Out of every countertop material, marble has the most extraordinary aesthetics. Eight examples are shown below to display its diversity and uniqueness. Here at Mogastone, we have over 40 types of marble in stock. You can visit our showroom, material page, or online inventory to learn more about this countertop material.
Row 1: (left to right) Antique, Azure, Calacatta Viola, and Camouflage. Row 2: (left to right) Fantasy Brown, Kenya Black, Paonazzo, and Rosso Levanto.
Con: Expensive Material
Because the natural beauty of marble supercedes any other material, it tends to come with a higher price. But overall, it’ll prove to be a good investment.
Pro: Naturally Cool
One really neat thing about marble is that it is naturally cool to the touch. This makes it a great material for baking and is the reason many bakers use it.
Con: Frequent Sealing
In order to protect the exquisiteness of marble, it needs to be sealed rather frequently. Hearing that marble frequently needs sealing sounds like a reason people wouldn’t want to get it. However, this “frequency” is about every 6 months, so it’s not really a big deal. After all, every natural stone needs sealing every once in a while.
Pro: Increase in Home Value
Since it has such extraordinary aesthetics, and because it’s a little higher in price, marble countertops will increase your home value.
Con: Scratches and Stains
Since marble has a rating of 3 on the Mohs scale, it unfortunately is more susceptible to scratches, cracks, and stains. However, protecting your marble countertops is not a difficult task. Sealing on time, avoiding sitting or stepping on your countertops, and not dragging heavy items across it will keep your countertops in good shape.
Pro: Long Life Span
Marble is a very timeless material as is evident from the history section above. For hundreds of years marble has been used and even kept in decent shape. Consider many extraordinary old marble structures and buildings still holding up today. Some of them are the Taj Mahal in India, the Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum in China, the Statue of David and the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, the Parthenon in Greece, and the Washington Monument here in the United States. Even in your kitchen, as long as you take care of it, marble can last for 50 years or more.
Con: Marble Can Etch
Another downside to having marble countertops is etching. This will happen if anything acidic, such as lemons or tomato sauce, is left on the counter. Etching can also occur with acidic cleaners, so you need to be careful which cleaner you purchase for your marble countertops.
Pro: Variety of Finishes
Materials like quartz and porcelain cannot have different finishes like honed or leathered. Such finishes could cause a greater chance for stains on quartz. However, marble is different in the way that it can have any of those types of finishes. This is because it is a natural stone.
Con: No Abrasive Cleaners
Generally, abrasive cleaners can damage any surface, but they can especially damage marble. The Granite & Stone Weiman cleaner is a choice we recommend for marble. To learn more about stone cleaners and countertop maintenance, you can visit our Countertop Maintenance Guide.
Pro: Vintageness and Personality
Because it is a very interesting stone, it has its own personality and vintageness in your kitchen. It is timeless and elegant and can transform the look of your kitchen with its natural beauty and veining.
Other Uses of Marble
Marble can be used for much more than countertops and even buildings and sculptures. There are many ways you can use marble in your own home. Here are some examples of how:
Bathroom Vanities, Shower Walls, and Floor Tiles:
This stone is great for bathroom vanities and shower walls. The image below also has marble floor tiles.
Marble vanity and shower and floor tiles.
Accent Walls and Backsplash
These can add great aesthetic touches to your home, and they are durable for everyday use.
Stairs
Marble stairs can also add a sense of elegance to your home.
Popular Marble Type Groups
There are number of different styles and types of marble that we carry here at Mogastone. Here are some popular ones:
Carrara Marble
Carrara marble is characterized by soft white backgrounds and deep, warm veining.
Marble island in a closet.
Calacatta Marble
Calacatta is more colorful and incricate than Carrara, and it is characterized with more sporadic and diverse veining.
Leathered Calacatta style marble with decorative lemons.
White Marble
There is a great variety of different white marble slabs that we have in stock.
White Damascus marble.
Mogastone’s Top Marble Stones
We have a large variety of marble slabs in stock in our slab yard. Here we are are going to lay out the most alluring, interesting ones that we have.
Paonazzo
Paonazzo features bold, jagged veins splashed with yellow hues on a white backdrop.
Rosso Levanto
Rosso Levanto is a stone with unparalleled intricacy and complexity with its abundant scattered red and white veins resting on a black background.
White Rhino
White Rhino is a shiny gray stone with soft, cool hues on a bright gray background.
Calacatta Borghini
Calacatta Borghini is a marble dressed with big, bold gray and orange veins on a soft white background.
Calacatta Viola
Calacatta Viola is a beautiful, elegant stone smashed with thick burgundy splotches and veins that give it an almost shattered look.
Conclusion
You can see now that Marble is a very unique and extraordinary natural stone. It has a fascinating history as well as a large range of uses and interesting qualities. It is also a great material for your kitchen countertops. And as long you take care of them, they can last for many years to come.
