Stone is a natural solid formation of one or many minerals. Thousands of different types of stone have been quarried through out the centuries.

The minerals in stone came from the same liquid and gas minerals that formed the earth. This massive body of gas and liquid minerals slowly cooled and condensed to form a solid core. Through pressure, the earth's crust began to form and heavy minerals were forced down into the core. As the crust got thicker, it squeezed around the inner core, which created intense pressure and heat.

Quarries are located around the world such as: Italy, Spain, Turkey, Mexico, China, United States, and elsewhere.

Crystals and other solid forms began to grow from the mineral vapors that were being released and the heat and pressure pushed the solid minerals up to the earth's surface. During hundreds of millions of years this formed massive rock beds, from which we extract the natural stone used to produce our products.Our farmhouse sink, for example, originates from a quarry similar to this one.

Each sink has it's own particular characteristics with a unique variety of color shades, veins and fissures - no two pieces are alike.Some of the beauty marks can be felt on the surface and any dimples or voids have been filled where necessary.

There are four basic categories of natural stone
Sedimentary - Metamorphic - Igneous - Man-made

This includes limestone, sandstone, soapstone, fossil stone and travertine. These stones came from organic elements such as glaciers, rivers, wind, oceans, and plants. Tiny pieces of sediment bonded through millions of years of heat and pressure to form rock beds. These stones can range from the fine, dense texture in limestone to a very open, porous texture cause by water flowing through the rock to form travertine.

This includes marble and slate. This stone originates from a natural change from one type of stone to another through the mixture of heat, pressure and minerals. The change may be a development of a crystalline formation, a texture or color change. Marble offers the widest range in color variations and veining and is typically much softer than granite.

Granites are igneous stones that are mainly formed through volcanic material such as magma. Under the earth's surface, liquid magma cooled and solidified. Mineral gases and liquids penetrated into the stone and created new crystalline formations with various colors. This provides a somewhat more consistent coloration than marble that is crystalline and granular in appearance. It is also typically more dense and therefore harder than marble.

This "stone" is created by a mixture of natural stone chips or powder with a resin or cement additive. This category includes terrazzo, agglomerate, or cultured marble. The hardness and durability of this product is governed by the synthetic bonding agent and usually rely on artificial coloration. These man-made stones are not to be confused with a totally synthetic mixture that is molded and colored to resemble marble.

More information on stone varieties and their composition or history can be found on the Marble Institute of American website www.marble-institute.com