Marble

The ancient Greeks and Romans both used marble expansively. The Greeks built many of their famous architectural masterpieces using Pentelic marble. They carved many of the most famous statues in history from other Greek marbles.

When the Roman Empire rose it conquered the Greek quarries, as well as many other quarries in various countries and used marble in many of their architectural and artistic endeavours as well. Marble is a kind of limestone that has undergone a process which has made the structure of the rock more solid. This process allows the stone to take a high polish. This stone is generally formed when limestone is faced with extremes of pressure or temperature that cause it to undergo a process known as metamorphism.

When Metamorphism occurs the structure of the limestone becomes crystal in nature, transforming into calcite or dolomite. These two substances are the main materials in marble. The crystal is a very strong molecular form and the result of this is a stronger, highly polish-able stone, with unique colouring characteristics often known as Marbling.

The many colours of marble are induced when impurities get caught in the structure of the marble during formation. Impurities such as carbon, iron, and various oxides cause streaks and shapes to appear in the surface of the stone.

There are an enormous variety of impurities that can become trapped in the marble. The result is that marble comes in a very wide range of colours. Further, the way the impurities become trapped form randomized shapes in the marble which ensure that any piece of the stone is one of a kind. It is this feature that inspired many artists to work with marble as a medium.

It can be used in a variety of interior and exterior applications kitchens worktops, bathroom, bench tops, bath surrounds, vanity tops, countertops, table tops, splashbacks, up-stands, cupboard tops, bar tops, retail countertops, restaurant counter and servery tops, hotel and reception foyer, staircases -treads and risers- and other surfaces.