Good question! You will find the answers in the thread below. Short answer: yes, it is probably sheep in wolf's clothing. (meaning it is most likely marble not quartzite)

Here is a link that might be useful: the low down on Super White

Thanks Karin! I will read this thread carefully. Can you tell me the names of any stones that are actually Quartzite?? Seems like everything is really just marble.

We have super white that's been for about a year. It is definitely a marble; however, it seems to be what Karin calls a dolomitic marble. To those without marble, that may seem like a useless distinction, but I find it very important because my super white doesn't etch right away.

I can leave citrus juice or tomato sauce on the counter for several minutes without it leaving an etch mark. In fact, I've relaxed enough about the counters to leave tomato sauce splatters for a bit, and I've found that they'll just dry without etching the surface. The only etch marks I have are from having left a sponge with something (don't know what) lying on the counter and a faint one from leaving a copper-bottomed pan draining on the counter. This increased etch resistance is not be true for all super white slabs--I know Bee has had much worse etching problems, perhaps made worse still because of her water. (Our water is very, very soft, but I think hers is quite hard.)

The bigger issue for us is that the super white scratches. It scratches all the time, everywhere. It doesn't bother me, even though I'm usually a bit of a neat freak. The beauty of the stone outweighs the disadvantage to me of scratching. After a year, I've relaxed enough about the scratching that I don't worry much about it. I would try to avoid dragging a cast-iron pot across the surface, but otherwise I live my life and don't worry about it. Kids are less careful, but I don't notice any worse scratching in the areas where they sit regularly ( I just checked). Also, the scratches are tiny, faint scratches, not big jagged ones. I figure that if they ever start bothering me, we can have the surface re-polished--though I don't anticipate needing to do so.

The best advice is to get a chunk of super white out of the same lot, preferably the same slab and test it. I knew before we decided that this stone would etch, but that it took much longer than non-dolomitic marble. (I don't remember the times, but vinegar took somewhere between 10 and 30 minutes to etch the surface.) I knew it would get little scratches. We decided that the beauty of the stone was worth it.

If you decide to go forward with it, I can try to take some pictures to capture the scratches or one of the etch marks as well as a picture from further back.

Hi Lindy
Thanks for your honest assessment of super white. I took your advice and experimented with a sample. I poured lemon juice on it and left it on for varying lengths of time. Basically lemon juice left for 15 min or more etched the stone. As much as I love this stone I don't want to be a slave to it. Went back to the granite yards today, nothing as beautiful as super white, but I may have to settle.