Stone Advice has an extensive discussion on all the Labrador Greens which include Uba Tuba, Butterfly, Peacock, Oro, etc. We too like these stones, but realize that they are usually filled with fissures and are prone to chipping so rounded edges are important. I've read that some fabricators have you buy more than you need because of problems that arise in fabrication. The advice I've read is to be very very careful in the slabs that are chosen. I'd check out Stone Advice if I were you to get more information. I think we will choose Uba Tuba despite the many concerns reported about this stone. They are all beautiful. Good luck in your project.

jb1176 gave good advice. I have the Peacock,a cousin also has it in her kitchen and a friend has it on a vanity. Mine is about 3 years old. My granite shop mentioned the fissures in it so they were careful on slab selection. I have one spot where I can feel a deeper fissure when I rub my hand over that area, near the edge. It's in a corner so it is no bother. But you wouldn't want that fissure at a work area.

The rest of the counters have very tight fissures in them. I really love this stone---the ones with bigger mica pieces are really beautiful. If you pick this for your countertop, tell the granite company to select slabs with tight fissures.

We will be using a fabricator who got top ratings on Angie's list for our area. We used the list to select his company, and our interactions so far have been consistent with the very positive reviews from other customers.

The 3 stone yards he recommended are well established in the city and they all assured us that this fabricator is able to handle even difficult installations.

He will check the slabs when he goes to pick them up from the stone yard and will reject them if he doesn't like the quality. Then he will invite us to come view the slab lying flat in his workshop after templating but before any cutting. That way we can discuss how to work around problem spots, if any. I suppose we could still ask for a different slab if we didn't like what we saw at that point.

I am hoping that these precautions will minimize fabrication issues with whatever type of stone we choose.

Green-zeus, you said you have the Peacock. Do the bigger mica pieces still look good when lying flat? They looked so beautiful when we saw the slab upright in the sun, but as I said before, the small sample looked a little smudged. I wasn't sure if it was just a bad sample from the edge of another stone, of if the the mica pieces typically go smudgy when viewed at a different angle. I know that it will never look as great as it did in full sun, but I just don't want the installed stone to look as though it has spots that look dull or dirty.

I have Verde Peacock, and love it!
Mine has larger, pearly, shiny pieces on dark green with black and caramel accents. I have not had any problems with it in 3 years.

Assuming that the stone is uniformly polished, the 'smudged' areas that are visible at a certain angle are natural variations in the stone below the polished surface. They are not actually smudges. I found them very noticable when my counters were newly installed but after a while I stopped noticing. I find verde peacock easy to live with. I don't protect it from anything except hot out of the oven casseroles. Due to the variation it is more forgiving than uba tuba (also my other choice) of less than perfect housekeeping. It cleans easily with a well wrung sponge with minimal dishsoap. If it gets streaky I go over it with Windex and paper towels and air dry. No special cloths or cleansers, no polishing.

Yes--the mica shows up real purty. If you look across the plane of the mica (you have to bend over to see it from that direction) the mica DOES look smudgy. I never noticed that before. But you are looking at a sample that you can tilt this way and that. You won't be doing that with it on a counter. Light from the windows shows the mica up, but lighting at nite,especially with undercabinet lighting, really shows the flashes of mica. You have to understand that you are looking at a natural product. To have the surface controlled so that it looks the same from an angle as it does when looking directly down on it, well that's a man-made product. If you choose this granite for your tops, you'll probably never see the dreaded smudge because you can only see that in certain light. The surface of the granite is so shiny that it prevents you from seeing the smudge.

Judeny mentioned that she wipes the granite with Windex. Well, that's not a good idea unless you found Windex with no ammonia. Ammonia will dull the granite over time. Every installer tells you to avoid ammonia. I wouldn't use 409 either, especially the orange cleaners.

The best cleaners I've found for granite that give a brillant shine are "The Works" glass and surface cleaner, and Do-It-Best Hardware's glass cleaner plus. The later one REALLY does a great job.

Something else you should know about the darker granites. They are the best ones for not showing stains, but do show dust. However, I would never give up my dark granite for lighter, even WITH the dust showing. If you've never dusted the kitchen before, well you might have to now.

Nothing substitutes for doing homework before a purchase but don't angst. I think you'll love it once it's in your kitchen.

I used it around a fireplace and for the hearth. Very pretty stuff.

Thank you for advice. I did read info on Stone Advice and it sounds as though there can be a lot of variation in the quality of stones and the quality of fabrication. We will double check before signing the contract; but the fabricator and stoneyard both have good reputations, so I hope that will take care of at least some of the potential problems.

Glad to know that others love the peacock they have installed, and thanks for the info re cleaning products.

I have it, too. It has held up beautifully after three years. I don't use Windex. I just scrub with a soapy Dobie pad and wipe with a miracle cloth.

I will have to look for smudgy spots, but none have jumped out at me in all this time. I think it looks classier than Uba Tuba. Mine has a slightly blue-ish tone to the green. Love it.

I use Glass Plus- never an ammonia product- when my counter is really dirty. For daily clean up I just use a Miracle Cloth from Solutions.com. First I wipe with a wet cloth and then buff with a dry Miracle cloth.
It works great!

I love the look of this granite as well--In bright light. I had decided to use it in my kitchen until I actually brought in a sample. It read very, very dark because the kitchen only has one window and is "Light Challenged". So as long as you will have enough light to bring out the depth and colors, go for it. I think it is a neat stone. If not, shoot for something a bit lighter.

I just installed Peacock Green to go with my dark cherry stained maple cabinets. I used a Mediterranena style tumbled marble backsplash and they look great together. One thing is driving me crazy. I like one side of my kitchen better than the other! The countertop on one side is more greenish with large beautiful blue bursts. The other side has smaller graining, looks busier and has more gold veining, giving a more overall brown appearance. Am I crazy? Will I get used to the variance? Anyone else going through this? How can I post a picture?? Susan

Susan, I'd love to see a picture. There's a thread on how to post a picture ...... very easy directions. Basically you upload your picture to photobucket.com, resize it to message board size and then copy the link the provide you for html and past it here in the body of your message.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to insert a picture

O.K. Here goes...

Here are some pictures of the two sides of my kitchen. Its difficult to see the differences in a photo, but perhaps the variance in lighting across the room contributes to the difference as well.

The first photo has more large blue bursts and the second has smaller overall browner tones.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Can I ask a question just slightly off track? (I may start a new thread on this) How easy are the green granites to live with in terms of decorating around them. Do they act as a neutral or do they make a definite green statement that affects the rest of your decorating? I'll have granite in kitchen, breakfast room and opening to family room so there will be lots of it. The greens definitely look best with my orangey cabinets.

I find the green granite very easy to work with. in fact, I can't imagine any natural wood tone/granite combination not working. We're not mixing purples and pinks here. We're talking about organic materials with natural colors and natural colors are always neutral. I don't think you can go wrong with any combination. It depends on the look you want to live with. I love the darker granites because they give a richer look. It does not darken my kitchen, as I had feared. It does, however, show every fingerprint. Crumbs and food get lost in the specs of mica, but I am always wiping finger smudges.

Now about my concern about the slab variation across my kitchen...

Dear, fromflorida,

Thanks. I'm from Florida also-Coral Springs.

My slabs were supposedly from the same bundle. The slabs were laying against each other in the slab yard and I could only see the top one. I was told that they were all from the same bundle and my 2 slabs were numbered consecutively. They were also 3 cm, not the typical 2cm which leads to me to be further convinced that they were from the same bundle. The varance in my kitchen, however, has me questioning this. DH says that no 2 slabs are exactly alike and that even slabs from the same bundle are going to vary much like slices of a marble cake will look different. That coupled with the lighting differences across my kitchen (the ceiling is pitched and the recessed lights hit the two sides of the countertop from different heights and angles) is creating the illusion that they are different. Even if they were from 2 bundles, he says who cares?

I guess I am just one of those new kitchen people looking too closely. Every once in a while I find a new scratch that drives me crazy, but from what I understand, they all get some scratches at some point during the transfer, fabrication, installation process, etc. Hopefully only I know they're there.

Peacock green is a very pretty stone. It is classy and great at hiding fingerprints.

You should be pleased with your sample, though. If there is something you don't care for in the small sample, you probably won't like it on your cabinets, either.

Be sure to get a sample taken *directly* off each one of your slabs.

Also, find out if the stone has been, or needs to be, resined. And, if so, how much resin has been/needs to be used. This will tell you something about the overall quality (ie level of pitting and fissures) of your stone. In general, the more resin used, the lower the quality of your stone.

susan4664 - since my Verde Butterfly was just installed Monday (the majority of it), I have went over it with a fine tooth comb and also found a couple scratches that were from transporation (I assume) and then I've found some places that are fissures since it appears they have resign in them. Those places I can live with since they are more "natural". Since Fabs are coming back today to install remaining counter, I left a note asking if they buff out the one scratch that is really bothering me, I don't have a clue if they can or not? Couldn't hurt to ask .... it's right under the undercabinet light or I proably wouldn't have noticed it.

busymom2006 gives good suggestion to get a sample from "your" slab. I got a sample from the same bundle, but not from my exact slab, since we were trying to save as much of the slab as possible, because we only needed one. I figured since it was from the same bundle, it was pretty close.

cburch-I can tell which ones are fissures because they have the gold veining through them. The ones that I know to be scratches are on the surface and can be felt. I have two of those that are 1/2 inch long and given the random pattern of the peacock green cannot be seen (ONLY I KNOW THEY"RE THERE!). There is a third one against the backsplash that is 3 inches long. This one cannot be seen because it runs parallel to the backsplash only about 1/4 of an inch in front of it. Overall I guess thats not so bad for 2 slabs. I don't thinks scratches can be buffed out, at least without affecting the glossy finish, but I think they can be filled in and smoothed out.

how do you tell if there is resin in a fissure.

So here's another slightly off question: What's the difference between Butterfly and Peacock. I really want one that's a dark green but with lots of gold and interest.

fromflorida-Both peacock and butterfly have dark green as a background. Here are the differences I see between the two...

Peacock has black threads with gold veining and no white or cream. There are some light mica flecks. It has a warm, dramatic look.

Butterfly has creamy white blotches, and very little black. It has a cooler look.

I am partial to the peacock, so if you want rich looking with lots of drama and interest go with it.
Just my layman opinion.
Susan

I'm about to choose Verde Peacock to go with my orange-ish maple cabinets and gold limestone floor. Any last-minute adice or warnings (I know to be careful of fissures when choosing the slab!) Is everyone still happy with it? will it pose decorating challenges?
Thanks!

Just wanted to follow up with cburch, fromflorida and digbar...
How do your green slabs look? Do you love them? I love my countertops and oogle them all the time. I am always noticing new glimmer specs.

A little OT but where is Stone Advice and someone mentioned an Angie who lists fabricators. I'd love this informaiton.

Many thanks!

I am purchasing verde peacock for my countertops. We were not going to choose the slabs because we thought its a consistant pattern. There are no swirls or stuff in it. Should I be looking at the slabs. I couldnt tell the difference but i went out to look at them. and the warehouse guy pointed out the first slab which i couldnt use because it was broken had more gold chunks in it. the 2nd one less and lighter in color and he pointed out the last one was inbetween the 1st and 2nd and well that was the only one i could choose because he had a whole block of them and i needed 2 slabs anyway.. now i keep wondering should i delay the project and look at more slabs? i liked hte first one that was a broken chunk but they do not have that one... or should i stick with this last one.. i really have no sense in what it will look like in the kitchen anyway...

Hi everyone - Loved reading comments on green peacock. We're using it in kitchen w/ WHITE BEADBOARD cabinets and a verde-colored tile floor. Has a farmhouse/cottage feel. Loved my old counter (lighter version of floor), but everyone says granite, so ...
My problem - what to do about a BACKSPLASH? Contractor says tile looks lots better than the granite backsplash, but I have NO IDEA where to start for tile, as nothing I've seen matches the cottage look I want.
(Also, don't like the geometric design tiles)

Thanks for any input or advice!!