Oh my!! Never heard of it, but it is breathtaking!!

graciemay,

Thank you for visiting our showroom, Crystal Pearl is actually a true quartzite from Brazil. It is harder than a granite.

Blessings
James

Now that looks like a jewel!

Stunning with your cabinets!

well... I was going to guess a quartzite but our resident granite expert chimed in with the facts so I'll just add another BEAUTIFUL comment! Go for it!!

James,

This is your showroom? Small world! Can you explain what 'true quartzite' is and how it compares to granite (or where I can find additional information)? Is this indeed an exotic?

Thanks for your help!

That is stunning!

I think for the next picture James should be doing a vanna white (you know, pointing at the stone along with a few sweeping motions).

That slab is fabulous!

That is a stunning slab!!! I can see the depth of that stone, even in the pictures. Are you getting that one?? You should....it is breathtaking!!

OK, graciemay, I shall try to be brief.

I am not a geologistbut I do play with rocks all day. It is a great job.

Quartzites are a fairly new material on the market. And tend to be quite pricey. Here is why.

They are substantially harder and denser than granites. Therefore the tradititional gang saws could not cut them properly. They were first introduced about 6 years ago and were terrible. The material always had serious issues.

Over the past few years new diamond wire technology has improved to the point that the materials can be processed to a very high quality.

Just for example, a typical block of granite takes 12 to 24 hours on a gang saw to cut. A block of quartzite on a high speed wire saw takes 2 to 4 days. The material is that hard.

Now, I referred to this as a "true quartzite" because there have been quite a few materials brought onto the market and sold as quartzites to get a higher price, when in fact they are not. A material that shows up on the GW regularly is called Super White, Andromeda White, we call it Cypress, and there are a few other names for it.
It is not a quartzite, although it has some hard quartzite tendencies, it has soft spots that scratch and etch like a marble.

The other major plus about quartzites is they have marble type appearances. Azul do mar, Blue Macubus, Sienna Pearl, Apollo, Capolovora, Kalahari, Bamboo Yellow, Bamboo Green are all prime examples of the vivid colors available.

Hope that helps.

James

Hi, James -

Is White Fantasy a true quartzite? I have also heard that it is called Palisades White or White America. It is white and gray and comes from Brazil, I think.

graciemay, the Crystal Pearl is really beautiful!

White Fantasy is the material I referred to, that has quartzite tendencies, but in our experience has the potential for scratching and etching. It is what we call Cypress and we sell it as a marble.

Thanks, James. Is there anything that can be done, besides sealing, to protect against etching/scratching of White Fantasy? Or ways to buff out any scratching/etching if the White Fantasy is polished?

graciemay, sorry to hijack your post, but I've been searching for anwers to these questions for a while:).

Choices,
Sealing does not deter etching or scratching.

Any etches or scratches can be professionally repaired by an expert. It is not a DIY project.

Our experience with this material when it was introduced as a quartzite about 3 years ago was bad. We bought it polished and had to pay to have 2 kitchens honed in place due to the scratching and etching.

Now we sell it honed only as a marble. It is a perfectly good material as long as you treat it as such.

so, james, are you saying that the quartzite stains and etches?

(and by the way-- it is GORGEOUS!! wow!)

Oh wow, I love that stone!! You are going with the same color scheme that I think we are leaning toward.

True quartzites Do Not stain or etch.

White Fantasy aka all the other names mentioned are not quartzites, but are sometimes sold as such.

so, james, (and sorry to hijack), how does one know if a stone yard is selling true quartzite. I've seen a lot of serpentine marketed as soapstone, so I'm wondering if there's a way to tell for sure with quartzite.

there is not a way. Even from a supplier side, we can only do our best. And the information does not always get out to all employees within a company well enough. Some employees remember facts differently as well. This is not a simple business for those of us in it.

As a customer, doing your homework and finding people you can trust is crucial.

there is not a way. Even from a supplier side, we can only do our best. And the information does not always get out to all employees within a company well enough. Some employees remember facts differently as well. This is not a simple business for those of us in it.

As a customer, doing your homework and finding people you can trust is crucial.

Thanks for the information James! And thanks to everyone for the nice comments and validating my love for this stone! WeÂve been searching awhile now for a white granite but really havenÂt found the one until we stumbled upon the Crystal Pearl quartzite.

I love this quartzite. Where did you find it? Thanks

this looks just like slabs I found under the name "mother of pearl" quartzite (in chicago). stunning, gorgeous, and beyond expensive. If someone can afford this I would love to come over and see it installed since I had to pass on it...sniff, sniff :(

I was going to say it looks like a Quartzite. I have a silver quartzite tile in my foyer and I'd LOVE some of that in a 12 inch tile for my powder room! I'll have to keep looking around.

It really is beautiful!

Bump for MrsStormy...

I have to bump this the informaion on quartz is the best I have seen! I tried to see where @vrjames is located!

Elaine

i was with G&L Marble for 8 yrs

and in the industry for 15 years

unfortunatelt G&L went out of business in 2011

@vrjames You have so much knowledge. I have saved this to read thoroughly. Ga or NC?

@vrjames, I love Italian! I am thinking about doing Cambria Quartz. I am not sure I will love it in the kitchen but I like white. Someone just told me they saw a pretty gray. I am researching grays now. 🤷‍♀️