The Day I Learned To Love Natural Stone

How many times do you suppose I'm asked which is better, natural stone or engineered stone? I'm holding myself back from saying, "...you mean real stone versus fake or artificial stone?" Okay so that was probably the quickest reveal of my complete and utter bias on the subject. I will try my best, without making promises, to be as fair as possible. Okay, as fair as possible for me, a natural stone restoration professional.

Maybe a better question is, why do I prefer natural stone over engineered stone, and why?

Natural stone like Granite, Marble Travertine, Limestone, Quartzite, Onyx and more comes in an infinite variety of colours, styles, patterns, veining and finishes. Engineered stone can come in an almost infinite variety of equally beautiful colours, veining, shades and patterns too

Engineered or E-Stone is often just called Quartz, or by its brand name Ceasar stone, Silestone, Cambria and others. But the real difference between the brand names of most Quartz isn't their durability or quality, it is their colour, style and pattern. The easy explanation is that almost all are made with the same proportion of ingredients (93-94% quartz and other aggregate particles and 6-7% polyester resin, although that has been increasing over time to 10% or more). They are all made the same way and - surprisingly- made by the very same people. All high-end branded Quartz is made by a patented process called 'compaction under vacuum vibro-compression' by BretonStone of Italy. They have factories world-wide and the different brands will use their own styles, colours and patterns to hold their own distinctive look for their brand of what is essentially the same product. Most manufacturers of engineered stone use BretonStone. Off brands generally don't have the same quality or performance as the patented brands.

The Quartz that forms the aggregate in engineered stone still has to come from the quarrying process and some of its positive qualities come from the very nature of the original stone or mineral. But Quartz is not natural, it is manufactured. Quartz counters and quartz the mineral are both known for their hardness and durability which is what most people love about Quartz: it is rugged, easier to clean up but it can still stain, chip and it cannot tolerate hot items placed on it. The Quartz component is the natural part of Quartz counters, but the polyester resins, pigments and styrene dyes were born of the petrochemical industry. It is a very energy intensive process and of course cannot be considered a "green" product..

No matter how you slice it -literally- natural stone has to come down from the mountain as well. It is mechanically cut from the mountainside or quarry and trans[ported to a fabrication facility. So energy is consumed in processing natural stone but it isn't nearly as much energy as consumed in the Quartz manufacturing processes.

Notwithstanding these differences, in my opinion natural stone has the warmth, natural beauty and feel that engineered stone simply cannot match. Engineered stone can certainly mimic natural stone and can be beautiful in . Mimicry may be the most sincere form of compliment, but it cannot match or replace the warmth and beauty of the real deal.

We can all appreciate how using natural stone deepens the connection between our innate humanity and the natural world that surrounds us as it has for 1000's of years. Natural stone creates spaces that are inspirational, restorative, heathy, and most importantly, functional for those in its ownership.

But ultimately, it comes down to what you personally prefer. For me, who works with Engineered and natural stone on a daily basis, I'll always choose natural stone.