I am not sure, but according to Silestone, they are the only quartz manufacturer that offers a fifteen year warranty.

Here is a link that might be useful: Silestone's warranty

I would be most concerned about installation.
Does your installer have good references? Have you
seen their work? After that I agree with Adrienne2011
be sure there is a good warranty.
~boxer

Caesarstone now has a lifetime warranty. A warranty is useless though if the company doesn't stand behind it. I've read many posts of Silestone and Caesarstone not honoring their warranty and blaming everything on the homeowner. I'm wondering how Cambria and Zodiaq are on warranty coverage.

The answers so far, focusing on things like warranties and installation, are right on the money. Money, that is, price, might also be different, as are color and pattern.

I think Caesarstone was the first, but they all make it the same way, using the same machinery. It's possible that there one has a slightly different resin, or different formula, but I've never heard of those little differences making a difference in use. There is some rumor that the ones with large slices of stone don't wear as well as the regular kind.

All quartz will yellow with time, and especially sunlight. This shows most in the whites and very lights, of course.

I have read of some problems with the quartz products that have the recycled materials in them. The recycled pieces of glass and mirror tend to flake out or there are "sparkly" pieces that come up when you wipe the counter.

I personally would not get Silestone b/c they put Microban in their product. If it is not pourous, why is Microban needed? I really would not want another chemical on my counter.

By me Cambria is by far the most expensive. I do like the fact that they are made in the US.

I too think installation is key.

Locally, for me, Cambria is less expensive than the others, so clearly pricing isn't consistent.

I went with Cambria because it's made in the USA. That was important to me.

A while ago someone had posted that their quartz countertop had big orange resin spots in it and the manufacturer insisted that it was within spec. I don't remember what brand it was but whatever you choose make sure you pick your actual slabs - don't let them talk you out of it.

I like cambria's stone-look colors best.

We just had Cambria Nottingham installed a couple weeks ago and it looks great. Even though it is an engineered stone, there is a randomness and depth in the color and design that makes it appear more like a natural stone. Much more so than the Silestone that our friends have. Our fabricator said Cambria has recently added a collection that includes some colors that look like marble. Our kitchen is small too so I was not as concerned with pricing.

That is such an insightful comment that chocolatebunny said,
"I personally would not get Silestone b/c they put Microban in their product. If it is not pourous, why is Microban needed? I really would not want another chemical on my counter."

That makes a lot of sense, yet I never thought of that.
I went to Silestone's FAQ page and chocolatebunny was right when he or she said it is non-porous:
"Silestone is a dense, non-porous stone..."

Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ about Silestone being non-porous

Well, when I went to Lowes to comparison shop, I found the quartz close to the price of Cambria even though the brand was not as good. We called locally and we were going to go with a local dealer who buys the Cambria from an authorized dealer who sells it in the territory. We changed our minds and went directly to the authorized dealer cutting out the middle man. We got excellent, quality service and we went with one of the newest colors Canterbury. It looks more like a marble or granite pattern. I really love the pattern and after researching so long I was glad to find this new color.

Make sure you get someone who can measure and install it properly. We were glad the guy who installed ours only installs Cambria and had been doing it for over 15 years.

cricket49: any photos of your new Canterbury counters? I'm still trying to settle on a color...

plllog wrote: All quartz will yellow with time, and especially sunlight. This shows most in the whites and very lights, of course.

wow, i didn't know that. :( thanks for the info.

the microban in the silestone ruled it out for me immediately. it's too bad that they added it.

Thanks so much for all your responses. I think I will go with the Cambria. It seems those of you who have it like it and no complaints about customer service.

BTW, my kitchen gets very little direct sun, so fading doesn't matter to me, but gosh, I wouldn't have thought of any kind of stone fading!!!

And really, all things being equal, I would like to buy American if at all possible.

Although soapstone still sings to me!!!

It's the resin that yellows, not the quartz dust. It's just a fact about the chemical make-up of resin that it wants to be a kind of golden brown color, and sunlight brings it out. That's why they don't recommend it for outdoor use.

jw34, I would send pics but I do not have a camera....i know i know....phone pics do not do it any justice.

You can go to the Cambria website and see the Canterbury pic. I will tell you I was not sold on it until the salesman brought out a large sample piece. He said it was new and everybody in his office was excited about the color. We have had many workmen who have come thru after installing the countertops and they all loved the look of it. Most of them thought it is granite until they felt the smooth surface.

I know some posts have talked about quartz chipping. I am extremely careful in my kitchen. I had a porcelin sink for 12 years with no chips...and I use lots of cast iron skillets....so I guess if you are careful it is no problem. But also, quartz is a very hard surface so I am really not sure about it chipping that easily.

Regarding the chipping issue....my friend who also had Cambria installed year ago told me to make sure and have the sink area cut out rounded....not squared. Her sink area was square cut and she said she had chipped the edges of her sink.

Sounds like quartz has really been hyped up. I do not believe it is better than granite. I think designers just want something different. This is a high end expense to go with what is trending. I have never had any problems with granite and this is my third home.