I have Calacatta quartzite, which is the same stone, just cut differently. (yours would have more straight lines, mine has more swirly veins)

Anyway, I was in the same predicament...wanted marble or Superwhite but knew it would not work for my family. So far it has been pretty indestructible. There has been tomato sauce, red wine, all kinds of sauces, mustard, etc and there is definitely NO etching of any kind. The only thing that has left any soft of stain at all was butter, which only left a slightly darkened area in the stone temporarily. After a few days it disappeared!

lcskaisgir, that is gorgeous! can i ask what stoneyard you used?

I used T & M in Farmington, MI. They have other locations in other states, which they actually had to transfer my slabs in from.

Lcskaisgir, I just love your kitchen and keep going back to look at it. I have seen the white macauba and liked it. With the slab standing up it appeared much darker (and duller) than yours. Do you remember if the slab appears lighter or darker when on the counter vs standing up.. I'm afraid that it will appear much darker when horizontal as the light won't hit it the same way..

I am very happy to have used quartzite., and would do again.

My KD warned me against wh Maccaubus (however you spell it), because of a large corner, and worries about the seam. Turns out, my quartzite has seam at sink area, so it would not have been a problem. I didn't see anything as gorgeous as Lcskaisgir's slabs. I did see blue swirly Maccaubus and yellow swirly Maccaubus.

Hmmmm, I don't remember it looking dark. But then I guess it would depend on the lighting in the stone yard. Some of them can be so dark and dingy and then I went in one that had windows all the way across the ceiling so tons of natural light poured in. Also, it is not as white of a stone as marble, so maybe that is the issue. I'm not exactly sure what color I would describe it as. It's definitely very light, just not white like marble. Does your kitchen have a lot of natural light? If you don't love it, keep looking! It took me months to find mine and all the stone yards hated me because I came in once a week! Maybe see if they have it at other locations and can transfer it in for you. That's what I ended up doing.

And thank you cani123 for your kind words! I'm not sure if I answered your question or not. When you say "dull" do you mean not shiny? I believe that it shines up a bit when they polish it. And I don't think I noticed a difference whether it was standing or laying horizontal as to its lightness/darkness.

Bookworm, I had to go back and look at what counters you have because I can't keep track of everyone's! They are so beautiful. I love the colors and how swirly they are.

We used White Macauba quartzite for our kitchen counters. I wanted something light and "neutral" in color, but with a lot of drama. I love the look of marble, but I am not one who can live with patina and there is no way my DH or 2 kids would baby the counters. We had the counters installed about a year ago, and I still love them. We have had no issues with etching, despite having tomato sauce and red wine spilled on the counters.

I can't post pictures at work, but will link you to another post that shows my slabs in the slab yard and the installed counters. The stone is not true white, but rather a pale color that looks light gray or slightly creamy, depending on the lighting.

Here is a link that might be useful: My White Macauba quartzite counters

Kaysd, Your counters are gorgeous!!! i cannot believe what a great job they did with seams and the edge.

My edges definitely do not match the same way, which shows the skill of your fabricator.

lcskaisgir, Thanks so much for the nice words. I'm getting to like my counters, but don't "love". I think white Maccabus looks best with white or dark cabinets, not maple.

Kaysd, your counters are gorgeous.
Lcskaisgir, what I meant by dull is that they seemed darker than yours or kaysd's slabs. I noticed that in the same cut as kaysd's they appeared lighter, but I wanted the cross cut which is more of a swirl rather than straight lines. The color of yours is what I am looking for and haven't found them. I went back to the same place a second time and they seemed to have more light coming in and they looked a bit lighter. I have bad lighting and am worried they will appear flat (no life to them). I have the same problem when I pick glass tile, they are all sparkly in the store and no life when I bring them home. I have to pick something soon so I'm in a panic state because I thought I could just do quartz if I can't find quartzite but even with that I haven't found anything that I love.

Since it is a natural stone, there will be variations with each lot. For all that we know the area that lcskaisgir's stone was cut from may be all used up and there may not be any more white macaubas as light in color as hers. However more likely there is some left and you just need to keep searching. :)

I just had my white macaubas installed and it is no where as white as lcskaigir's. So far I have not put it to any use in the kitchen, but I can tell you it is bullet proof so far in 2 bathrooms.

Let your KD, GC, the stone yards etc. know that you're going to keep looking until you find your perfect slabs, even if you have to live with plywood countertops. I did that & they had slabs shipped from another state. Lcskaisgir also had slabs shipped from elsewhere.
I don't know that I could have followed thru with the plywood (DH). If nothing else, they might make an effort to be on the lookout & call you when new slabs come in.