I put black galaxy in my last house and thought it was beautiful. They weathered through two baby and toddler boys fine. I just needed to do a thorough wipe-down at night and if someone was coming over, I'd do another wipe-down. Water spots and other kid-mess was very visible so keeping a relatively clutter-free counter was kind of necessary for the quick-clean-ups.

My favorite thing about the black galaxy was that it reflected our ceilings. We had incredible plaster work on the ceilings (original to the 1886 brownstone), and the reflective nature of the granite gave the room a total wow-factor. That said, consider this when you choose your ceiling fixtures and the ceiling area in general.

Good luck!

Have you looked at the color Black Pearl? I was in the exact same dilemma as you.

I chose Black Pearl and I love it. It has more color/speckle (easier to keep clean), but yet still looks black.

I had Emerald Pearl installed 10 days ago and absolutely love it. It's very dark, yet has a bluish-green color with tons of bling! Silver and blue mica. You really have to look hard at certain angles to see any smear marks. I've just been wiping it with a microfiber cloth and it looks awesome.

I was seriously thinking of going with a black granite, but they were all too boring (black galaxy, absolute black) and then when I saw the Emerald Pearl I knew that was it! I don't like movement in the granite, but wanted something interesting. It fit the bill perfectly! and so far, very easy to keep clean.

I have black galaxy and love it. It is super easy to keep looking nice with a microfiber cloth. We have a lot of traffic in and out of our kitchen so it's put to the test. If you want pictures, I could post some tomorrow.

My friend has polished black galaxy and regrets it. It shows fingerprints and smudges if you wipe with a sponge. If you don't mind polishing with microfiber after cleaning, then it may not bother you. She has 3 kids plus her mother and husband in her house and finds it to be annoying.

Thanks for sharing all of your viewpoints so far. I'm going to have closer look at the Black Pearl and Emerald Pearl, although I have a feeling my husband might tell me that they are too bling-y. Countrygal - if you could post pics tomorrow that would be awesome. Thanks again.

Well I picked up samples of black pearl and emerald pearl yesterday. The slabs/samples of black pearl that I saw didn't really seem as if they would stay cleaner looking than the black galaxy. It didn't have any obvious mica pieces in it like the emerald and blue pearls that I've seen. Does that seem right?? I do like the emerald pearl, but I'm still not sure what my husband thinks about it. I also picked up a piece of leathered cambrian granite...it didn't seem to have much texture to me, which surprised me (as in almost none). The lady at the granite place LOVED it, but I'm just not quite sure...it's very matte looking.

baileyandbella, can you post a picture of yours? I'm right there too. I put a hold on my Uba Tuba order. Just brought home a sample of Black Pearl. They said it was the first shipment they've had with gold veins; usually they said it was more gray flecks.