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Arabescato White-Quartzite Questions

11 years ago

We went to the stone yard today and saw a few slabs of Arabescato White. It's a quartzite, and it was honed. It didn't come in polished. They also had Super White, polished. The SW had a lot of gray in it. The AW had a little more interesting movement and more white to it. Both were instock and carried by the dealer, so no need to import from who knows where (they still will not disclose the location to me)

The one sample of Bianco Antico I saw from a different stone yard looked strange. The top and bottom were beautiful, but the middle looked like someone rubbed it wrong and just didn't turn out good. (if that makes any sense). The builder refuses to let me pick out my slab, so I'm afraid to go with the BA since each slab is so different. I don't want to be stuck with a horriable one that they couldn't sell to anyone else.

Did anyone install an Arabescato White? Do you have pictures of it you can share with me?

After reading Bee's thread with her Super White etching, I'm a little nervous about a quartzite. Has this been the case for other quartzite owners?

With 2 boys (6,8 yr) would a honed counter be the way to go?

Thanks for all of your help with these insane granite issues I've been having!

Comments (6)

Pipdog
11 years ago
I have Madre Perla quartzite - no etching or stains.
sochi
11 years ago
I have quartzite too (Luce di luna), for over two years, no etching or stains at all. But some people have had trouble, I guess all quartzites are not the same (some are mixed with marble maybe?). Only way to tell is to get a sealed sample and test it. It should be sealed with a silicon sealer. Hopefully your stone yard will give you a sample.
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dragonfly08
11 years ago
I also have Super White quartzite and have not had any etching. I second sochi's suggestion to see if you can get a sample from the yard. I wasn't able to and really got lucky. I've also read that some places mislabel their quartzites... So only way to really have your questions answered is to get your hands on some sample pieces.
For me, I was ready to take the plunge and do marble, so I had already come to terms with etches. Thankfully, I walked into a slab of SW that blew me away and won me over.
drewem
Original Author
11 years ago
I am glad to hear that quartzite does not etch for everyone! That is hopeful.

In my research I've seen that many places call Super White and Arabescato White the same thing. The yard had both, and they definately were not the same.

Has anyone installed Arabescato in their kitchen?
KelinMD
11 years ago
I would love to see pictures of this as well if anyone has it in their kitchen!
karin_mt
11 years ago
Welcome Drewem,

Be careful with quartzite! A lot of them are not actually quartzite. Don't go by what the stone yard calls it. Super White and Arabescato are sometimes used interchangeably, but regardless, you'll need a sample to bring home and test, and then you'll know if it is really quartzite or not. Instructions are in the link below. It's easy and interesting to find out what rock you actually have on your hands, in that Columbo sort of way.

A few other things jump out of your post. The folks at the stone yard won't tell you where the rock comes from? What's up with that? Are they thinking you'll swing over to Brazil one night and pick up a few slabs for yourself?

And your builder won't let you spec a specific slab? That one is totally crazy. I would never in a million years agree to that - it's a ridiculous request.

Anyway, both of the stones you mentioned are beautiful, so keep doing your homework and I'm sure you'll find the ultimate slab! Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: rocks in the kitchen

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