It is not bad, but it could be better. Did you see a seam beforehand or get specifications on what the seam would look like? Is this seam similar to the ones you were shown if you did see one beforehand? These are the guidelines from the Marble Institute of America: "Joint (seam) widths between two stoneunits should equal 1/16" (1.5 mm), with atolerance of +/-1/64" (+/-0.4 mm). In such cases where a larger joint width has been specified, the tolerance is to be 25% (+/- 1/4) of the nominal joint width. Joint width does not include the dimension of an arris (a smallchamfer, approximately 1/16" x 1/16") on the stone edge. When an arris is used, the perceived joint width may be greater than the actual width due to the seam filler occupying the width of the arris." There should be no detectablelippage at the front or rear edge of the countertop. Maximum allowable lippage at the center of the countertop is 1/32" (0.8mm). Visiblejoints between stone and other materials(e.g., cabinetry, gypsum wall board) shall be1/8", with a tolerance of +/-1/16" (+/-1.5mm), and filled with a soft, elastic material http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:YxnTnTmk6xIJ:www.marble-institute.com/consumerresources/homeownersconsumer_countertop.pdf+marble+institute+of+america+seams&hl=en&gl=us Does the seam feel smooth to the touch? Is it in accordance with those guidelines? Here is my seam (if you can't see it, it is even w/ the back of the faucet). It is about as impeccable as you can get; however, we went to every granite place in a 200 mile radius and finally had people come in from Baltimore over 2 1/2 hours away to do our granite because they were the only ones capable of doing the seam the way we needed. An extreme close-up where you can see the seam (sort of). It is even w/ the hole.

Haha, you folks are so awesome! You've really helped me to see the light and accept the perfection of imperfection. So, I called my granite guy yesterday after the unanimous results here and told him to keep the little jerk and that I'd learn to love it like only a father could. And to answer your question may_flowers, I seriously considered an apron sink at one point, but given the hackeration that would have to happen to my existing cabinetry and the added cost of the sink itself, I decided to go with a 60/40 Kraus SS from Amazon (again, thanks to GardenWeb recommendations). I got a wicked awesome 4th of July sale price on it too, as I was going to purchase on a Sunday night at $360, but woke up the next morning and got it for around $270! So anyways, my Samsung SS appliances arrived yesterday and the granite will be installed early next week. I'll post pics when the granite gets here so you all can see how everything turned out! Thanks again!

My feeling is the sink, the faucet, and the window box is the focal point of your kitchen, so why would you want a distracting seam running right through the middle of it? If your fabricator does perfect seams, I'd consider it, but that doesn't seem to be the rule. I have a seam to the side of my sink, 4" from a corner. It's tight and the epoxy matches the solid colored quartz. I think oldryder has mentioned that quartz seams are typically cleaner because there's no chipping. Is Colonial Gold a "chippy" stone?

Our leathered Calacatta Gold countertops were installed pre-Thanksgiving, and we’re working with our fabricator to find a good (both oil and water repellant) impregnating sealer. We brought home a sample treated with Tenax ProSeal, and we were surprised that: 1) it has a glossy appearance (much like in your photo), and 2) it feels like a semi-gloss paint would. Paraphrasing a pro from another forum: impregnating sealers such as ProSeal should not change the color or feel of the stone. It sounds like the sealer is just sitting on top of the stone. The fabricator’s crew likely applied the sealer too thick and/or didn’t properly wipe up the excess. Remedy: apply another light coat (of the same sealer), which will active the sealer sitting on the surface; then wipe off any extra product so that none is left on the stone. Any idea what type of sealer your installer used? Streaks and splotches may be an indicator that your stone was dense enough not to need sealing. Do you by chance have a sample of your stone unsealed, such that you could test for water and oil absorbency? If not, perhaps you could ask for a remnant piece for testing purposes. If you decide your tops don't need sealing, acetone should strip what's on there now (shouldn't affect the leathering which is achieved by a mechanical, not chemical, process). BTW, might as well wait on the Sharpie trick as acetone will likely also remove the black ink. However, if you decide your tops do need sealing, but perhaps the sheen is a result of the excess sealer not being properly removed, I'd go with the advice from the pro above. BTW, that's not the first time I've read about this process of 'reactivating' the cured sealer by applying a new/wet coat...makes sense.