I wouldn't count on those rocks being similar, since so many slabs labeled as quartzite are actually marble. Romy is correct, you have to get a sample of the exact rock you want, and test it as much as you can. Then you can make your decision based on your own observations, which will definitely help with the confusion. Good luck!

Hi Eugenie- I'm guessing you're in FFC since you were at Ring's End and based on your post about your son's car. ;) I was totally sent on absolute black honed until I started reading about it here. (actually I shouldn't say totally set I've been all over the place...marble, granite, soapstone). Anyway, I finally put a deposit down on leathered jet mist granite. I LOVE it! It's not a solid black like AB.I was going to do jet mist honed until I felt the leathered slabs...I don't know the best way to describe it, but they feel almost soft. Anyway, I don't know how they're going to do w/dust and fingerprints b/c I haven't had it installed yet, but I'm pretty sure every post I've read here from someone who has it loves it. Everest Marble in Norwalk has some great slabs of Jet Mist right now. I don't think there were any more leathered ones, but I know they have a lot of honed (I was there last Saturday). If you're looking for a fabricator so far I've been really happy with La Pietra in Brookfield (ask for Fabiana). I'll try to post a picture of my slabs. http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/avaowensmom/Kitchen%20redo/?action=view&current=photo-18.jpg" target="_blank"> Here is a link that might be useful:

I am a fabricator. You should not have smudges. Sounds like they waited too long to wipe the excess away and didn't get it all. I would ask the fabricator to come back and clean it up. Typically the best way to remove sealer residue is to reapply the sealer and then make sure you wipe the excess away while it is still wet. This will normally remove the residue from the 1st application. You could also strip the sealer with acetone and then reapply. We once had a customer that used a whole bottle of sealer on a little bar top (probably a 10 year supply). The only way we could clean that up was with acetone.

I am SO glad I found this post. Thank you Amy for starting it! I love soapstone but for many reasons it's not practical for our kitchen. The cabinet shop showed me the PentalQuartz in Sorona in Honed and Polished and I immediately liked the honed. Thank you for all of your insights and experiences. We have chosen similar cabinet design/color so it's super helpful to see your finished kitchen! Thanks again!