I'd choose around the corner rather than in the middle of a sink in front of a window. Dark uniform granites will act as mirrors with the light from the window and even if the seam is terrific, you will always see in in the glare. Even with rodding, placing the seam at an opening like a sink is a bit of a risk with stone and I've never been 100% comfortable with the structural integrity of that choice.

Thanks for all the feedback! I definitely will go to see the seam. I'm just so curious about what the technique is and if the seam is really virtually invisible - I've never heard of this before. It does sound challenging to create the piece with seam at the shop and transport and install it without breaking. I wonder if it's not so much a "new" technique as something they just don't like to do routinely. The photos and the link were interesting to see, thanks all! I can barely see where the seams are in the posted photos, but hard to judge from a distance. My island is pretty much identical to the one in stonegirl's photos (is that giallo veneziano?), except that ours bows out where the eating counter is. I don't think there's really any way to lower a part of the island at this point (the end pieces are already built) without a major remake, but I have thought of the possibility. Will start thinking in those terms if I don't want a seam, regardless. I hate these kind of decisions too, michellemarie! lilyfreak - I have found a big difference between what various fabricators told me with respect to my situation - don't know if the same would be true for you (maybe the experts on this board will weigh in) but it's worth exploring. For example, I was told by many fabricators that it was "impossible" to transport and install an 11 foot island when I had already been to a place that told me it would be no problem with adequate entry to the house and enough workers to transport. Ran into the same thing when asking about seams. One fabricator told me that it is impossible to get a seam under 1/8 inch. Another told me that he had never seen or heard of a slab over 130 inches. When I mentioned finding these elsewhere, the next day he came up with six from his supplier! I am sure he knew - he just wanted to sell from his own inventory first or didn't want to deal with the more difficult job. I can understand that - I just wish they didn't imply these things were impossible for anyone. On the other hand, I've run across some absolutely terrific and helpful fabricators - they helped me search for slabs, referred me to their suppliers and were always completely honest about what they could and could not do. It's interesting though - I never would have gone past the first place recommended to me if I hadn't started looking into large slabs. I imagine most people don't!

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!

Rodding is old-school and is only necessary on very fragile stones or unusual situations. The problem is that many fabricators don't do it right. They use polyester instead of epoxy for bedding which isn't nearly as water resistant and cold steel instead of stainless or fiberglas rods which won't rust. I'm going to fix an exploded (oxidized) rod tomorrow. I hate it when they're in the back of the sink instead of the front. $800-$1,600.00 with no guarantee on appearance or durability and it's still a very cost effective alternative to replacement.