Hi. We have dolomite. Sold to us as granite. It’s holding up well. 3 years now (and we aren’t great at general maintenance 😬). We haven’t yet sealed it since the original sealing 😬. No stains or scratches. Only downside we’ve experienced is that ours has mild “ etching” ( I can’t think of a better word… like itty bitty lines of the natural stone… not even cracks, but I don’t know what to call it) that can only be seen when it’s a super sunny day and the sun directly hits the countertop…. Feels and looks totally smooth otherwise. I’d go shopping next time with a bright flashlight if I were shopping just to see how it reacts, but I’d still buy this same slab in the end….still love how it looks.

I’ve had the Madre Perla quartzite for 10+ years - i dont baby it, never seal it - still looks great - i think having a reputable stone yard and a pro fabricator who will give feedback on slabs is super important given all the nutty stories we read on here

I have Blue Fusion quartzite. It is very hard but I was told it could chip. I did put a small flea size chip on the inside edge at the undermount sink when I dropped a heavy cast iron pan.

@Joseph, can I do a stain test at home? That's one thing I have not read about. Can I really just spill some wine on my sample and see what happens? Or is it more about gradual repeat exposure over a few years?

NKC, quartzite will not etch. marble will.

If you scratched something w/a butter knife, rest assured, it was marble!

granite and quartzite are hard, glass or a knife blade (unless you really carve into it and have a very good blade) will not scratch them, but glass and simple knife usage will scratch marble.

normally you won't get the staining w/quartzite and granite, but some of the lighter colors can stain. A sealer buys you time to wipe it up before it sets.

With marble, etching is almost instaneous, some stains as well. Sealers do nothing for etching.

I have a Dolomite (Super White) and it's held up pretty well. you get a little longer to get those stains than you would on marble. etching takes quite a bit longer too.

I have a marble on my island. I also use cutting boards and am very careful. the men in my house are not. This slab came sealed from the factory and it really has worked. Etching? nope. it worked for a bit, but with all the acidic stuff my son prepares and fails to wipe up, it didn't stand a chance. you really can't see the etching unless you look low w/the light behind you. so, not a big deal. That sealer has worked great for stains though. So far! Its called "azerocare", and its from Antolini.

Beth, this stone is really sparkly. If I'm buying a marble I might as well get one that looks less granite-y maybe. Anyone here know what this is? How can I test for stains? Lemon juice didn't leave a mark after 2 minutes. But it did after like 5-10. Thanks for the sealer recommendation also!

yes, it's a marble. those 'sparkly' crystals are indicitive of certain types of marble.

if you take a glass tile and do this w/a chip of your stone (or you could do it the other way too)

The stone will pulverize and turn to powder if its marble. If it's granite or quartzite, the glass will turn to powder.

this is the stain test they did on marble. 5-10 mins. ketchup, vinegar, oil,, something else,, I forget. you can see how it etched,,

same type of marble w/azerocare

Really beautiful by the way, your slab.

Here's a couple I'm considering, that I don't yet have a sample of. Any guesses as to what they are?

a lot of places rename their slabs. but that does look like a marble. Could be Princess White or a type of Fantasy brown.

Is there any way to judge from the colour of the stone if it's more likely to be dolomite (a harder marble I guess) vs marble?

Edit: I tested the sample I have by scraping some powder off into a bowl and adding vinegar and it didn't foam up, at least not that I can see, which is supposed to indicate it isn't calcareous. Does that mean it's most likely dolomite?

We have what the stone guy said was dolomite/quartzite. Its beautiful and we tested a sample. If you want to leave acidy spills on the counter for an extended amount of time (hours -overnight) ours will etch. I dont have to be a cleaning maniac and wipe the counters constantly and worry. I use cutting boards and wipe after i cook. I also do not have small children who drop and wipe things all over. I got a look that I love without the constant worry about etching. My slab is very forgiving.

nkc, dolomite gives off CO2 or something. 10% hydrochloric acid will tell you if it's marble or dolomite

Consider dropping a 1 ml HCL on the surface of the marble sample. If the marble produces instant fizz or bubbling, it's probably calcite marble tile. Dolomite will react much slower and won't produce that immediat 'fizz'.

the main difference between dolomite and calcite marble tiles is the chemical composition. Dolomite marble tiles are composed mainly of calcium magnesium carbonate, while calcite marble tiles contain calcium carbonate.

Another important difference between the two tiles that you should note is that dolomite marble tiles tend to be slightly harder than calcite marble tiles. This means that dolomite marble tiles are more scratch-resistant as compared to calcite marble tiles.

In addition, calcite tends to react more quickly with acids. They quickly form carbon dioxide bubbles on contact with the acidic solution. On the other hand, dolomite marble tile reacts weakly, and produce carbon dioxide bubbles more slowly when an acidic solution is spilled on the surface.

You can perform a simple test on a marble tile sample to determine whether it is dolomite or calcite. Consider dropping a 1 ml HCL on the surface of the marble sample. If the marble produces instant fizz or bubbling, it's probably calcite marble tile. However, if there is no or slow formation of bubbling, the tile is probably dolomite marble tile.

read this:

https://geology.com/minerals/acid-test.shtml

The top one is definitely dolomite. It may be tesouro blanco but I looked at so many I forget. Either way it's not granite or quartzite. I was putting it in my master bath and I was only interested in dolomite and marble and I wasn't worried that much about staining or etching. I wouldn't have used it in my kitchen.

Lisa, any issues with it in your bathroom?

I have the dolomite in my bathroom. (Super White. it's mislabeled as a quartzite) 4 years now. one tiny etching spot. otherwise, no issues.

have it over here where I do my makeup. no issues here either.

We aren’t living in the house full time yet so I can’t give you an honest answer. I can tell you my installer cracked the stone during installation and tried to cover it up. Needless to say we aren’t accepting that and I’m having them removed. If I can’t find the same material I’m switching to a quartzite. I would prefer to stay with my first choice.

Lisa, that's awful. How did he try to cover it up? Good thing you noticed!

@nkc82 We've only been able to stay in the home a few times since having it built. On our 2nd trip my fiancee noticed what looked to be like a crack repair on my vanity top. I hadn't noticed it but once he pointed it out it was evident that's what it was. We found a 2nd one as well and contacted the fabricator. On our 3rd trip we noticed that the backsplash was coming apart and that the counter seemed to be sinking. The fabricator came out and agreed the stone was in fact damaged. He claimed not to have been told by the installer but he did step up and agree to replace the vanity top. Since we have 2 separate vanities, he said if I wanted both replaced he would agree to do so. Now the trick is finding the same stone. This was what my vanity looked like installed. The cracks were near the sink.