Thanks karin for posting truthful info. Yeah this dealer seemed to know more than other yards. I went to a couple others and saw Super White or similar ones labled as "quartzite" and was told by them that Super White was very strong etc. From the stone yard I got a Dolamite, Quartzite and Granite sample here are results of a glass/ scratch test: I tried a scratch test and the "Super white" Dolamite did not pass the Glass test where you try to scratch a glass bottle. The White Macauba Quartzite easily scratched the glass. A third Granite sample also scratched the glass I then did a scratch test first with a spoon and the Dolamite, Quartzite, granite all passed without getting scratched when I pushed hard on them The final test I did was with a sharp serrated plier. This could not scratch the quartzite, barely scratched the granite and easily scratched the "super white" Dolomite I guess the super white is no good I'll do an acid test later with lemon/ vinegar and stain test with wine.

I am a geologist. Quartzite is a stone made of quartz SiO2 which has undergone natural pressure such that breaks occur across the quartz grains. Marble is CaCO3, and may or may not be a result of natural pressure. Marble is a lot more at risk of being 'etched' by acids (like vinegar). Soapstone is a metamorphic rock that has naturally undergone heat and pressure. It used to be used for chemistry lab surfaces as nothing would etch it. Granite is an igneous rock. A rock cutting operation cuts massive slabs of solid rock into slices with long diamond saw blades. Matching some rocks is like matching some wood patterns; you almost have to have adjacent slices for the duplication of patterns to look 'right' and/ or symmetric.

That's a really good point, Lisa. I actually spent a lot of time thinking about it. I can't post a picture of the kitchen I am redoing until tonight. It's in a PDF and I can't grab the image. DH will do it for me later. Your image is great. Thanks for the mock up. I think real life looks pretty different than magazine photos in general. But there are a few things that come into play for this specific look in my specific space. First, I don't expect the kitchen to remain pristine while I am busy working in it, however I do put everything away once I am done. My mother spent many years training me ;-) Second, there is a place for everything, so clean-up is a snap. The kitchen is quite large. The island that is currently there is 17 feet long. There are 23 feet of tall cupboards parallel to the island and 12 or 13 feet perpendicular to the island (not sure about the last two measurements off hand). All the windows are on the long right hand wall of the kitchen. The one element I was not willing to change in the interest of aesthetics was my oven stack- it's a very pretty oven stack (Gagg) and I really, really tried to convince myself to get under counter ovens, but that started to get difficult too- so I settled on having the stainless stack- the Gagg ovens are pretty sculptural in their own right. Oh and lastly, I gave up counter seating (along with any storage on the other side of the island.) Counter seating is not something we use much, outside of people chatting wile people are cooking - which I love -and so will put two ghost stools (even copying that) off to a corner. The kitchen table is where my children do their homework- and the first one os off to college this fall. Also I never serve meals at the island. The island is often used as a buffet. That is probably way more than you wanted to know about my future kitchen! I really do appreciate the feedback. I am amazed at how generous this community is with providing ideas and expertise to one another.

Be sure to read the wonderful posts by karin_mt. Very informative. We installed Super White in 2014. Our fabricator called it quartzite, but I was very leary from reading posts on GW. Luckily, we have had no etching. Be sure to do testing on a sample from the slab you choose, as karin describes. It really is a magnificent stone and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have it in my home. Good luck!