Types of marble
Marble is a rock made of calcium carbonate which has been exposed to a natural recrystallization process.
Marble is being created by the transformation of other stones through the action of high temperatures and intense pressures. As a result of this process new minerals, textures, and structures give rise to a large number of different types of marble, as we will see in the examples below.
Types of white marble
There is a wide range of white marble types. The chromatic uniformity of its base, the type of grain, and the thickness, as well as drawing of its veins, are characteristic and unique to each variety.
Calacatta
Calacatta is a natural stone from Italy. It is a calcitic white marble. It has a very peculiar chromatism, in which broken white and very fine light grey veins are punctually dotted with tiny amber and golden notes.
This Italian variety has lasted for centuries and is the protagonist of many relevant architectural projects dated in the period of classical Rome, the Renaissance and the Baroque. Nowadays, it is considered a luxury marble and dresses the interiors of large residential or hotel projects.
Calacatta Gold
Calacatta Gold is a white calcite marble with a timeless aesthetic. It exhibits a sublime off-white base with outlined golden and grey streaks of different thicknesses.
Carrara White
Bianco Carrara marble, as its name suggests, comes from the Carrara quarries in the Tosco-Emilian Apennines. Its homogeneous greyish white base is composed of fine, shiny particles. Its veins are grey in color and are distributed over the surface as capillaries. There are different classifications of Bianco Carrara, and its level of whiteness defines each group
It is one of the most famous marbles in the world, both today and in the distant past, through the Renaissance and Baroque. Michelangelo Buonarroti used Carrara White marble to sculpt the famous sculpture of David.
Statuarietto
Statuarietto is extracted in Carrara as well. It is a unique compact white, medium-fine grain marble. Its white base intermingles shades of pale grey and alborea indigo. The veins present a bluish grey tonality.
It is ideal to be used for interior floors and walls, as well as kitchen worktops.
Arabescato Breccia
Arabescato Breccia is a white calcitic marble. Its particular breccia morphology offers a beautiful game of contrasts between the white background and the grey and brown veins.
Bianco Lasa
Bianco Lasa is a white calcite marble. It has a white crystalline base and distinctly linear bluish-grey veins. The soft combination of whites and greys punctually intersperses one or two prominent thick black vein
Macael White
Macael White is a famous Spanish white marble. It is extracted in the region of Macael (Almeria, Spain) which is also the origin of its name. Macael White is the protagonist in great architectural projects of the history and art of Spain. An example of this is the Patio de Los Leones of the Alhambra Palace (Granada).
Blanco Macael marble is calcitic, has a coarse grain, and a uniform appearance alternating white and grey shades in the form of glazes. Calcite is the main mineral of this natural stone (98%), including as additional components quartz, muscovite and mineral opaques.
Calacatta Lincoln
Although it may seem like an Italian variety, Calacatta Lincoln comes from Colorado, United States. It is named after the material used to build the Lincoln Memorial Centre in the early 1900s in Washington, DC.
Calacatta Lincoln is a white calcite marble. Its white base is glazed in smoky tones. The veins are unsettled and have a beautiful gray color that occasionally turns silver.
Lilac
Lilac is a white calcite marble. It has a slightly greyish-white base. The veins that furrow this marble have an arborescent morphology and combine tones ranging from black to violet.
Thassos White
Thassos White is a white dolomite marble. It has a crystalline base and is recognized worldwide for being one of the whitest marbles around the world.
Its name is inspired by the Greek island of Thassos, a paradise famous for its white houses and sands. Saliara beach on the island of Thassos is known as the “marble beach” for its clarity and transparency.
Types of beige marble
Beige marble preserves the luminosity of light colors but incorporates chromatic warmth thanks to its toasted tones. It can contain brighter streaks than its base or darker streaks, radically changing the appearance of each variety.
Moscato Beige
Moscato Beige is a light beige marble. It is calcitic, and it has a homogeneous background. A combination of soft toasted colors compose its base. The veins partially cover the surface and are pearly and brighter compared to the base.
Boticcino
Boticcino is a beige calcitic marble. Its soft beige base contains light golden streaks and white shadows that suggest the movement of the sea foam.
The Boticcino cream marble has an Italian origin, specifically from the borders between Lombardy and Veneto. Faithful to the classic aesthetics of Italian marbles, it manages to delight us with its timelessness.
Premium Beige
Premium Beige is the trade name of another calcite marble. It has a background that stands out because of the homogeneity and its subtle beige tone. Its surface intermingles white and notions of broken white offering the possibility of creating luminous environments without the need to resort to pure white. With a clean and crisp appearance, it is commonly used in interior coverings such as bathrooms, kitchens, worktops, and showers.
Travertines
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Travertines have natural colors such as sand, earth, beige and soft ochre. Depending on the type of cut, they can acquire different appearances. The treatment of their holes also influences the aesthetics and final textures.
Types of grey marble
The grey marble incorporates neutral tones that cover different ranges of colors. Its chromatic scale ranges from pearl tones through silver and grey ochre to graffiti such as mole. It is mainly used in places that aspire to transmit calm and serenity.
Pietra Grey
Pietra Grey is a grey calcite marble. It has a very uniform and compact appearance. It shuffles coals and graphite subtly and alternates thin white streaks with barely noticeable slate-colored linear glazes.
Pacific Grey
Pacific Grey has a gentle grey background and the ability to capture light and its millimeter thin white veins to reflect it.
Fior di Bosco
Fior di Bosco is a grey marble with a non-porous surface. Its sober background mixes leaden and smoky tones. It contains a burst of fine arborescent veins alternating white and amber colors. Occasionally some orange striations appear.
Picasso Grey
Picasso Grey is the trade name of a unique white greyish calcite marble. It has a pearly background intertwined with a large number of grey veins but also mole and amber, of different thicknesses, which again intertwine with each other.
The Picasso Gray marble is used in design pieces and large-format cladding, for example in outstanding luxury interiors.
Types of black marble
Another great family of marble types is black marbles, which include some of the most exclusive examples in the world. The background of each of them may contain different intensities of black and veins of different colors, including white, gold, and light gray.
Marquina Black
Marquina Black is a black calcite marble. The intense black color of its base contrasts with the alternation of radiant fossil white veins. Calcite is the main mineral of this rock, present in 98%.
Due to the purity and beauty of its formidable black color, it is being used in interior design projects that are reference projects in terms of quality and exclusivity. Marquina Black enjoys the most significant international recognition.
Portoro
Portoro is a high-end black crystalline marble. The intense jet color of its base contains a large number of dynamic golden veins and white effervescences that seem to be in motion.
This exclusive natural stone is the most expensive black marble in the world.
Black Mirage
Black Mirage is a black calcite marble. The tone of its base is reminiscent of obsidian because, in some points, it acquires toasted nuances.
Black Dune
Black Dune has a black background with profuse linear stretch marks with filamentous character.
Blue Violet
Black marble Blue Violet seems to be sculpted by the particular morphology of its countless white veins.
Saint Laurent
Considered a semi-precious stone, Saint Laurent is a coppery black marble from France. Its dark crystalline background contains delicate brown, gold, and white veins touched by occasional notes of coral color.
It is a perfect natural stone for design elements and for interior cladding.
Brown marble
The different varieties of brown marble include the rich chromatic range of earth tones. Each example can start from breccia structures, more homogeneous, or even striated.
Sequoia Brown
Sequoia Brown is the trade name of a unique crystalline brown marble. It presents a particular striated aspect due to its marked bands in brown, earth, and grey tones.
The particular morphology of this natural stone sculpts a beautiful pattern of sinuous forms. The relief of its surface evokes the millenary trunks of the great American sequoias.
Oasis Brown
Also considered a semi-precious stone Oasis Brown is a brownish marble. It has a crystalline background of coriaceous aspect furrowed by golden veins. The intensity of its range of browns is medium, very close to cocoa tones
It is used for interior coatings, bathrooms, and walls, among others.
Green Marble
The green marble invites to be calm, creating a space in which nature is the great protagonist. The intensity of its green color evokes fresh, tropical, and jungle landscapes. It usually presents white streaks.
Mint Green
Mint Green is a light green marble. It has a jade tones background intertwined with dark green streaks. The whole is splashed with small white crystalline nebulae.
Guatemala Green
Also called Indian Green or Oriental Green, Guatemala Green is a serpentine green marble. From its strong arboreal base, numerous very white veins stand out, generating a sharp contrast. Veins and background create an ensemble of great natural beauty and exoticism.
Yellow Marble
Yellow marble offers a touch of differentiation due to its uniqueness and oriental connotations. The best-known variety is the Triana Yellow, described below.
Triana Yellow
Triana Yellow is a yellow dolomite marble. It has numerous grey and ochre veins that reminds of bamboo because of its color.
This emblematic natural stone was used to clad the Torre Triana (Seville), a project in which TINO Natural Stone participated. It adopted its name due to its total prominence in the building and is now known internationally as the Triana Yellow. It is used for interior and exterior designs.
Blue marble
Blue marble is a natural stone capable of visually connecting us with the sky and the sea.
Blue Sodalite
Blue Sodalite is a blue marble composed of lazulite, calcite, and pyrite. The symbiosis between calcite and pyrite creates a unique veiled surface that transports us to a velvety cobalt sea furrowed by golden waves.
Would you like to know more about the different types of marble that exist? Would you like further information for your project about a marble type that does not appear in the list? Contact us >