Crema Marfil Marble
Crema Marfil is a smooth cream marble with subtle white veining. This marble can also have rustic veins depending upon the block it is cut from. Technically speaking Crema Marfil is a limestone but it is more commonly referred to as a marble due to the high quality polish it takes. From this point on we will refer to Crema Marfil as a marble.
It has been extracted since the 1950's from the huge Monte Coto quarry1 that lies between Pinoso and Algueña, in the Sierra del Reclot. Beautiful Crema Marfil marble tiles can be seen used for the flooring at César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport2 in The Canary Islands. This beautiful marble can also be found in a multitude of other applications including the construction of cream marble dining tables and the cladding of luxury bathrooms.
With Crema Marfil there are some important considerations to make before making a purchase:
1) Ensure the product you are buying is Crema Marfil.
2) Understand the quality of the cut of Crema Marfil you are purchasing.
Like Carrara marble. Cream marble products which are not Crema Marfil are marketed as Crema Marfil. One such example is with the Avant marble of Turkey which is often advertised as Crema Marfil. To be Crema Marfil the marble must have come from a Crema Marfil quarry in the Sierra del Reclot region of Spain.
No matter what stone you are purchasing it is important to check the origin of the product to ensure you are not paying an unnecessary premium. But with Crema Marfil this is especially important.
All the products we sell containing natural stone at Prestige Edition are purchased from source and we can provide the documentation to prove the origin.
The grading of Crema Marfil is carried out on a quarry by quarry basis. This means the block of Crema Marfil marble is grated in relation to the quality of other blocks excavated from the quarry.
The blocks are graded based on their clarity. The higher grades of Crema Marfil will have a cleaner paler background with a consistent colouring and fewer veins.
Whereas the lower grades of Crema Marfil will have a less clean background with more shading and veining throughout. If you are looking to cover a large area with Crema Marfil tiles this may prove to be a problem as areas of tiling can look significantly different to each other. If you are going to use Crema Marfil for marble tiles it is advisable to get the best grade Crema Marfil which your budget permits.
Another problem with low grade Crema Marfil tiles is more veining means more weak points in the stone. This makes the marble more susceptible to breakages. Therefore, a higher quantity of stone will be needed for most projects when you are using a lower grade Crema Marfil.
On smaller projects or one off items such as furniture the grade of Crema Marfil does not matter as much. The only time it would matter is if you desire a clean finish to the marble rather than a more varied one.
As Crema Marfil is graded on a quarry by quarry basis it is important to keep in mind the worst grade of one quarry’s marble can be cleaner than the best grade of another quarry’s marble. It is always best to check with your supplier before making your purchase.
Grading Crema Marfil Marble
Select Grade: Crema Marfil in this grade has a pale background which is uniform throughout with very little veining. This is the best possible grade of Crema Marfil. It is the rarest grade of Crema Marfil and there is seldom enough of this marble available to use on large projects (shown below).
Standard Grade: Crema Marfil in this grade has a slight variation in background colour and light veining throughout (shown above).
Commercial Grade: Crema Marfil in this grade has a degree of background variation and some veining throughout.
Classico Grade: Crema Marfil in this grade has a background of contrasting shades with heavy veining. This quality of block is also likely to have fissures in the surface.
Crema Marfil is one of the most popular marbles in the world. It complements a multitude of different design schemes especially those consisting of other natural materials such as solid woods like oak and walnut.
The only thing to watch out for with this beautiful Spanish marble is to make sure you know what you are buying as the degree of veining and shading can vary dependent on which block the marble is from. If this is taken into account you will have nothing to worry about and have a beautiful marble which will hold its beauty for decades to come.
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