I had mine honed and sealed. I don't think the honing/polishing has much to do with protecting the stone, but maybe I'm wrong.

Honing makes etching show less than it would if the stone were polished. I think it also opens the pores of the stone, making it more prone to staining which is why honed stone must be sealed.

"Robbing it of its protective layer" sound like hooey. I have Madre Perla quartzite countertops and mine have a brushed finished. My fabricaator was actually excited that I didn't want polished. He said brushed brings out the beauty of the stone since the harder parts end up slightly higher than the softer parts- you can feel the grain, so to speak.
I haven't had mine all that long, a month maybe, but it is rock-solid. (had to use the pun- sorry) I have messy boys who make their own snacks. I have found melting bags of frozen raspberries, piles of pomegranate detritus, a mound of juiced key limes and meyer lemons, etc... not a mark.

Did you have your fabricator hone or brush the quartzite or did the stone supplier do it? If it is the former, did you have a hard time finding a fabricator who would brush or hone the slab for you? It seems the quartzite is very strong, so I don't know how easy it is to get it into a non-polished state.

Localeater, it is great to hear your Madre Perla is so resistant to little boys' abuse. I have three boys/men in my home, so I need to find something that will resist all the limes, lemons and other yummy but messy produce and wine we consume.

My fabricator also has an inventory of stone. However, they only had a small remnant of MP which I saw and loved, so they obtained slabs for me from Elemar North stone in Boston.

I purchased polished slabs and had them all honed. My fabricator did the honing and didn't seem to have any problems with it. The mitered edging however was heart-stopping for him because he was so worried about the waterfall square edges, any breaking or cracking and how many blades he was going through to cut the stone. He then site sealed the quartzite (White Princess). Never had any etching, staining or problems at all...loved the honed.

My Luce di Luna does not etch at all. Nearly 3 years of daily abuse. It is polished. I really like honed stone, but with real quartzite you don't need to worry about etching. But go for it if you just prefer the honed look, many here have honed stone.

Tl1969, I would read up on quartzite some more in the thread that Halfway posted. If it is really quartzite then there will be no etching. If it is not quartzite, then honed would be better, but it's important for you to learn what you are getting. The referenced thread has instructions for how to tell the difference. Do not leave it to the sales people or fabricators to tell you the difference.

Honing a stone does not rob the stone of a protective layer, aside from a sealer that may have been applied. As for natural beauty, that is in the eye of the beholder. I do know that it's a major pain for a fabricator to change the finish on a slab of stone, so they may be reluctant to go that route.

Good luck!

Thanks for posting, all. I have read the Super White thread and learned a tremendous amount. A huge thanks, Karin, for sharing your wisdom and sense of humor. I plan to visit the stone yard next Tuesday with my glass bottle. I will look at both polished or honed quartzite, whatever they have, and honed SW, if it is available.

Then I will probably report back totally unable to make a decision.

I had the same response from the first fabricator I spoke with. Thanks to firsthouse_mp I got the referral to her fabricator (same area) and he said he can hone it. I would shop around and make sure you find a reputable fabricator.

I had my Super White Quartzite honed and went to inspect it today. The veins and big patches of crystal are super shiny, while the rest looks like regular honed granite or marble. My fabricator says he has never honed Super White and didn't know what to expect. Has anyone else had this happen and do you think it looks okay that way? I can't decide whether it's really cool or looks like it was a mistake.