Elba1, I just answered your question about flecks in my Basaltina on another post, then saw this post...I don't know Blue Pearl Royale from Jet Mist (or much of anything about granite, because we skipped right over all the granites and went to Basaltina!), but I do know that making the counter selection(s) can be overwhelming! You should try to see Basaltina in person; not sure where you are, but it's more popular on the coasts (I'm near Seattle and there a couple places to see it (Henrybuilt and Pental showrooms), and in my research I saw it in photos from LA and NYC and here and that was it.

It seems that Basaltina is more commonly used in contemporary kitchens, but personally I think it has a warm look and could work just as well in more traditional settings. But I don't know what "leathering" is, or how you would do that to Basaltina if that's what you want (Basaltina comes honed, and that's it as far as I know). Some Basaltina slabs have movement that you're looking for, and the gray of Basaltina isn't ruled out on your list of colors! So try to see it if you can. Good luck!

Thank you so much for responding to this post! Took me a long time to try to summarize it (and it was still long!). Last time I looked it was on the 3rd page - thought it would just dissappear. I'm on the east coast, and will visit my fabricator tomorrow to find out where I can see Basaltina - that is great to hear some slabs have movement, and that the stone has shiny flecks - it might be just what I'm looking for! I love the idea of something from Italy as well. My parents brought me to Rome last fall - my first trip to Europe, and I've been on an Italy kick! Thank you!

Well I have a dark granite that has lots of shiny flecks (mica) but it is polished and I don't know what it would look like honed or leathered, or if that can even be done with this granite. Its Emerald Pearl. Hard to get a good realistic picture of it.

HI mountaineergirl, some years ago, a good friend of mine redid her kitchen and used emerald pearl - that's what turned me on to the shiny flecks to start with - I thought it was beautiful! Her kitchen was very contemporary. (It's funny with your camera flash, the top photo looks a lot like a version of blue pearl!) I see you have white cabinetry below it. I'm thinking maybe these pearl stones wouldn't look very good (or as you said maybe can't be) honed or leathered, as I haven't seen or heard of anyone doing that. Your picture looks very nice. If I can't track down (and/or afford) a Basaltina I like , I might have to start thinking about some sort of compromise, as my self-imposed criteria of a darker neutral stone, with shiny flecks, that looks softer (honed or leathered), and is in the price point of a mid-range granite. Thank you!

Elbal - Emerald Pearl is kind of a greenish blue. Not a warm green like in verde peacock, verde butterfly or some uba tuba I've seen. But is not pure blue like blue pearl either. Its a "cool" green leaning toward blue if that makes sense. There are actually some flecks of silvery blue in it.

Someone made the comment on another thread that uniform granite is so boring. I disagree. There may not be large swirls/waves - it is definitely uniform but in no way boring. It looks different which ever way you turn your head :)

Elba, "movement" in Basaltina is certainly not like what you see in some granites...much more restrained/more linear, and maybe if I were a geologist (or at least knew more about granite/stone), I could describe it better. Striation perhaps? You can see some of it in the last of my photos in the other basalt post. I do hope you get to see it in person!

mountaineergirl & isletoisle, thank you both. I'll look at Emerald Pearl more closely, and will still try to find Basaltina - I didn't notice the striation in your pic - I'll look again!

Elba,

I love the sparkles in granite like Blue Pearl or Blk Galaxy.

I avoided your post. Forgive me. Let me explain why. After
re-reading your questions I thought it might be okay if I
told you my opinion. Leathering does take away the flecs.
Or flattes them out look like a matte surface. A sparkle
granite is not going to have the same effect once leathered.
The beautiful flec filled sparkly surface is ruined.
Sorry this is just my opinion. If you do not like the
honed surface of Jet Mist you may not like the leather look
of any of the micas. Of course if you love the sparkles to
be leathered down I support all friends on GW even if I
don't always agree. Get what you love and enjoy it.
Just be sure you know that honed or leathered will take
away sparkle.

Meanwhile at least check out these pretty sparkle surfaces
to think about the possibilities for your perimeter.
~boxer

Emerald Pearl

Emerald Pearl

Emerald Green Pearl (Not sure the difference)

Blue Pearl granite by Dimensional Stone

Blue Pearl Dimensional Stone

Blue Pearl by Service Magic

Royal Blue Pearl

Black granite (I believe this is blk pearl)

Brazilian Black by Heritage Stone Co.

Black Galaxy

Black Pearl

Here is a link that might be useful: Leathered granite pics GW

I have antiqued Blue in the Night granite. It reads black-dark gray, but has beautiful blue flecks depending on the angle and how the light is hitting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Remodel pictures

Boxer, I think the one that you thought might be Black Pearl is actually Volga Blue because it looks just like my Volga but from an angle that doesn't show the bursts of blue. I had Blue Pearl for 15 years and loved every second of it (still tickled to have a slab of it on our fireplace front in the family room and we used the 'usable' pieces that survived reno in the garage) but just wanted to change it up a bit when we blew out our kitchen last summer. One of these days I'll post pics, but we LOVE our Volga Blue. It may not work for you, Elba, if you don't want vivid blue. There is not nearly as much "blue" in Volga Blue as there is in Blue Pearl (Volga is primarily black and gray with bursts of what I call "peacock blue").

I'm with Boxer, I definitely think you would lose almost all of the "shiny flecks" in honed, leathered and to some degree even satin finish granites. You might want to research/look at the satin and leathered finishes online; some are at this link:
http://www.arizonatile.com/gallery/gallery_by_material.aspx?cat=6

The Marron Cohiba shows less "specks"; it is usually pretty shiny in spots but not the satin finish. I've seen that exact countertop (it's in an Arizona Tile showroom I've been to) and it is beautiful, but I personally still prefer the regular shiny finish to show off the mica.

The Cosmos Satin is really stunning, but "spendy" and hard to work with for the fabricator (they often charge more per square foot for that one).

I hope you find a granite that you adore; it's the BEST feeling!!

Thank you so much nhbaskets & boxer & 3mutts (by the way my screen name is the name of the only dog I ever had - a beautiful guiding eyes breeding dog we had for 3 months, but they took her back because of ear infections & trying to breed that out of the dog, so she became a service dog). Anyway, 3mutts, had just seen your post about your Volga Blue and was going to ask you about it, and your switch from blue pearl! I will definitely have to see that one in person, as it appears to look the least contemporary. The thing is, for a long time I thought I'd get blue pearl, then I decided I thought it was too contemporary, but any stone I look at, I always look for shiny flecks and am dissapointed if I don't see any. It's ok if I have to look for them in the stone a little, I just want them to be there (e.g. I've seen leathered river white, and the amazon black I mentioned above that is @elemarusa.com that has flecks here and there, and I will have to check out the antiqued blue in the night). So maybe what you are saying boxer, which is what I was thinking, is if the nature of the overall stone is reflective like blue pearl or emerald pearl, leathering it defeats the purpose. Thanks again!

3mutts, I think you are right. Sorry about that.
It was listed as VB probably from some google image. I will
correct that on my Photobucket otherwise I will make the
same mistake.

Elba1
(love that name, I keep thinking of Elfaba another cool
name)
If you notice below an image of leathered you can see what
I mean by the look. No sparkles :*(
Whatever granite you do get, you will LOVE it.
I truly love my honed surface and my sister loves her
polished pristine shiny granite.
~boxer

Leathered Granite (notice how matte it looks)

This is Jet Mist from JeanTeach of GW.
She is showing the honed granite enhanced. I believe
she did not like the flatt matt look and discovered
enhancing the stone made it perfect for her.

Honed Virginia Jet Mist

Thank you boxer; I read your post that you will be away and might not see this. I tried to define what I'm looking for in one phrase: "darker swirly granite that looks like soapstone, more traditional than contemporary, with some mica flecks, that is or can be leathered." Thinking if I can't find this and something has to go, it will be the mica flecks, and I'll just get a trivet :o)! I will look at other slabs of jet/virgina mist, as it does fit all the criteria except the shiny flecks. I wanted to go looking tomorrow, but we're supposed to get so much rain, I think I would need a boat! Thanks to all, and I'll keep looking - if anyone sees anything resembling the above, please let me know!

Hi 3mutts, re. Cosmos Satin that you said is really stunning, but then added spendy and hard for the fabricator to work with, I didn't seriously consider it because of that. Well today I saw cosmic black in person (it must be the same or similar stone) and it is so cool! I have to find out how much it costs, and I can see that the translucent quartz areas might make edge fabrication difficult, but I just wanted to tell you that based on my request, that was the perfect stone to recommend - a darker neutral stone with movement and shiny flecks, and it can be honed! (DH said he thinks polished stones are better, so we might end up with that.)
When you wrote that you hope I find a granite I adore, it's the best feeling, I wondered if that would happen for me (kind of like finding a mate - ha, ha!) Well, I've been smiling at my sample all afternoon, so at least I've found something - thanks again!

Elba1- That sounds exactly what we have been looking for. Can you say how much it is per sqft? It's frustrating to find granite and no prices on the slabs makes it even harder.

Have you gotten it and was it what you hoped?

Hi Elba - I never saw your last post on this from 03/10/11. I'm not on here often and not sure if there's a way to set an email alert if someone posts back.

Anyway, the Cosmos is stunning! I would have considered it when we were getting granite but I had to have something that would look fine with Blue Pearl right across the great room (the whole front of the fireplace) so we chose Volga Blue. Here (in AZ), most fabricators charge $5 more per square foot to fabricate Cosmos because it has so much mica that I guess it is hard to get the edges just right. But, they told me, when they are done right, you don't have to worry about chipping or anything.

Can't wait to see pictures of your new granite. Hope your heart still sings!

laurensmom & 3mutts - our fabricator said the particular one I found was a very exclusive stone and would have been well over $100/sq ft, so I did not pursue it. Also, I like contrast, and after having a sample of a white cab door for a day, decided white wouldn't work for me, so everything flipflopped. Now getting dark cherry stained cabs with a light countertop for the perimeter (whitish bluish mother of pearl quartzite, with small greenish quartz pieces in it) vs. white cabs with a dark countertop. (The buffet piece will be soapstone, that does have very small irridescent flecks in it, but I don't think they are as noticible when the stone is oiled.)