The sink is leaking because someone put it in incorrectly.
All countertops will scratch.
I've put a few silestone counters in kitchens I've put in. Taken care of, they are excellent products.
Ron

A few years ago when we were re-doing the kitchen we made a trip to Expo to check things out and DH performed a little test on the Silestone. (Disclaimer: admittedly not a kosher thing to do, and I don't necessarily condone it. On the other hand, ours wasn't the only mark on the stuff.) To see how much it would scratch he rubbed his key on it. You had to put a little effort into it, more, I'd say than what it takes to scratch the corian in our master bath. It is, though, from what I hear, virtually indestructible under normal daily kitchen wear and tear.

We didn't end up using Silestone 'cause in the end I didn't like the look of it. We have Trespa (phenolic resin) on the main countertops, and granite on the baking island....I couldn't be happier. But I am planning on putting Cambria in my kids bath for the indestructibility.

Hope this helps.

We have Zodiaq quartzite counters.

If normal "wear and tear" includes an occasional glass or cup dropping from a cupboard onto the counter, Zodiaq fails. There are several chips on the counters from exactly that.

I deal with a flooring guy who whenever someone asks if any material is indestructible, pulls an old steak knife from his desk and illustrates the meaning of "no."

I've had silestone (Kalahari) in my kitchen for almost 8 years. It looks as good as the day they installed it. There is very, very minor pitting in a couple areas, but all stone will pit to some extent. I'm the only one who notices them, and you have to run your hand over it to feel it -- you really can't see it. And I don't have one, NOT EVEN ONE, scratch. Nor a stain, either.

what color is the Kalahari??

using the same human skill that brought you this far, web searching, type "silestone kalahari" into any search engine.

Later, when you find out more and you have something to add to the discussion, post it here.

HTH
-david

Here's a pic of my Kalahari. This was taken during construction.

Compared to most of the kitchens on these forums, mine is pretty bland. And it is 8 yrs old.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Thanks Joyce! It is so much easier seeing it as a whole instead of a 3 by 3 piece.
David... yes.. I realize I can search it with google but I am asking for advice so I can see a completed kitchen with it. A big piece shows the whole look of it rather than a small sample. Appreciate your help though!

We just had Silestone coffee brown installed. The surface is covered with small pits where the crystals (glass, quartz?) have fractured and flecked out. It turns out that the same color, "Coffee Brown" is offered in 3 different "lines" of Silestone. One of these lines is promoted as "green" and has a high percentage of recycled glass in it. I am still trying to find out what we have installed, since we were never told about the different lines all going by the same name. The Silestone customer service rep told me that some lines are a minimum of 30% recycled glass, but they are still 93% quartz. Go figure! Buyer beware with Silestone.

Dasisgut,
There is no such thing as three lines of Coffee Brown. I'm not sure who you spoke with, but they were wrong. Coffee Brown and the color Absolute Green are two of the colors in the line that have at least 30% post consumer recycled glass as part of their composite. The colors in the "Stellar Series" have at least 30% post consumer recycled mirror in them. All of the other 50 or so colors are 93% quartz. Regarding the glass in the Coffee Brown and Absolute green, remember that glass is made of sand which is basically fine silica, which is in itself, quartz.
If you have crystals that have come loose, that is covered under warranty and can be repaired or the top replaced.
There is no way to make different lines of quartz surfacing. The composite mix is very much defined. There are different textures available with some colors, but not different matrix.

I have sold several silestone countertops from my store and from what I have encountered silestone holds up as well as any other quartz based countertop products and granite. It is difficult to get them to scratch and are they subject to some chipping if something hard is hit against it. I believe the chipping is repairable like it is with granite.
Most of our countertop installations are granite but that is purely based on cost and appearance. Since quartz based products do not have the natural variation that granite slabs have, our clients only seem to choose quartz when they do not like the granite variations. They want the more consistent look that quartz products provide.

You may also want to look into Ceasarstone, another quartz based countertop product.

Hard question. Had ours put in about 7 years ago and held up well, but this morning I discovered a 16 inch hairline crack that wasn't there last night before I went to bed. Calling for repairs of silestone is not easy -- No one will repair it. The Silestone mfg said to call a "fabricator" but she couldn't find one in my vicinity to give me a phone number. I went to the internet and got three companies that supposedly repair silestone, but the only company to call me said they had no experience with repairing silestone. He called back after researching on line about silestone cracks and advised it would be cheaper for me to DIY. Frankly, I've taken good care of the silestone, but if it is now starting to crack after about 7 years, I wouldn't recommend it. The laminate counters I had for 30 years were great and looked the same when they were taken out. Next time I have countertops replaced, think I'll go for butcherblock. These stone countertops may be pretty, but other issues to consider if you actually cook in your kitchen!