Did you tag the slab when you picked it? Are you sure it is actually the same slab you tagged? Quartz now should always be slab tagged at stone supply houses and checked again at fabricator just like granite. Some supply places don’t require it saying quartz is man made so no color variations and don’t need you to slab check/tag. My disaster quartz experience is on Houzz. A note from an earlier granite experience—I was updating bathrooms and was very specific on which slabs (we tagged two to make sure enough) I wanted. Day came to install and first pieces were payed out. I said that’s not my slab! Sure enough, it came out that my two slabs were delivered to fabricator with one other slab of same name but not same lot. The fabricator didn’t use either of my tagged slabs! I rejected the ones they were going to install. Ended up getting to pick anything else, but required a two hour drive each way and the stress to pick something in that one visit. So, my advise is with any stone purchases, slab tag exactly what you want and go to fabricator to confirm they have the right one still. One fabricator I used for kitchen allows for slabs to be checked at their facility before cutting with no charge if end up not using, and they sat with me and we decided exactly how the slabs would be cut so to maximize the look of the slabs and it’s markings. Came out beautifully. Good luck!

"The top 2 pics are of the slab we saw in the showroom (in different lights) and the bottom is the one my installer received."

I would contact the slab yard and get confirmation that they sent the slab that you had selected. Sounds like they may have made a mistake.

Thank you. The installer contacted the showroom and they’re trying to figure out what went wrong. Hope it all works out.

I didn’t realize I should’ve tagged the slab. Lesson learned! They told me all the quartz slabs would look exactly the same.

Honestly, they really should be the same, but unfortunately we have learned that this is not always the case. It's why I always tell everyone to insist on slab approval. I hope they get it straightened out for you!

Very few fabrication facilities will do slab selection for quartz. Slabs aren't the same...but very consistent. 99% of quartz tops installed are fine. I think sometimes certain colors have more variation. It would be good to have a list of those colors.

I don’t agree with The Kitchen Place. I have been able to pick slabs of quartz at at several fabricators, and slab warehouses like Daltile, Troy and Cosentino. Even if you buy at Home Depot one of the warehouses noted on the slabs that it was a Home Depot color. Just ask where you can see slabs. Several times the samples didn’t match slabs- saw blue grey tones in samples but slabs ended up brown tan....not pretty combo to have dove white ( a cool tone bright white) cabinets with tan countertops! If someone won’t let you see actual slab before cutting or would charge you a rejection fee, walk away. It’s become more common to find on quartz samples a note saying “slab check”. More often than not I found samples not matching slabs. Be careful and wise consumer. You pay a lot for your countertops.

I too live near slab yards that tag quartz. Perhaps this is a regional difference.

Went back to the showroom today and they said they would’ve never realized there were different designs in the slabs if I didn’t let them know. Strange. She showed us the slabs that had the gray feathery marks that we wanted. Although they weren’t exactly what we decided on a few months ago, they were definitely better than what they sent to the installer last weekend. She assured us that the exact slabs we picked today would be the ones delivered to the installer.
So our next step is to decide which parts of the slabs we want cut.

It must be a regional difference. The two fabricators I use don't offer quartz slab selection. They are both big outfits....not small shops at all. If I had to guess, I think it's the old adage, "time is money". Slab selection slows down the process....a LOT! And having someone there during a slab cutting/layout slows it down even more. The big question for everyone is...do you want the lowest price and roll the dice on your slab color/pattern? Or do you pay more to select your slab and maybe even manage the cut layout?

One of my fabricators offer a service for Slabsmith where they email you a photo of your countertop slab layout and exactly how it will look. But they charge a fee for that.

I'll ask my rep to see if things have changed or if there's a trend in our area to start offering quartz slab selection.

Hi @A Ack -

re: “My disaster quartz experience is on Houzz.”

I looked under your activity and couldn’t find a post. Can you direct me to the post (maybe a different user ID?) that discusses the referenced experience?

Thanks so much!

Mary

Who is A Ack?

Hi @The Kitchen Place - please see the screen shots below of what my thread looks like. Does yours not appear this way?

Wow. I know the original post was several years ago but I just had Cambria Anneka countertops installed and they look awful with similar issues today in 2021! I will post pics later but was just blown away they still have same issues. My counters took like a drunk clown made them.

Mary, That's how the post looks on my laptop too, but if I look on the app on my phone, the name doesn't show, it just says "null" or some variation. I thought it was some glitch on my app, but maybe that's the issue Kitchen Place is having. For me, this problem is not unique to this post.

Very strange...or not.

The Kitchen Place

"Who is A Ack?"

A poster. She was responding to that poster.

That's weird....I didn't see anyone with that name back then (on my phone). I'm at work now on my desktop and I see A Ack. Hmm.

Hi P C, our Senior Services Manager would like to reach out and review the countertops. Would you be able to provide a phone number via private message or give us a call at 866-226-2742 and request to speak with Chris Donaldson? Thank you.

I bought slabs of Brittanicca Gold from Cambria based on their marketing materials, written description and the large sample displayed in their showroom.

Cambria describes Brittanicca Gold as “Flowing, multi-hued streams of copper gold, fog, and translucent greige course through this grand design accompanied by wisps and ribbons of warm earth tones against a temperate white background”.

The first photo is an example of Brittanicca Gold in Cambria’s marketing materials.

I was surprised and disappointed when the product was delivered: a grey background, not “a temperate white background”, with dark, dank “streams” void of any “copper gold”.

A corner of the white tub is visible and shows how grey the quartz background is by contrast.

This is a totally different colorway from the advertised Brittanicca Gold. It is dark, dense, and nothing I would ever choose to put in my home and look at every day.

Quartz is a manufactured product and as such should have an exact color match just like textile dye houses or the guy at Home Depot matching your paint chip. Color matching technology has been around for decades. Other quartz manufacturers put their color match guarantee in writing.

I am asking Cambria to replace what they delivered with actual Brittanicca Gold as they represent the product.

Their position is that this is an “exact match”, that what I received is in fact Brittanicca Gold and is exactly like every other slab they are currently selling as Brittanicca Gold. I was told that with more light the grey background will become white and look like what they advertise. There are 4 bright LED lights in the room, one directly over the shower. More light will not turn grey into white.

Cambria so far has refused to replace the product.

Hi @lsweaver - I am so sorry that happened to you! You are correct; the actual product looks nothing like their advertised example. It looks like your fabricator did an awesome job, but the material is completely off.

Maybe you could reach out to Cambria via the direct number they posted above...and speak with the rep they named (see my screenshot below).

I certainly wouldn’t accept that material - and I would think that Cambria would be willing to replace it with something that matches what they advertised.

If they don’t have the advertised material (with the background color and shading that is as they described) then they should be willing to replace it with another pattern that is acceptable to you.

NO ONE would have chosen the material they sold you if they were basing their choice on the description they advertised.

I would think that their customer service standard would supersede any other issue at this stage.

Good luck - and please let us know how it turns out. I was considering Cambria for my kitchen, that would require 5 jumbo slabs, but have decided to stick with Cosentino after seeing your outcome.

It's beautiful....maybe go brighter on the lighting? White can be interpreted many ways. And you never go off of photos for color. How does it look next to their sample?

Hello Lynne, after review of the photos you have shared previously with our team along with the notes from our recent visit to your home we can confirm this is an accurate representation of Brittanicca Gold. The photo you included from our magazine was taken in a bright studio and therefor appears much lighter in tone than the photo of your space. Our continued recommendation would be to considering a brighter light in the shower area to achieve the look your prefer. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to give us a call at 866-226-2742 and request to speak with Senior Services Manager Chris Donaldson.

You bought a quartz based on a photo in a magazine????

Hello Chessie, I am working with an interior decorator and if you will read my post we went to a Cambria showroom and saw the product. I did not buy it from a magazine photo. The photo was included to indicate the way Cambria represents the product.

I am dying to know if the brighter lights will make as large of a difference as you’ll need to bring it to the shades that Cambria represented.

Are you going to try that?

Chris Donaldson, my photo has a very bright LED light over the shower, plus 3 more very bright LED lights and a wall sconce and a window on the shower wall. No matter how much light you shine on it, it is still grey and very different from what Cambria describes as Brittanicca Gold. Why is lighting not a problem on the white tub? The tub doesn't photograph as ugly grey like the Cambria quartz. Why? Because the Cambria quartz is in fact grey.

Did you know as soon as you saw the fabricated slabs being brought into your house that they looked “off”? Or was it not until they were installed in the shower?

I hope for your sake that it became much more apparent once they were installed...

Oh I’m sorry - my mistake. I saw that you said in your original post that there is already a bright LED light over the shower area. Is it set to 5000 lumens? Most of the can LEDs can be adjusted inside of the casing around the bulb...from 1000 to 5000.

I learned this from my contractor who defaulted mine to the factory 3000 setting.

When I told him that I needed brighter bulbs, he explained how they work, and had his guys go change all of the cans (all over the house) to 5000.

It made a HUGE difference.

I have my fingers crossed that you might be in the same situation.

...we cross-posted

Whether you bought based off a written description or a sample in a showroom, you made a bad decision. There is a reason quartz companies sell samples that you can view in your own home. If you had bought a sample you could hold it up against the installed product to see if there is really a difference. Arguing the written description is going to get you nowhere. Words are subjective.

MaryBocaTX, there were no spotlights in the Cambria showroom. In fact, it was rather dim lighting and the Brittanicca Gold on display did not look a putrid and dense grey as in the photo of my shower. If any more light were added to the bathroom, I would have to dispense sunglasses to those using it. Four bright LED lights, a wall sconce and a window is more than enough lighting.

Cambria does not take responsibility for bad production runs and obvious color problems.

S G, you assume a sample you take to your home guarantees that a company with poor quality control and unskilled at color matching will send you something that matches the sample. Bad assumption.

Quartz is a manufactured product and a color match should be expected without question. If the guy at Home Depot can do it based on a paint chip you handed him, a quartz company can do the same.

@lsweaver, I agree with you completely. However, you would have more ammunition to support your position if you have a sample (that represents a more true version of what it’s supposed to look like), that you could photograph next to your installed slabs for the obvious mismatched comparison.

Do you actually have a sample of the Britannica Gold...or can you get one?

IMO, the quartz in your shower doesn’t have any of the shade qualities of Cambria Britannica Gold - at all. At least it doesn’t appear to - based on your photo.

Your best bet at this point is to get your hands on an actual sample, and show the gross variation in color.

Cambria needs to acknowledge the problem with the production of your slabs, and the only way to get them to do that is to highlight the difference - with their own sample.

Mixing engineered stone is not remotely comparable to a guy at Home Depot matching a paint chip. That is ludicrous. Roof shingles don't match samples exactly either. Geesh people.

The time for final acceptance is when slabs are delivered to the fabricator. When a blade kisses a slab, it's game over, you bought it. Completely fair. Samples, schmamples.

Joseph Corlett, do you work for Cambria? From the tone or your statement, you would fit right in with the people at Cambria.

Joseph Cortlett, if you did a little research simply on the internet, you would find numerous examples of people who got a color that didn't match the Cambria representation and Cambria replaced it after installation -- yes, after the "blade kisses a slab". I expect the same treatment from Cambria. If they don't correct their production lot problems, then I will let everyone know so they can beware and buy from a more reputable manufacturer that has quality control and can formulate consistent colors.

Joseph Cortlett, expert on "mixing engineered stone", here's a statement from Della Terra Quartz marketing materials: "Colors are manufactured with very tight tolerances, therefore colors are consistent from slab to slab.". So why can a lower priced quartz manufacturer stand behind their color reproduction and expensive Cambria ships out shlocky stuff and expects quality control to begin at fabrication? I saw nothing in Cambria's product statements claiming their incompetence on color match so "buyer beware".

Not sure if this is the right answer. Just a guess! Cambria has the most beautiful colors and they hold tightly (and secretly) to the their procedures to get these highly prized patterns and colors. All other brands strive to copy them! Maybe possibly, their secret procedures result in less color consistency.

And Joe, in my area...no way to preview and tag Cambria. Won't happen.

I do have a sample of Cambria Brittanicca Gold.

Here's a photo of the official sample and then the sample abutted to my shower wall.

The sample is on the left, my shower wall is on the right.

They are totally different colors.

I expect Cambria to accept responsibility and replace the wrong color with a match to the sample they provided me which also matches what I personally viewed in their showroom.

Ok wow...that is not right!

Wow - that is ridiculous. Can you prop the sample on top of the long edge of the tub and take a pic?

That way it will be fully in front of the unattractive, muddy, Cambria slab, and also above what we know is your white tub.

The resulting pic might be extremely convincing.

Well with the pictures you have now posted, now your position is understandable. If you had posted those in your OP, then there would have been no question. When Cambria came to the house, they said that that sample matched the slab? I would be writing letters all over the place. They need to replace it.

"Joseph Corlett, do you work for Cambria? From the tone or your statement, you would fit right in with the people at Cambria."

isweaver:

Your response is the logical fallacy of relevance, ad hominem circumstantial specifically. My circumstances, whether or not I work for Cambria, are completely irrelevant to my points that variations in slab colors are normal and that final approval happens before fabrication.

If you can counter my argument, please do so, but your previous response is as nonsensical as saying "Joe, your house has a green roof so that's why you're wrong."

Irrelevant, but for the record, Cambria threw me out of their trade show booth several years ago and I've documented a dangerous Cambria installation here. So no, I'm unafraid of the Cheeseheads, but I'll not see them unfairly maligned either.

I just had the same thing happen to me with Della Terra Vittoria White quartz from AZ Tile. Manufactured by santamargarita. I am sick over the result. If I had known it could vary this much I would have tried to get a dyelot # from our bathroom counter install just a few months prior. (Or chosen something else!) I thought since we had our sample (and one full counter installed that matched said sample) that we knew what this would look like. I am really disappointed. Our bathroom counter is a true white with beautiful veining and depth variation if you look closely. The kitchen counter slabs have sparse veining and have an overall grey, almost rosy undertone. It looks like a mottled pattern with some veining instead of a veined counter with some mottling. And they are an entirely different shade. The kitchen counters wash out against our wall and backsplash and almost have a pink hue when viewed next to the white cabinets.

If it's a known quantity that there is this little consistency, they should be required to provide a sample from the dye lot you are purchasing. And insist that customers preview the slabs before finalizing the sale. I like everyone else was told that quartz was consistent and that was unnecessary. I pulled the trigger on this remodel because I wanted to love it. It's not reasonable to expect customers to be expert enough to head this off.

I think this variation is really crappy.

One of the reasons to buy an engineered stone is for consistency since it's manufactured in a factory, not dependent on Mother Earth to create something that is variable and completely unique.

If a manufacturer can't hold tolerances, then you have to treat this like a natural stone, go view the slabs, make them move the slabs to see the EXACT SLAB, get templating pics, go SEE the templating, etc.

And it's not that good with heat.

What's the redeeming feature again?

MaryBocaTX, at your suggestion here is the official Cambria Brittanicca Gold sample held in front of my shower wall slab and with the white tub showing at the bottom. I am holding the sample with my left hand and taking photos with my right. Not easy to do! The sample is heavy.

The lighting is exactly the same for the slab and the sample. It is not that my lighting is different from their showroom or that it just needs more light as Cambria has claimed. They are totally different colors.

I spoke with Chris Donaldson (see above for instructions to call him) at Cambria. Mr. Donaldson rattled off a long list of Cambria managers with their names and titles and said they were all in "resounding" agreement that my shower slab is an exact match to the sample of Brittanicca Gold.

Cambria will not make any adjustment. This is just how they do business and when asked Mr. Donaldson said he was proud of Cambria's service. If you want to be treated with indifference and disdain, give Cambria's management a call. You won't be disappointed.

Here's what Cambria calls an exact color match:

Wow. That is RIDICULOUS! Not only is the background not a match, but the large veins don’t appear to have any of the gold hued sections that are so prevalent in Cambria’s description, and in the sample.

And all the Cambria marketing info pictures show the bronze/gold/greige veins on a WHITE field.

As I said earlier, your installation and Cambria’s subsequent refusal to admit the obvious (and make it right) completely changed my mind about using Cambria in my large kitchen renovation.

I am so sorry that you have had this horrible experience with what I, and many others, had thought was a reputable company.

My advice to anyone else considering Cambria is to run fast in the opposite direction, lest they are stuck paying large amounts of money for a product that they are unable to view (and approve) prior to installation...and ending up with something they did not purchase.

I’m sticking with Cosentino. They are true pros in this arena, who have upscale product lines and care about their customer’s satisfaction - after the check clears.

If only i had listened to my gut when i wanted to pick the Silestone Quartz slab and was told they dont do that with quartz. Sample had so much richer, warmer tones than what just got installed. I am stuck with it and dont know how to make it work with my new cabinetry.

I want to second that Silestone is no better. I was told that slab selection/viewing was not possible. i got 4 samples from different buisnesses around town. all looked great with my cabinets. neutral slightly warm quartz. The installed Quartz looks blue. its a disaster and my silestone rep wont even come look. I feel like this picture does not do it justice. The veins are also far from what the sample shows.