Great news - I am considering a Pental quartz as well, and had similar results. Is that the statuario?

Good eye! It is statuario. What are you considering?

Statutario is one of my 3 finalists - and most likely my top choice. Just trying to figure out if it will end up too boring to have all statuario on white cabinets, and most likely a white backsplash. My other option is a Vadara quartz - but a little iffy on the actual product since it isn't made with Breton manufacturing process. The final choice would be to do a white quartz (statuario maybe - or else something else similar) on the island and a dark grey/black (like a Cesarstone Raven) on the perimeters. My kitchen is getting demoed next week - and I still haven't decided!!!! What are you thinking of using????

I think I'll use the statuario. It didn't excite me until I saw it against the dark stained oak floors. I hadn't really appreciated what a key piece the floor is in it's interplay with counter but it's far more significant than cabinetry (when you look down, you see counter and floor). I also like the brown and grey marbling in the statuario -- very versatile. My hesitation is that I only saw a full slab once months ago...and at the time I was leaning toward calacatta. Have you seen the slab and how did it look? The nearest showroom for me is 4 hours away. I have no idea what Breton manufacturing process is...sounds like another 4 a.m. research project!

Breton manufacturing is the original and licensed manufacturing of the quartz products. From my understanding, the non-breton companies were basically reverse engineered by chinese companies - and although they visually look the same they don't always have the same stain resistance and durability.

I saw a slab months ago, and didn't pay much attention because I really wanted to go with a quartzite. But - after searching high and low - just didn't find any quartzites that I really liked - and felt like I was convincing myself to get one. I reserved 3 different options over the last month - and backed out of all of them. The statuario reminded me a lot of the same pattern of the ceasarstone Calcutta Nuvo - but i like the coloring better and plus it is less expensive. I also am understanding that the statuario comes in a jumbo slab size - which is a plus for my project.

Any thoughts on what sort of backsplash you would look to do with the Statuario?

I'm remodeling a 1960 split so am trying to keep things within the vocabulary of the house. So...simple and understated. My plan has always been to do a stacked 4" x 12" white subway tile. But that could change :)

I took a picture of the Pental Statuario slab when I was looking.

And here's a pic of the Caesarstone Calacatta Nuvo slab. The lighting was bad since it was raining that day.

Hope this helps!

bnom, not trying to talk you out of quartz AT ALL, but we had Colonial White put in last March. It was sealed by the fabricators before they installed it and they told me to test/watch for water not beading up to know when to seal it again.

The counter has been bombproof. Everything wipes up. Just an fyi.

ETA: At least on my screen, the granite sample also looks like it's been around the block a few times, maybe dragged behind trucks?

barncatz thank you for that input. It's good to know. Do you know what sort of sealer they recommend? And yeh yeh, thanks so much for posting photos of the quartz slabs. I have to say that the slab, whether the issue is the photo or pc, looks kind of fakey (and I don't really get that from the small samples). But I keep reminding myself that laying flat with sink and cooktop etc will break up that expanse. My kitchen is small enough that I think I can do all countertops with one giant slab. I'm going to get bids on both the quartz and granite. I know the quartz will be more but if its thousands more it may not be worth it. Will report back.

I think the GW counter gurus mention Tenax ProSeal and Dupont 511. My fabricator used something else and gave me a small bottle which is....somewhere. FYI, my slab.

Final Countertop and Backsplash · More Info

Thank you for sharing. We have been leaning towards quartz for our new home, but hadn't made a final decision yet. We know that granite can be quite good if sealed and resealed on a fairly regular basis; but with our busy schedules, I know resealing will likely get over looked over time.

Any particular reason why you chose Pental Quartz? We have been looking at Cambria Quartz (mostly because of their available jumbo 11'x5' slab, but haven't really looked into too many others.

Thanks and happy remodeling!

I agree with the it looks fakey comment ! Really does. Definitely not my cup of tea . I love my quartzite . I have had zero problems with it staining . I splattered pasta sauce on it next to the stove so it basically got cooked on from the heat . I was freaking out but grabbed my spray bottle of alcohol and water and soaked it down waited a few seconds and wiped it right off not a trace of it left. Had a bottle of red wine leak out of the cork in a wine holder on the counter . It was there a day before I saw it . Same procedure same results . No etch either.

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barncatz thank you for that input. It's good to know. Do you know what sort of sealer they recommend? And yeh yeh, thanks so much for posting photos of the quartz slabs. I have to say that the slab, whether the issue is the photo or pc, looks kind of fakey (and I don't really get that from the small samples). But I keep reminding myself that laying flat with sink and cooktop etc will break up that expanse. My kitchen is small enough that I think I can do all countertops with one giant slab. I'm going to get bids on both the quartz and granite. I know the quartz will be more but if its thousands more it may not be worth it. Will report back.

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lttlfzrchck I do prefer the Pental products. I also like Silestone. I haven't really found a Cambria quartz I liked very much. I haven't quite put my finger on it but I would describe the Statuario as clearly a quartz product evoking marble...rather than a too-shiny and too fake marble copy.

Be sure to talk with the fabricator about where seems will go and what they will look like. The large pattern quartz and stones can be harder to make the seam disappear - just make sure you know what the plan is. Some have been surprised and disappointed because they did not discuss it with the fabricator.