I can't comment on performance, but it is beautiful!

We don't have lemon at home right now, but testing orange, ketchup, Frank's red hot, blueberry, olive oil, coffee and water...30 minutes is almost up, should I let it sit longer?

lol. no, that should be good. wipe it off and lets take a look

you should have sealed half of it to see if it makes a diff

Ok... too eager for results and couldn't wait much longer than 30 minutes. None of them etched or stained!! (whew) I'll buy a lemon and glass tile tomorrow to complete those tests as well!

if it didn't etch w/orange or ketchup, or vinegar! you should be good.

if you have a piece of glass (or a glass tile, glass window piece, etc) laying around, try scratching it w/the edge of that piece you have. although, based on the stain test, it should cut right through the glass!

@beth - Our exterior cabinets are BM Cloud White and we were planning on SW Tricorn Black on the island. Do you think that would look okay with this? The white we can't change, but could alter the island color if needed.

mine is similar to yours. I did Wrought Iron on the island w/my marble. It's not as harsh as the black. all depends what else is going on in your kitchen

and you can't see it, but I have a lot of walnut accents. the vent hood, the shelving in the island, my coffee bar, and around my window (which isn't quite done yet, like my splash!)

inspiration

this is what my open portion on the island looks like. (hard to tell in my pic) but it's lined in this walnut veneer

this is basically what your Black island would look like w/your slab. more or less

Thank you Beth, your kitchen is beautiful!! That inspiration photo was one of my earliest inspirational photos! We have already painted our front door and stair railing Tricorn Black which is why I was thinking of taking it into the kitchen too. I am a fan of black overall.

@jcmp1 It only was available polished in the warehouse we will purchase it from, but many other stones were leathered or satin in addition to polished, so I don't know why it couldn't be too. We originally wanted leathered, but multiple workers (that helped move slabs for us to view) said polished is much more child friendly, when I asked them a slew of questions. Due to that and the fact we loved the stone, we decided polished would work fine as well.

Great job on the tests! My only concern on that one would be staining, so be extra sure to test that.

You could try this porosity test since you have a sample at home.

https://usenaturalstone.org/how-to-be-your-own-stone-sleuth/

Beth H, yessss! Excellent advice; nice work!

We just installed a month ago exactly the same slab, it even looks exactly like yours on picture. The installer told us that it does not need the sealer, but it does! If you look closer at the slab, it has also some vertical black strikes - now I have water stains along some of these strikes. Also, the edges around sink got darker water stains. I tried to dry them - no success...Ordered sealers on-line and trying to figure out how to get rid of these visible water stains now that look like much darker spots...Another problem - the stone can crack easily along these vertical strikes if its cut and connected at the sink...mine has a few cracks at the sink after installation; the installer told me that it may happen, when we are not using one piece at the sink, but it looks not good now:-( The slab is so beautiful but we are upset with these issues...

karin mt,,,,yes! it was you who schooled me! was hoping you'd show up!

@annadavidoff - would you mind sharing pictures of your kitchen and issues and share with me so I can share with my fabricator? I do plan to use one piece at the sink and seal mine.

@karin mt - Thank you for all the information you have shared, we have tested for a variety of stains and also did the glass scratch test (we used a beer bottle since we didn't have a glass tile on hand) - it passed both of your tests thankfully!!

@annadavidoff - I tested the water absorption again today and took some photos, I don't know if this is helpful at all. Last time I tested the water was completely dry in the morning after testing it late evening the night prior. I didn't see any water staining.

It will almost certainly dry off overnight, so that doesn't tell you much. But your middle photo shows some cause for concern. Did water wick up into the stone, above the level of the water that it was sitting in?

@karen_mt. To be honest, I was certain, so I tested again tonight! I soaked the stone for about 3 hours and the water hasn't wicked up... so think we are okay?

That's a very good sign! Nice work.

widdy23 did you have it installed? I would love to know how it is working for you and pictures of it in the finished space

@bethm38 here are some progress pictures. To do the waterfall we had to get two slabs so we used it also in our beverage bar and laundry room in addition to the kitchen. We love it!! We've been using it for about a month and it has held up great. It's pomegranate season and this week I ended up missing.a puddle of fresh juice for a number of hours... didn't stain at all! Ours is polished but not sealed. Our fabricator told us not to and we were a little nervous not to, but everything has been okay. Wine, coffee, oil, citrus, etc - all okay!

Looks gorgeous! Can’t wait to see it when you’re finished.

It looks amazing! Great choices.

Very nice looking kitchen - I am envious of all those beautiful windows!!

How are you liking the Maldives quartzite? Do you have pictures of your finished kitchen. It is already looking fantastic. We just fell in love with some maldives slabs and this thread is super helpful. What was the cost for one slab or ball park?

Ok - This is random too. Do you still have your sample? We have slabs on hold and we love it but even if we go with it, I can’t seem to find any sample which would be super helpful for planning everything.

@D.D. I think we threw the sample away, but I can dig around. Here is a picture of one of the slabs I took at Pental. Depending on how you cut it, some parts are lighter vs darker. We had a really hard time finding a light grey tile that looked good due to the variance (chose AFTER the countertops were in place). Point being, the sample can be misleading due to the overall variation. I brought my cabinet samples with me when I was chosing stone which helped a bit. Re cost - ugh, I don't exactly remember. I purchased two slabs and I'm thinking is was somewhere around 8K? I looked back at my contractors original bid and the stone + fabrication/install was roughly an 11K allowance. I think we ended up around 15 in total because the cost to fabricate the stone was also a bit higher than quartz which was bid. (All pre-tax numbers - but we used the stone in our kitchen, beverage bar and small bit in laundry too). In the end we are still very happy with our choice, it has been very family friendly and we love the natural beauty!

Here is a quick kitchen pic I had already on my phone if this helps.

If you are concerned with color, here are examples of the stone with SW Tricorn Black and SW Delft cabinetry. The black was also used on our island and BM Cloud White is in kitchen.

Thanks so much. This is incredibly helpful. We were at Pental too :). Let me know if you find the sample. It is fun to see your finished pictures. I was fully realizing that already too with the color combos with it. I feel like this slab kind of sets the whole tone for the house.

Did by chance have that sample?

Unfortunately no, sorry!

No problem! You still liking the maldives? We just put a deposit down on slabs

Hello, Widdy, how much per slab for Maldives? you bought two slabs.

We just had our template done for our Maldives quartzite, polished. Wondering what subway tile to get. Our cabinets are hickory with a darker stain. Thinking a white tile with a shade of grey? Any help please.

How has your maldives held up?

@widdy23 how are you liking uour Maldives? im considering it for my kitchen with white cabinets.

@HU-357565783 czn ypu shsre pictures of your maldives?