Do not do business with a slab yard or fabricator who does not allow testing. You will be very sorry if you do.

" I am not able to get a test of the exact slabs unless I buy the slabs. "

Find another slab yard.

Joseph and Millwork man, none of the slab yards in my city will cut a piece of the slab. I was given samples but not of the actual slabs.

You don't need to cut anything to test. Test the slab itself.

No stone yard will cut off pieces of a slab to give you. It's not like a bolt of fabric where you can cut off a sample to take home. That would render the slab unsellable. You either get a small remnant sample and trust that they are giving you a piece of the same material or test the slab yourself in the stone yard. A few drops of any acid will tell you if it's marble. If it etches from a small amount of any acid then it's marble. If you can mar it with a knife, it's marble. If not it's probably quartzite.

However, if you cannot do that and are worried about the properties of marble, then perhaps consider another material. A white granite or quartz would be less likely to etch and chip.

Go back to the slabs with a half lemon in your purse.....: ) Find a corner of the slab , rub it on, mosey around....did it etch?

Would suggest using marble only in a limited space. I like it for rolling out dough but as far as having it on all countertops it just doesn't wear well.

Thanks Jan and Diana. I will go back the stone yard and do a discrete test. As I really do like the Mont Blanc the best.

Good plan--let us know how it turns out!

I went and I felt kinda silly rubbing lemon all incognito, nothing etched but it was hard to see in the lights. I decided that I’m ok with etching. I have carrera marble in my bathrooms and I have been careless and it doesn’t bother me. I still think my marble looks so beautiful despite its patina. I will probably have my marble refinished in a couple of years and will take care of them better. I was more worried about stains but I will just seal and we clean up as we clean. So we have decided to go for natural stone that has been labelled quartzite, there is something so beautiful about them. I will accept them even if they turn out to be marble.

I want to add. We did get samples, not of the exact slabs but of prior slabs. They did not etch or stain. So I’m just going to hope it works out.

Good luck @Patricia Uzelac, I'm sure it will work out just fine and you'll love it!

Where did you toss that half lemon? : ) Out the car window? There's a puckering deer somewhere in the woods?

I had Mont Blanc installed in my kitchen 5 years ago, would highly recommend, very low maintenance, very hard. Only thing I would warn, if it has a large swatch of color going through it, it could be a weak area as my slab was. I asked specifically for it to go across my island. The retailer reinforced and repaired it - with a discount. I love it, it was a good choice, no regrets.

Photo was taken right after we moved in, so kitchen still a work in progress.

I don't see why they wouldn't let you test the back side of the slabs before purchasing. The Stone ID Kit would be great to do this with. Even if you do get a slab that etches, MB Stone has products that can remove etching from polished and honed surfaces. So no worries. Get what you love!

Hi Patricia, I was wondering if you ended up going for the Mont Blanc and how your stone is holding up as I am considering the same for my reno. Thanks!