A quick guide to stone names and colours
When looking for natural stone tiles you may come across a whole host of names. Many companies have a generic set of names to identify different types of stone, but some don’t. This has lead to great confusion in the industry and of course to yo, the buyer. Many of the original names were in Italian and would always consist of two parts. The first describing the color and the second part describing where the stone was quarried from. Here’s a quick guide to help you:
Italian Name Colour in English
Azzuro Blue
Breccia Broken Pieces
Dorato/D’oro Gold
Fiore Flower
Giallo Yellow
Negro/Nero Black
Perla/Perlato Pearl
Rosa Pink
Rooso Red
Verde Green
Bianco White
Colour Variations
Stone is formed from many types of natural minerals. Marble is mainly made up from calcium. Calcium Carbonate naturally bonds the stone. The colours are formed as a result of certain additive minerals being blended into the calcium during formation. Below is a list of popular colours and the mineral that creates it.
Stone Colour Mineral
Black Biotite, Hornblend, Carbon
Brown Limonite
Gray Mix of minerals
Green Mica, Chloride, Silicate
Red Hemalite
White Feldspar, Calcite, Dolomite
Yellow Limonite
Mineral Mineral Colour
Augite Brown, green, black, purple
Biotite Black, brown, green
Calcite Pearlenscent and pale colours
Dolomite Colourless, pink, pale brown
Feldspar Yellow, white, pink, green, grey
Hermaite Metallic Grey or black
Hornblend Green, yellow, brown, black
Limonite Black, brown or yellow
Sulphur Pale gold
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