| The characteristics of marble vary widely - hardness, color and veining may vary significantly even in the same quarry. Seldom are any two pieces exactly alike and this is the one of the attributes that makes marble so desirable. |
| Marble quarried in one area is not necessarily superior to a similar type of marble found at another location. Certain types of marble are found only in one region of the world and are very often exported in large blocks to our suppliers for finishing operations. When marble is purchased we can no longer assume the marble was quarried in the same country that processed the finished product. |
| The natural stone industry is rapidly growing and countries with massive marble deposits have recently entered into the world marketplace. This benefits us all by increasing the quantity and types of marble available. Growth has also significantly reduced the price and created improvements in the manufacturing processes. |
| Our imported products are manufactured to our specifications by several different factories in China - some of these own their own quarries and have invested in the state of the art equipment necessary to remove the blocks from the ground and turn it into the finished products we distribute. They have invested heavily in the pursuit of manufacturing the finest marble products available in the world today and have contributed new and more efficient techniques to the industry effectively lowering the price and raising the quality of the finished product. |
| We are proud to represent these companies and to have the opportunity to distribute their products! |
| The construction of all our mosaic products begin with precisely cut tesserae in uniform size and height. |
| The marble that is used for polished products is carefully inspected to be sure the edges are cleanly cut with a minimal amount of chipping. Marble tesserae that do not meet this criteria are tumbled for use in our tumbled products. This does not mean that this marble is inferior in any way as most of our tumbled marble is processed from polished sheets. |
| Our flooring products are constructed by placing the loose tesserae in forms that assure consistent positioning. Inconsistent spacing between the tesserae not only looks bad but will not allow the grout to penetrate properly and the tesserae may loosen over time. |
| Our medallions and borders are also constructed by using forms around the outer perimeter to assure a finished product with minimal variation in the finished size. All medallions and borders are hand assembled - to assist the assemblers many of the triangles and keystone shapes used in the product are pre-cut to size and tumbled if required. This assures a precise fit and greatly improves the product quality and efficiency of the mosaic assembly. |
| The loose tesserae are attached securely with a water resistant resin to a thin, but very strong, fiberglass mesh backing which allows easy adhesive penetration and will not deteriorate like paper based products. If too little adhesive is used the tesserae will not adhere to the mesh and too much will cause high spots when the medallion is installed. This operation is carefully monitored to assure that the correct amount of adhesive is applied at all times. |
| The designs we use are either original or designs that have been in existence for centuries and great care is taken to faithfully reproduce these designs. Compare the precise placement of the tesserae in our products with the products offered by many of our competitors. Look for consistent geometric elements that are replicated - variation in the design elements is one of the most obvious signs of a poorly crafted mosaic. Please remember that hand crafted does not mean sloppily made! |
| We are able to offer the highest quality products at lower prices simply because we use more efficient manufacturing techniques than many other manufacturers resulting in not only more affordable prices but products that are much easier to install. |
| Marble mosaic products require hand assembly - the amount depends on the product. |
| Mosaic sheets are much less labor intensive as the tesserae are machine cut leaving only the pieces to be placed into forms for the mesh backing to be applied. A quality sheet will have tesserae that are consistent in size with even spacing. Polished and Honed sheets will have smoothly cut, square edges. The marble type will influence the crispness of the cut and some marble types, such as Honey Onyx, are very hard and brittle and chip readily even with the finest equipment so some imperfections are to be expected. Tumbled marble of all types present few problems - the tumbling operation will hide cuts that are less than perfect and any scratches on the marble surface. The amount of tumbling must still be carefully controlled to assure uniform tesserae sizes. |
| Medallions and Borders are constructed entirely by hand and should be available in polished, honed or tumbled tesserae. Seldom are the different marble finishes combined in a mosaic but it is possible to do so. As a rule of thumb the larger the tesserae size the easier the medallion is to produce and the Medallions and Borders are priced accordingly. The marble used in the polished and honed products should exhibit the same crisp clean cuts present in mosaic sheets. Even though many of these cuts are made by hand they should still be accurate. The marble used in a tumbled product should have all edges rounded - even if hand cut care is taken to sand or grind smooth any sharp edges. Honed finish Medallions and Borders are the quickest and easiest to produce and hide flaws more readily than either polished or tumbled products. |
| The easiest way to determine the quality of Medallion and Border construction is to look at how the tesserae are fitted into repetitive design elements. Are the tesserae cut and positioned the same in each circle, square or triangle? Naturally, minor variation is expected but it is is the amount of variation present that determines the skill level of the assembler. Anyone can plug a poorly shaped piece into a hole just to take up space but a true artist will produce a mosaic that is pleasing to the eye even under close scrutiny. Many use the excuse that their marble is hand cut to explain away poor quality. Most mosaics employ hand cut tesserae and accurate, square cuts are possible and expected. |
| You deserve to know the marble types used in the mosaic product you purchase. "All natural stone" or similar descriptions just isn't good enough as there are many types of natural stone and some are not durable enough for use in mosaic products. A reputable supplier will always be up front with this information - many suppliers either don't know or don't want you to know the material used in their products. There are many marble types being misrepresented by certain suppliers. Our Coffee marble is a good example - it closely resembles Marron Emperador from Spain and even though this marble is found and mined in China it is sometimes offered as true Emperador - which it is not. Another example is Bianco Carrara. There is a Chinese marble sometimes referred to as Oriental White with many of the same characteristics as true Bianco Carrara from Italy. A less than reputable supplier may market this marble as Bianco Carrara or give it a similar name in the hope that you won't be able to tell the difference. All of the marble types that we offer are either of Chinese origin or imported from the country known as the source for the marble. |
| There are many suppliers in this industry today that are offering low quality mosaic products and trying to compare their products with true high end products from established manufacturers. Close examination will reveal many defects that are not present in true quality products. You should also be aware that a quality marble mosaic product in standard sizes and designs does not take hundreds of hours to create. This is a sure sign of inexperience and poor manufacturing techniques. |
| Learn to trust your own senses - the design of the mosaic you choose should please you at first sight. First impressions are important but you should also be aware that flaws that are not noticed at first become more apparent with time. That little area in your mosaic that is slightly different than the other areas soon becomes the first area that you look at. That slight bump that you feel when walking over your medallion in your bare feet soon becomes more noticeable. In time the overall beauty you first saw in your mosaic becomes diminished by the flaws that were later found. Choose your mosaic product carefully and don't be afraid to spend a little more for true quality. Marble mosaics will last a long time and you owe it to yourself to fully enjoy your mosaic every time you look at it. |