Arizona Onyx

Arizona onyx is a stunning stone quarried at the International Stone Company onyx quarry in Mayer Arizona, and comes in two distinct color variations. Grand Canyon Onyx is comprised of rich earth tones and striations of deep reds. Black Canyon Onyx has similar coloring, but includes layers of black.

The true beauty of these colors unfold through the carving and polishing process, resulting in flowing, organic forms with striking patterns of sienna, amber, chocolate, cream, white, black, and burgundy. The natural imperfections of the onyx often provide small crevices of contrasting texture, adding depth and dimension to the sculpture.

 

Also known as Honeycomb Calcite or Honey Onyx, Amber Onyx  is mined exclusively in Northern Utah. Amber Onyx is a breathtaking, translucent stone that exudes a warm, luminous glow when accentuated by any direct or indirect lighting. This variety of calcite is distinguished by the honeycomb-like cellular pattern of the white membranes in the stone. Typical variations in color include a deep, rich honey amber, yellowish-orange, soft lemon amber, golden amber, or on rare occasions a pale white-yellow.

When polished, Amber Onyx takes on an almost mystical quality, with some believing that the stone provides a sense of joyfulness and well-being.

 

Banded Rainbow Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mostly of sand grains, cemented silica or calcium carbonate. Most sand grains contain quartz, feldspars and mica. Iron also occurs, which gives sandstone a reddish or brownish color. Most sandstone is formed through the accumulation of river sediments on the seabed which are compressed to form the rock.

Banded Rainbow Sandstone, also referred to as "picture sandstone," is noted for beautiful, multi-colored bands that swirl through the stone. This type of stone maintains a matte finish, and unlike onyx, marble, and alabaster, does not polish to a gloss.
 

Alabaster

Alabaster is a fine-grained, large crystal form of gypsum. It is a soft stone that comes in variety of colors, and ranges from opaque to translucent.

White Marble

Marble was once limestone that achieved metamorphosis from intense pressures and high temperatures within the earth. This altered its crystalline structure and introduced other minerals that produced the valuable colors and veining. Commercially, any stone capable of taking a polish (with the exception of granite) is often referred to as marble. This includes travertine, onyx, serpentine and limestone.

Marble can be found around the world in a variety of colors and veining. Carrara marble is perhaps the best known, and is mined in Carrara Italy. It is coveted for its pure white color with no veining. Yule marble. mined in Yule, Colorado, is white with subtle grey-brown veining.

 

Travertine

Travertine marble is a variety of limestone formed in pools by the slow precipitation of hot, mineral-rich spring water. The "holes" characteristic of travertine were created when carbon dioxide bubbles were trapped as the stone was being formed. Although the classic travertine is recognizable by its homogenous ecru to dark colors, other colors are also available, such as dark reds and rose.

Granite

Granite is an igneous rock, which means it was once molten and formed as it cooled deep within the earth. Minerals within granite typically appear as small flecks throughout the stone, once creating a "salt and pepper" look. Other types have veining similar to marble. Granite is a dense-grained, hard stone. Granite can be highly polished or finished in a variety of other ways.

Basalt

Basalt is a dark, heavy, iron-rich and silica-poor volcanic rock that makes up most of the world's oceanic crust. It is fine-grained so that the individual minerals are not visible. Basalt often has  reddish stains, which are iron oxides.