The big marble guide – everything you need to know about the popular material

Marble has been a popular and high-quality building material for thousands of years , characterized by exclusivity, elegance and quality. Throughout human history, the high-quality stone has been used consistently for the construction of buildings, temples, baths, sculptures and furniture. 

Scientists have been able to determine that the first extraction of marble took place about 2600 years ago. This first marble extraction was located on the island of Paros, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, where the so-called "Parian marble" was quarried in the local Greek quarries. Did you know that Parian marble was used for the world-famous sculpture "Venus de Milo"? Its creation can be dated to around 100 BC. 

But the actual use of marble is a little older. For example, marble was already used as a decorative material in the Egyptian pyramids . As early as 700 years before Christ, marble stood for wealth and power. Its use therefore runs through anthropology - from the Egyptian pyramids, through the Roman Empire and the Taj Mahal to the modern city of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan, where most of the white marble in the world has been used to this day.

But what exactly is marble and what makes this special material special?

The very name “marble” suggests an essential feature of the elegant stone. “Marble” is derived from the ancient Greek word “mármamos” and can be translated as “shimmer” or “shining”. When exposed to sunlight, the rock and the minerals it contains reflect light, giving the marble its shiny and shimmering effect. That's why marble was often used for sculptures, as the iridescent and reflecting light breathed "life" into the sculptures, so to speak. 

From a petrological perspective, marble is a metamorphic rock that must consist of at least 50 percent calcite, aragonite or dolomite to be categorized as marble. 

Many people think that marble is only white in colour - this is incorrect and a myth. You certainly know the famous white marble Taj Mahal in India, right? Maharaja Sha Jahan had the world-famous mausoleum built from white marble for his favourite wife (who doesn't have a favourite wife...). What most people don't know is that the Maharaja wanted to have a matching counterpart, his own mausoleum, built from black marble just a few hundred metres away from the white Taj Mahal. Unfortunately, the building was never completed and to this day there are many myths and legends surrounding the black mausoleum. Nevertheless, this legend tells us that black marble does exist - and many other colours too. 

The color of a marble is defined by the mineral components it contains. Marble can be gray, black, red, green, cream or white. There are “unicolored” varieties, or patterned varieties, which geologists used to call “colorful” marble.

And what characterizes the colorful marble and makes it one of the most popular types of stone in the world?

Marble has different properties depending on its mineral composition. For most types of marble, however, it is a water-impermeable stone, with individual marbling, a crystal-like structure and a particularly aesthetic appearance. In addition, marble is a poor conductor of heat. This is one reason why in Italy marble was and still is often used for paths or floor coverings, as you don't burn your feet in high sunlight like with other stones. 

In this country, it is rather unusual for marble to be used untreated and unsealed for worktops, tiles or floor coverings. Since marble is not acid-resistant and frost-proof, dull spots can theoretically form on the surface over time, which visually bothers some people. Meanwhile, the Italians and French, who admittedly have fewer problems with frost, see this natural and optical change as an artistic feature of the rock and even welcome it. Some cultures and peoples are not at all bothered by the visual or tactile changes in marble, while other people prefer a flawless and polished surface.

Anyone who has ever been to the Vatican knows that certain marble statues of saints are kissed and touched so often that the surfaces have slowly been rubbed away (after tens of millions of touches over several centuries, mind you) - one or two saints are therefore missing a toe. 

And which types of marble and marble colors are particularly popular?

There are thousands of different types of marble, with different colors and different marbling. Did you know that many of the marble statues we know of today, which are white today, were painted with bright colors in ancient times?

The Greeks and Romans liked to colorfully decorate the marble sculptures with colors that are no longer visible today. We don't paint our marble, promise.

Well-known and popular types of marble include: B. The following:

As already mentioned, marble as a floor covering or as a kitchen worktop, if unsealed, can develop dull spots after a long period of time, caused by heavy use of the material or by contact with acids. In certain countries, such as Italy and France, this is not a problem because the natural aging of the material is considered a characteristic and quality feature - similar to a leather jacket or a pair of jeans. However, if you personally are bothered by the visual change, then an in-house polish with beeswax or externally by a specialist can restore the old shine.

We would also like to point out that we have a patented sealing technology that makes it possible for us to make every natural stone suitable for your intended purpose. If this could be of interest to you, please contact our valued experts in the customer service team. 

You can read all about the professional care of your marble in our marble care article here.

The ancient Egyptians and Julius Caesar swore by marble and had the noble stone quarried to refine buildings and interiors. Fortunately, non-patricians and non-pharaohs can now also afford the beautiful stone and acquire it for building houses, interior design or furniture. 

By the way, most marble is mined in India, Iran, the USA and Italy. But how does this admittedly heavy stone actually find its way into our four walls? 

Marble has been extracted and mined worldwide, including in Europe, for several centuries. Surprisingly, the mining method has not changed as much as one might think. Marble is primarily mined using wire saws equipped with hard metal beads. Blocks of rock of different sizes are sawn out directly from the quarries. 

The blocks are then sawn again into several slabs, which are then sent to various natural stone processors, such as: B. MAGNA natural stone. There they are processed for the intended area of ​​use with very low energy consumption.