Split Hexagon Classic and Noche Travertine Honed Mosaic Tile

Noche takes its depth from iron oxide in the original deposit, running from roasted chestnut through to near-espresso, sometimes within a single strip. Classic sits several steps lighter, in biscuit and pale gold. Because both are the same stone type they share a bed structure and behave identically once laid, which is not true of every two-stone mosaic; there is no differential wear between the light strips and the dark ones.

Honing rather than tumbling is what allows the pattern to work at all. The three-dimensional effect depends on each strip meeting its neighbour cleanly, and rounded edges would blur that meeting until the cubes dissolved into general texture. A honed face also holds both tones at the same matte value, so the pale strip does not bounce light while the dark one absorbs it.

Travertine's open pores read differently across the two colours, clearly visible on the pale Classic and largely lost in the dark of the Noche; this is normal rather than a fault. Sealing is not optional on the Noche strips, which show water marking and grout residue far more readily than the pale ones do.