Nero Marquina Select Polished Marble Wall & Floor Tiles

The white veins are calcite, deposited into fractures in the original limestone before it was metamorphosed, which is why they run as clean angular lines rather than as soft drift. Their density varies considerably between blocks, from a scattering of hairlines to a bold network, so ordering the full quantity in one delivery matters more here than it would on a plainer stone.

It should be specified with its maintenance understood, because black polished stone is honest to a fault. Dust shows. Water spots show, particularly in a hard-water area, where evaporated limescale leaves pale marks directly on a dark mirror. And acid etching, from a cleaning product as readily as from food, leaves a matte patch that is far more visible on black than on white. None of this is a defect; it is the trade-off for the depth that makes the stone worth having.

In practice it performs best on walls, splashbacks, feature panels and floors that are not in constant use, cleaned with a neutral product and a soft cloth rather than anything abrasive.