We seem to have been waiting for an eternity… and the Silestone Eternal Range is finally here! All of the materials are now in the UK, and here at Affordable Granite we have a full set of decent size samples.
What is Silestone?
Silestone is a brand of engineered stone – or quartz – manufactured by Cosentino of Spain. It is very much the same as all other materials sold as “quartz” on the market – about 92% sand and quartz and glass or even metal, and 7-8% a plastic resin. Many stones sold as quartz are very clearly man made and embrace that look – you only have to think of the black and white sparkly flooring of all the World Duty Free shops in our airports. But the recent trend is to emulate natural stones – still using that 92/8% stone and plastic mix.
If it is ‘just quartz’, why highlight Silestone?
There are many manufacturers of quartz on the market; why did Affordable Granite pick Silestone for so many of our regularly-stocked lines, and why do we use Silestone so often for bespoke installations?
Cindy Crawford – face of Silestone for the next three years
As with any product, it is a matter of branding. There are a select number of big, leading, innovative manufacturers, and any number of relatively inexpensive factories who try to copy them. Silestone is up at the top, in the crème de la crème.
It happens that Cosentino was one of the very first companies in the field. Leaders in design and technological innovation, Silestone has taken this family firm from a tiny nondescript factory in Almeria to a multinational presence in just 25 years.
When you buy Silestone, you can expect leading brand strengths:
- Great design flair and technical innovation. We notice that even where a copy-cat product gets pretty close to a Silestone original, customers very rarely prefer the cheaper material on appearance alone – class tells. The same goes for cleaning and maintenance: in our tests, the authentic product sheds stains more easily.
- Great class and lasting value. Sometimes the difference between a lesser brand and a leader isn’t about the product in itself, but in the name. People ask for Silestone. House buyers know the name. Guarantees can be shown. A big brand can add more value to your property in the long term, it’s as simple as that.
- Great product back-up. Every company occasionally has problems. With a big name brand, you won’t just have the fabricator, Affordable Granite, coming to evaluate and resolve the issue – the chances are that Silestone will have their rep along too. You just don’t get that with generic products. And with the Silestone 25 year guarantee, that commitment doesn’t fizzle out.
The massive Cosentino plant in Southern Spain – Naomi and I were here in January. See our blog here.
We must be fair: Silestone is not alone in the big brand elite. Cambria, Radianz, Caesarstone – you can expect similar qualities from all of them, and many of our customers have bought their products. None are generics, and none are particularly inexpensive! We like them, and we try to maintain friendships across the board. Our relationship with Silestone is simply longer-term and bigger-volume. There is a mutual confidence that has grown over the years; we value it and we know we are valued.
Silestone innovation: N-boost technology
One of the exciting recent developments from Cosentino is a new technology for polished quartz – Silestone with N-boost has an altered surface at the molecular level which increases shine, colour intensity and makes them even easier to wipe clean. Polished Silestone was already very good in terms of cleanability; Polished Silestone just got better! N-boost is not yet available on all lines – ask us when you enquire and we should be able to advise. It is available on the polished versions of the Silestone Eternal Range, though…
What about the Silestone Eternal Range?
We wrote in our blog of the 7th April about the trend for dynamic veined quartz. We have been expecting a range of big-veined materials to come out from Silestone, and we already had some of the first publicity materials back then. We are now happy to say that the full range is available and in the UK. And we like it!
Silestone Eternal Range samples in our workshop
The Silestone Eternal range consists of five colours; Calacatta Gold, Statuario, Serena, Charcoal Soapstone and Marquina. As the names suggest, these are all based on natural marble materials, but, unlike their natural counterparts, they are suitable for kitchen use. As with all Silestone products they are easy to maintain but the polished versions also have the added bonus of being manufactured with N-boost technology. This makes them even easier to keep clean.
Eternal Statuario
This material has subtle pale-grey veining with the delicate flecks that you see in Statuario Marble. Having a white background, the Statuario coordinates well in a white-on-white themed room, but it is really striking on darker units too.
Eternal Calacatta Gold
This material has a lovely white background with gold/grey veining. The large vein is true to a Calacatta Marble look. The veins themselves vary between gold and grey. The Calacatta Gold combines well with all sorts of colour schemes. We can see that white background and very natural look on kitchen units and doors in white, light grey and wood.
Eternal Serena
With the current vogue for greys of all shades, we wonder if Serena will be the big hit from the Silestone Eternal range. A beautiful light grey background has thin white veins through the stone. Serena will certainly be used to complement white and grey units. It will also be brilliant at “holding together” kitchens with two gently contrasting door colours.
Eternal Charcoal Soapstone
The Charcoal Soapstone is a much darker grey with lighter veining. The background colour has a slightly more blue tone than most of the other darker marble-look quartz/engineered stones on the market. As with the Silestone Eternal Serena, Charcoal Soapstone will look superb on white or grey units.
Eternal Marquina
The Marquina definitely makes the strongest statement of the Silestone Eternal Range with its dramatic white veining on a black background. We think that this would look lovely in a kitchen with a monochrome look – black or white units – or as a a stand-out piece on a contrasting central island.
We are excited to be able to offer the Silestone Eternal Range. We think that kitchen buyers who are looking for large-veined marble-look quartz are going to love these Cosentino products!
