Granite, an igneous rock primarily made of such minerals as quartz, graphite, mica, and feldspar, is the most durable architectural building stone used today. Granite is beautiful as well as versatile, and you'll find granite used in a broad range of commercial settings in addition to its high demand as a residential kitchen and bathroom countertop material.

Granite retains a granular texture, which is visible when looking at the stone. The igneous minerals that make up granite (such as quartz, feldspar and mica) form when Magma slowly cools deep within the Earth's crust. However quartz, or Silica S102, usually does not appear in its typical crystalline form in granite; it is the last material to solidify during the cooling process and only fills crevices in the rock as a result.

It is also noteworthy that granite rates between a 6 and 7 on the 1–10 "hardness" scale, with Talc representing the relative softness of a number 1 rating and a diamond earning the 10 rating. Granite is so hard, in fact, that a combination of diamonds and water are necessary to cut and polish the stone.

The Granite Color Spectrum

Quartz is generally colorless on its own, but can reflect an array of colors. The amount of Quartz (silica) content helps determine the appearance of granite, and often lighter-colored stones have higher Silica contents. Minerals from the feldspar group compose the background colors in granite, whereas minerals from the mica group — which are typically allocated evenly or accumulate in tight bunches throughout the granite — make up the different foreground colors present in granite.

Benefits of Granite

Granite has several key advantages over other countertop material choices. It offers a unique, naturally formed beauty unduplicated by man-made products. It lasts for centuries and is the most durable of the countertop choices. Granite has exceptional strength due the igneous materials that comprise it. It is both scratch- and stain-resistant (though not stain-proof because of its porous nature). An easy-to-use penetrating sealer “impregnator” applied at installation and every six months thereafter prevents staining by attaching itself to the stone while, at the same time, allowing the stone to release moisture and condensation.