Our Bianco Carrara Herringbone 1×2″ Honed $11.75SF and currently Free Shipping used in this blog post backsplash you can see the kitchen final reveal and makeover from love and bellinis blog.
This is Before. The transformation of just changing counters, cabinet colors and adding the backsplash is amazing
And after: Carrara Bianco Herringbone 1×2″ Honed installed as a backsplash in this incredible kitchen from love and bellinis blog and for just $11.75 a square foot available in Honed and Polished. For those looking for a slightly different Herringbone look we also have 1×3″ Herringbone Honed and Herringbone 1×3″ Polished (for $12.75SF).
This is the 1×3″ Herringbone Carrara Bianco Honed $12.75 a Square Foot also available in Polished for the same price. We have over 20 different Herringbone products from Nero Marquina, Crema Marfil, Carrara, etc, etc. All in our Herringbone section on our website here.
Hello I am doing some research on Italian Calacatta marble and have come across many sites who claim to sell the best italian marble but I am afraid that much of what I see online is a cheap guangxi white marble being passed off an italian orgin. Some I believe have gone as far as packing them in white and red boxes marked imported from Italy. Is there any way to actually check and verify the origin or possibly to have it tested. I am going to compile a list of online suppliers who have sent me shipment and samples and many do not match very well at all. I am around the 50% mark but really want to make a chart or some guidelines for me as well as future buyers so they do no waste thousands of dallars on a much much cheaper Chinese version.
Please let me know… I have heard from several who now buy thru you guys saying you have taken out the legwork and its much less frustration just dealing with a known reputable supplier who only imports the real marble from Carrara.
Hello,
It is a tough position, I would ask for documentation of the vessel the shipment came in on. It is 5-6 weeks to import from China to the East Coast and 3-4 weeks from China to the West Coast. So the docs will show this and if the time is that long to the East coast it did not come through the Mediterranean, across the Atlantic and into an East Coast port. As this journey is just 3 weeks. If you are dealing with a company on the West Coast shipping time from Italy through the Panama Canal would be 6-8 weeks.
We have all our shipping documents, so will every other importer (assuming they import). For Italian shipments, you can easily provide this and it will show ETD (estimated time of departure) March 1st and the ETA March 21st for example just as an example. The one I just glanced at had a lot of Italian verbiage as well. It is quite obviously Italian.
Italian marble tile fakes are easier to spot 6×12″, 12×12″, 12×24″ will also only ever pack in polystyrene and the polystyrene will be engraved with “made in Italy” no stickers. They are proud of this.
If they do not use Polystyrene for whatever reason, they will stamp the side of each tile. This is a quick and easy test, otherwise you are into hiring a geologist and that gets very, very expensive and most are not interested. We sell to quite a lot of them, they seem to be predominately located in Montana for some reason.
Ultimately though, when it all comes down to it Carrara in the history of time is not really from Italy as the plates have moved around all over the Earth over thousands of years. So when you get down to it what is Italian marble.
I would just try and find a product you like, a price you are willing to pay and then you are happy.
Focusing too much on origin is understandable, but missing the big picture of getting a nice bathroom for a great deal should be the goal.
We know the list of almost every business that is not telling the truth and only in the USA could you get away with it, for example in the UK they would be reported and arrested under the “trade description act” you cannot call something with the purpose of deception to make profit like this. You go to jail. But here they play with the words, Hampton Carrara is a classic example, but because they put the word “Hampton” in front of it apparently it is a legal Gray area.
I can understand that, if the American consumer really believes Carrara comes from the Hampton’s, the Judge is not going to show them a lot of pity 🙂
It is a sad game that is being played. This market needs cleaning up. That is what we are aiming to do and just putting prices on products was a huge step as two decades ago there was never even a price tag in site. We are trying to educate the consumer and clean the market up as much as possible making it easier for customers to access Italian marble mosaics and tiles paying a fair (finally) price and adding value to their home.
Thank you
The Builder Depot.