Description
Beautiful Elba is one of the most sought-after stones in the Douglas Oak range. Coveted for its cool grey tones with soft brown markings, Elba was introduced into the United States for the first time by Douglas Oak.
This unique stone offers a subtle, sophisticated color palette with low porosity. Making it a beautiful natural product that is hardwearing, long-lasting, naturally resilient, and distinctly easy to live with. Ideal for kitchen countertops, backsplash, bathroom walls and floors.
Elba is exclusive to Douglas Oak
dimensions
| width | height | depth | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elba | 610mm | 305mm | 10mm |
| Elba | 610mm | 610mm | 10mm |
| Split | 300mm | 100mm | 20mm |
The Elba marble has been excavated from Lais since 1984. It is proven to be a material that can be used for indoor, commercial, or residential projects. Lais Marble is a hard and dense Dolomite, composed of 20% calcite as well.
Millions of years in the making and excavated from a single quarry in limited quantities, Elba is a powerful raw material that commands respect.
Coveted for its cool grey tones and soft brown markings, this unique dolomite-based product offers a subtle, sophisticated colour palette. With low porosity, it is a beautiful, natural stone that is hard-wearing, long-lasting, resilient and distinctly easy to live with.
The origins of Elba can be traced back around 250 million years ago, to the coral reef in a primordial ocean called Tethys. Dolomite-based stone typically forms at the bottom of a lake or large bodies of water. Through tectonic plate movement, the stone gets heated and compressed, along with layer upon layer of sediment.
These combine to start to change the appearance of stone, creating twists in sediment lines that result in the distinct grain visible in every piece. While similar to the calcium carbonate found in marble, dolomite is interrupted with magnesium, creating a more durable compound. Thus making materials such as Elba, which are chemically more stable, generally harder and exhibit a more opaque lustre than most marbles.
Elba is sourced from a quarry in Greece that was founded in 1984 and is still owned and operated by the same family today. It was discovered serendipitously by the quarry’s founder, in an unexplored area. When excavation started, he was surprised to discover the unique colour of the deposits. It was not like anything the nearby quarries were producing. It was also significantly harder in comparison to the nearby marbles. This was special dolomite, in terms of both colour and quality.
Initially, the excavation technique was a traditional one, though over the years it has become more advanced. Nevertheless, production is maintained at a moderate rate, ensuring it’s never over-produced in order to maintain this raw material as one of rarity, to be treasured.
