Nero Marquina

Deep black with white calcite veins – the classic from the Basque Country and our very first stone.

Rock type: Limestone (traded as marble)
Origin: Markina, Basque Country · Spain
Surface: polished
Hardness (Mohs): 3–4

Made in this stone (7) ↓

Close-up

The same photo at three magnifications – this is how the pattern looks up close.

Every veneer is one of a kind. The image shows the stone; your piece will look different.

The story

Nero Marquina comes from Markina in the Spanish Basque Country, where it has been quarried since the Middle Ages. It owes its black to organic carbon; the white veins are calcite that crystallised in fine cracks millions of years later – look closely and you will sometimes find fossilised shells. For centuries it has graced palaces and churches, today kitchens and museums. At ROXXLYN it is the very first stone: on it we learned to cut marble thin enough to fit an iPhone.

Polished, cool and mirror-smooth – the stone comes from Antolini in Verona, the stone house that has been selecting the world’s finest blocks since 1956.

Properties

Polished, deep, with veins that never repeat. In the stone trade almost every polishable stone is called marble – we tell you what it really is geologically.

Family: Marble
Hardness (Mohs): 3–4
Processing: sawn, ground, polished
Surface: polished

For comparison: fingernail 2.5 · glass 5.5 · quartz 7. Values apply to the rock family.

Care

Clean with the Stone Cleaner. If the surface looks dull, the Marble Liquid Polish brings back the shine. Wipe off acids such as lemon juice, vinegar or wine promptly.

Care instructions →

Made in this stone · 7