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Nero Marquina Marble

Nero Marquina Marble
Material: Black bituminous limestone (carbonate) sold as marble; Spanish origin
Color: Deep black with white calcite veining
Size: 2400up x 1200up mm slab; 300x600mm, 600x600mm tiles; any size as requested
Thickness: 18mm, 20mm, 30mm; 12mm on request
Finished: Polished, honed; brushed, antique, sandblasted and split face on request

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Product Introduction

Products Introduction

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The first thing to get right about Nero Marquina Marble is the name: it is Spanish, quarried at Markina-Xemein in Bizkaia in the Basque Country and worked since at least the sixteenth century for Spanish royal and ecclesiastical buildings, so a supplier listing it as Italian is selling something else. Geologically it is a black bituminous limestone rather than a metamorphic marble, which is why the ground is a deep even black and the veining is white calcite in broad irregular bands. That composition is also the specification risk: the stone is calcium carbonate, so wine, vinegar, citrus and tomato dissolve a microscopic layer of the polished face and leave a dull grey scar no sealer prevents, which on a black ground reads across a room where the same mark on white marble would pass unnoticed.

Parameter	Specification
Product Name	Nero Marquina marble slab, tile and cut-to-size
Brand	YoYo Stone
Also Listed As	Nero Marquina marble, luxury Nero Marquina, black Nero Marquina, honed Nero Marquina marble, Marquina Black, Negro Marquina, mármol Negro Marquina
Naming Correction	Two names in this family are not this stone. Black marquina italian marble is a misnomer, because Nero Marquina is quarried at Markina-Xemein in the Basque Country of northern Spain and the Italian black in the same family is Nero Portoro, from Liguria, which carries gold rather than white veining. Calacatta nero marble is a different material again: Calacatta Nero, also sold as Calacatta Black, is an Italian white marble with black veining, which is the reverse of this stone, and it is also used as the name of an engineered quartz
Material	Black bituminous limestone sold throughout the trade as marble. Microcrystalline carbonate, primary mineral calcite, so it is not a granite and not a silicate
Origin	Markina-Xemein, Bizkaia, Basque Country, northern Spain. Worked since at least the sixteenth century for Spanish royal and ecclesiastical architecture
Colour	Deep black to very dark grey ground with white calcite veining in broad irregular bands
Cut Direction	Vein cut for long parallel bands that read as a directional field, cross cut for a broader break-up of the vein pattern. The cut direction is fixed on the order because the two do not sit side by side
Available Finishes	Polished and honed as standard; brushed, antique, sandblasted and split face on request. A polished face gives the deepest black and the sharpest vein contrast; a honed face is matte, hides water marks, limescale and fingerprints, and is the finish specified for floors and wet areas
Standard Slab Sizes	2400up x 1200up mm, 2400up x 1400up mm and 2600up x 1600up mm in 2cm and 3cm; other sizes as per client request
Standard Tile Sizes	300x600mm, 600x600mm, 600x300mm, 305x305mm, 457x457mm and 610x305mm, cut to module and calibrated
Cut-to-size	Countertops, vanity tops, stair treads and risers, window sills, skirting, fireplace surrounds and pool copings cut to your cutting list
Thickness	18mm, 20mm and 30mm for slab and tile; 12mm on request; thickness is quoted with the span on countertop and tread work
Thickness Tolerance	+/-1mm as the house standard, or +/-0.5mm on calibrated tile where a tight joint or a large-format grid is specified
Vein Matching	One block is reserved per project. Bookmatched pairs are dry laid and photographed for approval before cutting, so the white veins meet at the centre joint. Every piece is unique and a repeat order is matched against a retained standard, not promised as identical
Water Absorption	Published figures run from 0.15 to 0.2 percent by weight on the tighter data to 0.92 percent on other sources. Lot testing is advised and a penetrating sealer is applied at fabrication
Density	About 2,680 to 2,720 kg/m3, so roughly 54kg per square metre at 20mm and 81kg at 30mm
Compressive Strength	Roughly 61.7 to 72.11 MPa depending on the published source (ASTM C170)
Flexural Strength	About 13.3 to 14.4 MPa (modulus of rupture). Frost resistance is tested to UNI EN 12371 where exterior work calls for it
Hardness	Mohs 3 to 4, as for any carbonate marble, so it scratches under grit and under metal dragged across it, unlike granite at 6 to 7
Abrasion Resistance	About 13 to 15 cm3 per 50cm2 loss (ASTM C241) on published figures
Porosity	Low, generally 0.5 to 1.0 percent
Acid Sensitivity	The stone is calcium carbonate and etches. Wine, vinegar, citrus, tomato, cola and acidic descalers dissolve a microscopic layer of the polished face and leave a dull grey mark that a sealer does not prevent. On a black ground that mark is far more visible than on a light stone, which is the single most important thing to agree with the client before the order is cut
Sealing and Care	A penetrating sealer at fabrication, re-applied every 6 to 12 months and checked with a water bead test. Clean with a pH-neutral stone cleaner, never vinegar or lemon, and blot rather than rub. On polished black, a dry microfibre is used for daily cleaning because a wet cloth leaves drying marks that show
Exterior Use	Possible with a honed, brushed or sandblasted finish and frost data tested to UNI EN 12371, on a drained and ventilated fixing. A polished exterior face is not advised, because water spotting and etch marks are permanent on black
Application	Interior floor and wall cladding, bathroom and shower, kitchen and vanity tops, staircases, fireplaces, lift interiors, bookmatched feature walls and hotel lobby flooring
MOQ	One crate, with small trial orders accepted and mixed sizes consolidated in one container
Packing	Strong seaworthy wooden crates and bundles, fumigated to ISPM-15, foam faced between slabs and around every arris, A-frame or steel-reinforced pallet for large slabs; the polished face is interleaved so the black surfaces cannot rub in transit
Loading	About 500 square metres of 20mm to a 20ft at 26 to 27 tonnes, and about 333 square metres at 30mm, so weight is reached long before the container is full
Quality Control	Block selection for vein, slab polishing and gloss reading, honed finish uniformity, thickness calibration, dry lay and numbering, and photographs of the finished and loaded order
Samples	Free of charge; the buyer pays the courier, refunded against the order
Port	Xiamen, China
Payment Terms	30% T/T in advance, and the balance against the copy of BL
OEM	Available; custom sizes, finishes and packaging to your specification
Delivery Time	15-25 days depending on size, finish and quantity; complicated work is quoted per item
Export Markets	Over 80% of products are sold in Europe, and all products are trusted by domestic and foreign customers

Quality Standards

Quality Control & Inspection Standards

Four checks run on a Calacatta Viola Marble Coffee Table, and the first one happens at the block rather than at the saw, because on this stone the value is in the vein and a badly placed layout wastes a block that cannot be replaced.

Block selection for vein

Blocks are read for vein density, colour and direction before allocation, and one block is reserved per project, since Calacatta Viola is priced on its veining and a top cut across the grain of the block loses the movement the client is buying.

Bookmatch layout and dry lay

On a large top the two leaves are dry laid face up as a mirror pair and read together, so the burgundy and violet veins run into each other at the centre joint instead of stopping dead, and the layout is photographed and approved before the edges are cut.

Thickness against span

The top thickness is checked against the unsupported span on the client's base drawing before cutting: 12mm only with continuous support and a fibreglass mesh backing, 20mm to about 450 to 600mm unsupported, 30mm over about 1520mm long or 760mm wide.

Base interface and pin positions

The base footprint, the fixing type and the top overhang are read from the same drawing as the top, and where pins are used the top is core-drilled to the pin positions with a diamond bit while the metal base is tapped to match, because a mis-set pin cannot be corrected in stone.

Products Application

Typical Project & Application Scenarios

Luxury hotel lobby and reception flooring

A honed Nero Marquina Marble floor in the traffic lanes with a polished bookmatched panel as the feature, because a polished black floor in a walking lane reads every scuff while a honed one holds its colour.

Bathroom floors, shower walls and wet rooms

Honed or brushed tile at 600x600mm with a slip class specified for a floor that will be walked on wet, and a sealer applied before grouting as a grout release; polished black in a shower shows limescale and drying marks permanently.

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Kitchen and vanity countertops

Quoted in a honed finish with the acid conversation held in writing before the order, because this stone is a carbonate and a polished black worktop will show an etch as a light scar; a client who wants a worktop with no routine is quoted in granite or engineered quartz instead.

Feature walls and bookmatched panels

Polished, vein matched as a mirror pair from one reserved block, with the layout approved on a dry lay photograph, which is where the deep black and the white vein carry the strongest contrast.

FAQ

Everything You Want To Know

01. Is Nero Marquina marble Italian or Spanish?

Spanish. It is quarried at Markina-Xemein in Bizkaia in the Basque Country and has been worked since at least the sixteenth century. The Italian black in the same family is Nero Portoro, from Liguria, which carries gold rather than white veining.

02. Does Nero Marquina etch, and how visible is the mark?

It etches, because it is a calcium carbonate. Wine, vinegar, citrus and tomato dissolve a microscopic layer of the polished face and leave a dull grey scar no sealer prevents. On a black ground that scar is far more visible than on white marble.

03. Should we specify polished or honed Nero Marquina marble?

Polished for vertical work, feature walls and bookmatched panels, where it gives the deepest black and the sharpest vein contrast. Honed for floors, wet areas and working surfaces, because it scatters light and hides water marks, limescale and fingerprints, which are the marks that show most on black.

04. How is the veining matched, and does vein cut or cross cut matter?

The two cuts are held as separate orders and never blended on one elevation. For a large feature the block is reserved and the leaves are bookmatched as a mirror pair, dry laid and photographed for approval so the white veins meet at the centre joint.

05. How are Nero Marquina slabs packed, and how much fits a 20ft container?

Foam faced in fumigated ISPM-15 crates with the polished faces interleaved so they cannot rub, on an A-frame or reinforced pallet. About 500 square metres of 20mm fits a 20ft at 26 to 27 tonnes, so weight binds long before the container is full.

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