What is Statuario marble & what are the differences with Calacatta marble?

What is Statuario marble?

When it comes to prestigious marble that radiates luxury and elegance, you can’t get much better than Statuario marble. Together with Calacatta, it is considered one of the major white marbles due to its pristine quality and stunning aesthetic, this rare and exclusive stone has a characteristically bright white background with captivating grey veins throughout in patterns that are both striking and bold, as well as delicate and feathered. Statuario is the ideal marble for indoor applications such as reception counters, kitchen countertops and splashbacks, floor tiles and bathroom vanities; it can often be found in 5 star hotels and prestigious residential premises.

Statuario marble gets is name from its quarries of origin, the renowned quarries in the mountain region above Carrara of Italy, however, availability for Statuario is much more limited than other varieties and suppliers cannot keep up with the high demand, this makes Statuario one of the very most exclusive and sought after marble types in the world.

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*If you are a private client, contractor, architect, or designer, we can deliver to you wherever you are. All you need to do is find a stone fabricator or manufacturer in your area where we can deliver our product.

Types of Statuario

There are two main type of Statuario marble, the first and most prized variety is called “Bianco Statuario”, this marble is of the purest quality and can be totally milky white with some fading light veins or more classic bright white background with few big thick veins crossing the slabs called ‘’bastoni’’ in Italian, or tree branches. Due to its striking aesthetic this variety is often coveted for statement projects with the use of bookmatch patterning.

The second version is “Statuario Venato”, this variety has a bright white background making it the perfect canvas for its characteristic busy straight veins splashed across the slabs that are darker and more distinctive than those of Statuario Bianco . The light and dark contrast is truly unique and makes this particular marble ideal for projects in a well lit room, e.g. a countertop in a kitchen with lots of natural light or a statement piece in a bright bathroom.

Click for actual Stock Availability

*If you are a private client, contractor, architect, or designer, we can deliver to you wherever you are. All you need to do is find a stone fabricator or manufacturer in your area where we can deliver our product.

Pricing

When it comes to Statuario Bianco, there are a variety of factors that must be considered when determining the price of individual slabs, these include the white background colour, the lack of natural imperfections and the amount of veining. The whiter and cleaner the slab is and clear of natural imperfections, and the fewer the veins, the higher the price goes. Taking these factors into consideration as well as its rarity and general exquisite quality, Statuario Bianco slab prices generally run quite high compared to all other marble varieties, therefore the price for a slab can vary between €650 – €1900 per square meter. 

Instead, the Statuario Venato quality is generally more affordable than its prized sibling and you can expect to find slabs ranging between €450 – €950 per square meter.  These slabs still hold with still a crisp white background color with much less natural imperfections than Calacatta for example, but the veining patterns are much busier and likened to that of many of the Calacatta varieties, and so the slabs are more affordable than Statuario Bianco.

Primary differences between Statuario Bianco and Calacatta marble 

It can be confidently said that together, Statuario Bianco and Calacatta represent the top bracket of most sought after and highest quality luxury marble in the world, both types are very expensive with Statuario taking top spot in terms of price. However, when we get down to it, the end decision of which marble you go with (if you can find it readily available), usually comes down to a matter of taste and which particular slab best suits your specific project, e.g. kitchen, reception countertop or statement bathroom.

While both Calacatta and Statuario Bianco slabs can generally be found to the same dimensions and the same pure, crisp white background, there are some major differences that together can make a large distinction between the two varieties, these include vein colour and patterning, and natural imperfections.

Calacatta typically can be found with a wide range of vein hues, including light to dark grey and blue, as well as the classic brass or gold tones that some of Calacatta marble varieties are famous for. This is important when you consider that Statuario is more monochromatic, so you will generally only find slabs that have light to dark grey veining with very limited colour variation and a lack of gold veins. Another big distinction is the pattern of the veins across the slabs; Calacatta typically has quite busy veining that is furiously splashed across the clean white slabs, whereas Statuario Bianco ideally will have a very limited number of sizeable grey “bastoni” or branches, crossing a bright white slab which give it its unique appearance, leaving the remainder of the slab largely free of veins. While this is not always the case, if you do find a slab that matches this description you can expect to pay a premium price.

The last major difference between the two is natural imperfections. While Calacatta marble is generally hailed as one of the most prestigious marble types in the world, it does often come with the odd natural tear, open vein or occasional natural yellow marking or stain within its composition. Luckily, modern measures are in place to ensure these inherent imperfections pose no threat to the integrity of the slabs. These days, Calacatta blocks are all resin treated and then cut into slabs, each slab is then individually treated with resin again and a net is placed at the bottom side of the slab to permanently maintain its composition. While most Calacatta slabs will have natural imperfections, Statuario Bianco on the other hand, is a more solid and compact marble, so it does not come with the occasional tear or open vein. However, due to the rarity and value of each slab, all Statuario blocks and slabs are still resin and net treated for added safety and assurance both to the supplier, and the lucky buyer.