Covelano White Marble is the hardest and best white marble in the world:
Covelano White Marble is uniformly high-crystalline in structure with an average 98% calcium carbonate content.
Its unique lustre and the luminosity of its Skaleoneder crystals ensure its attractive appearance.
Its uniquely pure marble structure allows minimal water absorption and make Covelano White Marble highly resistant to weather and frost. The small crystals in the marble are evenly distributed throughout the grain and optimally interlocked so that the stone is extremely resistant to pressure and cracking, yet at the same time translucent.
The hardness of its surface makes it very easy to polish, while the edges retain their regularity. The unusual chemical purity of Covelano White Marble also ensures that it produces no radiation.
The origins and high chemical purity of Covelano White Marble ensure it is a radiation-free natural stone.
Genuine marble is one of the so-called “metamorphic rocks” created by the transformation (metamorphosis) of limestone under extreme pressure and heat in the Earth’s interior.
The rock solidifies during this transformation process and becomes much more solid and transparent than the original sediment. The main component is calcite, sometimes with small quantities of other minerals.
The unique origins of Covelano White Marble underlie its development and solidity: it is the result of at least two metamorphoses. The original material of Covelano White Marble dates back 500 million years to the Triassic limestones formed by the sea sediments of a subtropical shallow sea.
Following the breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent and continental drift, the African continental plate (together with the seabeds) shifted thousands of kilometres northwards. Some parts were raised by hundreds of metres at least twice – a unique occurrence in geological history
Bernhard Lammerer, a geologist and professor at the University of Munich, describes how Covelano White Marble from the Jennwandstock massif in the Vinschgau Valley (South Tyrol, Italy) experienced at least two major metamorphoses, resulting in its extremely high quality criteria:
The first “Variscan” metamorphosis occurred in two foldings some 350 to 320 million years ago at temperatures of 550-660° Celsius under a pressure of 5-7 kbar.
The second “Alpine” metamorphosis followed in three foldings some 90 to 70 million years ago at a temperature of 500° Celsius and a pressure of 6-8 kbar.
These unimaginable forces and time periods thus formed one of the most fascinating types of rock in today’s Alpine region and, thanks to its rare chemical characteristics, also created one of the best white marbles in the world.
| UNI EN 1936:2007 | Real density „Pb“ = 2710 kg/m3 Open porosity „po“ = 0.31% |
| UNI EN 113755:2008 | Average absorption of water 0.09% |
| UNI EN 14157:2005 | Abrasion resistance Dimension of the groove = 22.7 mm |
| UNI EN 1926:2007 | Compression strength 93.7 Mpa |
| UNI EN 12372:2007 | Flexural strength (test core 300 x 100 x 50 mm) Rtf = 17.5 MPa |
| UNI EN 12371:2010 | Compression strength after 56 freeze/ thaw cycles: decrease Rtf = -9.7% |
| UNI EN 12371:2010 | Flexural strength after 56 freeze/thaw cycles: decrease Rtf = -12.6% |
| ASTM C97-02 | Absorption & Bulk Gravity Absorption in % weight: a % = 0.10; p = 169.5 pound/ft3 = 362.52 oz/gal (2715 kg/m3) |
| ASTM C170-06 | Compressive strength dry = 13191 psi (91 MPa) wet = 14270 psi (86 MPa) |
| ASTM C241-05 | Abrasion resistance (food trafic) Ha = 10.11 |
| ASTM C880-06 | Flexural strength dry = 2131.5 psi (14.7 MPa) wet = 1725.5 psi (11.9 MPa) |
| ASTM C99-87 (2006) | Modulus of rupture dry = 1769.0 psi (12.2 MPa) wet = 1638.5 psi (11.3 MPa) |
In our marble factory in Silandro we use the latest technologies to realise individual surface refinements for special quality requirements:
The polished surfaces of Covelano White Marble clearly reveal its colour intensity and noble structure: the bright gleam of the crystals and, according to sortation, the fine texture of the vein. A polished surface also makes the marble easier to clean.
Dressing the surface of Covelano White Marble makes it smooth and slightly gleaming yet without any unevenness. The dressed surface produces a soft, velvety lustre. The dressed, subtly shining surfaces can be redressed if necessary.
The brushed surface of Covelano White Marble feels velvety to the touch, yet is “macro-rough”. It is a suitable alternative to smooth dressing if greater slip resistance is required.