Reemerging natural stone trend boosts new markets

With the recent ban on engineered stone in Australia, the building industry has had to seek out alternative benchtop materials, leading to a renewed interest in natural stone and marble for both residential and commercial surfaces.

Natural stone and marble benchtops have always been an aspiration for many, a luxurious addition to any kitchen or bathroom. What makes it extra special is that every surface is unique with stunning designs crafted purely by nature’s own metamorphic process.

Although still popular and desirable to many, natural stone and marble remain relatively more expensive than other benchtop materials for several reasons, such as the scarcity of natural resources and increasing logistical costs. These challenges along with the recent ban had opened the Australian market for more cost-effective options. One option that is a suitable alternative to marble or natural stone is sintered and porcelain surfaces.

The newest surface on the block, porcelain and sintered or compact surfaces have been in the market for around a decade and according to Examining Porcelain and Compact Sintered Surfaces by Jessica McNaughton, International Surface Fabricators Association (ISFA), it is “an evolution of manmade stone, typically rooted in the quartz surfacing industry, and were largely developed to build upon the strength of quartz materials.”

Hailed by some as the most durable surface money can buy, these surfaces have gained traction and momentum as a genuine, viable alternative to both natural and engineered stone in Australia, bolstered by the launch of Smartstone’s Sintered Collection, a new surface range that elevates the qualities of traditional porcelain to an entirely new level.

Better than marble

In addition to being more expensive, marble and natural stone have qualities that may be unsuitable for busy and high traffic areas. Marble is considered a soft stone registering a rating of 3-4 in Mohs hardness scale with diamond being the hardest mineral at 10. Compared to sintered, which has a rating of 7 on the hardness scale, it can easily etch, scratch and chip. While natural stone is porous and requires regular sealing, sintered surfaces are non-porous with almost nil absorption level and highly resistant to scratching.

With advanced printing technology, Smartstone developed the Sintered Collection of 22 surfaces replicating the world’s most beautiful marble and natural stones with impeccable design accuracy.

Due to non-porosity, the Sintered Collection is deemed antibacterial and suitable for food preparation areas as well as wet areas.

What is the Sintered Collection by Smartstone?

The Smartstone Sintered Collection is created using a ‘sintering’ process which replicates millions of years of the earth’s metamorphic processes by combining advanced technology with natural fusion techniques. Intense heat of 1200 degrees Celsius and immense pressure (30,000 tons) bind natural minerals to create an ultra-compact, extra-durable material that delivers exceptional performance, during both the fabrication and installation stages.

Porcelain, reimagined

Considered a porcelain product in some markets due to the inherent similarities, sintered surfaces can be a new category of its own because of the unique and exclusive manufacturing process called “sintering”.

Porcelain and sintering use print technology for the surface designs. Taking this technology to the next level, the Smartstone Sintered Collection features through-body veining and colour that match the surface, delivering a more sophisticated aesthetic that more closely resembles natural stone and allows more seamless joins and continuous vein flow. Traditional porcelain products have prints limited to the surface and, in some instances, different body colour from its surface.

The Sintered Collection also offers slabs in 20mm thickness, making it more stable and durable than the standard 12mm porcelain surfaces without requiring a substrate upon installation.

An emerging new market

Due to the recent changes in the stone industry in Australia, Smartstone has been witnessing an increase in interest and demand for its Sintered Collection since its launch in March 2024.

Not only is the new Collection compliant with Australian government legislation and has provided a genuine alternative to engineered stone, it also meets the increasing demand for natural stone by offering a more cost-effective option without sacrificing the natural look of marble and stone. Sintered slabs are produced in a matter of hours, whereas natural stones, such as marble and granite, take thousands of years to form.

The sintering process of natural fusion of 100% natural materials with no reason or metal compounds results in ultra-compact, extra-durable and non-porous surfaces with a refined, natural-stone aesthetic.

While Smartstone faced the challenge of discontinuing the supply of engineered stone, it also welcomed the opportunity to offer the market with an affordable alternative to both natural stone and quartz-based surfaces.

The new Sintered Collection surpasses the quality of natural stone in terms of durability and engineered quartz surfaces in terms of versality in application as it can be used for both indoors and outdoors.