Marble names decoded

At a glance

Sources: Primavori (EGU abstract, 2014) and the IUGS Carrara Marble page for the seven designations; NSI, Stone Federation GB and a geological survey datasheet for the rest. Read 7 Nov 2026. Meanings are translations, not standards.

Two meanings of ‘marble’

People say ‘marble’ and mean a family of stones, but the word has two meanings. In the geological sense, NSI describes marble as a metamorphic rock whose basic building block is the calcite crystal. In the older trade sense it was wider: the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica says marble in the trade means any limestone or dolomite that can be polished, and keeps the strict sense for crystalline carbonate stone. Today the trade still sells at least one stone as marble that a geological survey describes as limestone: its Eurolithos datasheet for the black stone from Marquina in northern Spain calls it a recrystallised reef limestone with calcite veins, of Lower Aptian to Upper Albian age.

That matters for two reasons. A specification that says only ‘marble’ cannot say what the stone will do when it meets acid, which is the subject of the sealing, staining and etching sheet. And a name that sounds geological may be a sales label. Stone Federation GB, writing for specifiers, says some stones are given commercial names and that the traditional name must be established so that all the appropriate historical information can be found. If the supplier cannot or will not provide it, the Federation advises choosing another stone.

Carrara is a district, with seven main groups

The geology page of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) lists Carrara Marble as a heritage stone, a calcitic marble of the Apuan Metamorphic Complex in north-west Tuscany, in rocks of Middle to Late Triassic to Early Jurassic age that were metamorphosed during the Alpine mountain-building of the Tertiary. Primavori, writing in 2014 to support that nomination, makes the point that matters for specifiers: ‘Carrara Marble’ is a general term, used for a long time and wrongly for a multitude of different marbles, more than 200 commercial varieties extracted across the whole Apuan Alps. The area has five extractive districts (Lunigiana, Garfagnana, Versilia, Massa and Carrara in the strict sense) and more than 100 quarries.

The two sources disagree on the count (more than 200 varieties in Primavori, more than 100 on the IUGS page), which is itself the point: nobody publishing a definitive list has been found. Primavori names seven main commercial designations, and says each splits into many types because of slight colour changes that are often characteristic of a very restricted area, or of one quarry, or even of one limited period of time. So a group name is a family, and the same group name from two quarries, or from the same quarry in two decades, may look different.

The seven groups, and two points of care

The seven groups are listed in the table at the top of this sheet and sketched in the drawing. The sketches are our own idea of each name, not a standard: no body publishes a reference picture for a name, which is why the approval step below is on a slab and not on a word. The meanings are translations of the Italian names given by Primavori and the IUGS page; the notes on supply are what the sources say, no more. Two points need care.

• Statuario. An encyclopaedia entry and a mining-magazine article both describe the historic pure-white statuary deposit as exhausted by the end of the twentieth century. Primavori and the IUGS page still list Statuario among the seven designations. We cannot reconcile them: the name may now cover stone of a different grade, or from a different part of the district. Ask the stone partner which quarry and which block a Statuario quote refers to, and ask for it in writing.
• Spelling and qualifiers. Both Primavori and the IUGS page spell the seventh designation ‘Calacata’; the trade spells it Calacatta. Sources also list qualified names such as Arabescato Cervaiole, Arabescato Vagli, Bianco Venatino and Statuarietto, which suggests the qualifier carries information about the variety. We found no published rule for what a qualifier means, so write the full name the supplier uses and ask what it denotes.

The substitution traps

• Same name, different material. A ceramic maker sells a porcelain stoneware slab under a name that combines two of these marble names. Its page says it imitates the look of the marble. It is a good surface, but it is not marble. A specification that says ‘Calacatta’ and nothing more can be answered with either. See worktop materials compared for the properties that differ.
• Same group, different quarry. Primavori's point above. Two slabs sold as the same group may differ in tone and vein from quarry to quarry and period to period.
• Same quarry, different slab. Veining and colour move across a block. Approve slabs, and see stone sample, slab and book-match approval for the sample hierarchy and for how book-matched slabs are numbered.
• A look-alike natural stone. A white stone with grey veins from another country may be offered under a Carrara-style name. Ask for the country of origin, which Stone Federation GB asks to be declared on every sample.
• A name without a petrographic name. If the quote does not say whether the stone is marble or limestone, you cannot judge acid behaviour, hardness or suitability for a floor. See types of natural stone for interiors.

Writing it so it cannot be swapped

Stone Federation GB asks that every sample is labelled to BS EN 12440 (denomination criteria): the traditional name, the quarry location and country of origin, and the petrological family, with a reference number. Put those fields in the specification, add the petrographic name to BS EN 12407, and keep the trade name as a cross-reference, not as the identifier. Then tie the order to a numbered slab. We read BSI’s listings for the standards and not their texts; check the current editions when you write the clause.

The same discipline lets you answer a client who has fallen for a name. Show them the slab the stone partner is holding, not a catalogue picture, and write the slab number into the order. The wood flooring and stone glossary defines the finishing terms you will need on the same page.

Natural stone, identified to BS EN 12440 and BS EN 12407: traditional name [ ]; commercial name [e.g. Calacatta]; petrographic name [marble / limestone / other]; quarry or area [ ]; country of origin [Italy]; petrological family [ ]. Material to be natural stone. No porcelain, sintered, quartz, resin or other manufactured product is acceptable as an alternative.

Stone to be selected by the designer from slab(s) no. [ ] at [stone yard / workshop] on [date], and approved on a sample cut from the production slab. Slabs to be numbered in sequence on the layout drawing [and book-matched as shown]. The partner to issue the denomination, quarry and block or slab numbers with each delivery.

No change of stone group, quarry, bed or block, finish, thickness or processor without the designer’s written approval. A stone offered as equal to the named stone must be submitted with its full denomination, a slab photograph and a sample before it is considered.

Standards and sources

• BS EN 12440:2017 (denomination); BS EN 12407:2019 (petrographic examination); BS EN 12670:2019 (terminology): all Current on BSI Knowledge (7 Nov 2026 and Wave 3d notes); the 2001 edition of 12440 is withdrawn. Texts not read.
• Primavori, EGU2014-3785 (2014); IUGS Heritage Stones, Carrara Marble; Stone Federation GB, Selecting the Correct Stone (SS 01): read 7 Nov 2026; not standards.

Questions we are asked

What is the difference between Carrara and Calacatta marble?

Carrara is a district; Calacatta is one of the seven main commercial groups of stone from it. A 2014 paper counts more than 200 commercial varieties of ‘Carrara marble’ from the whole Apuan Alps, so the two names are not alternatives. To specify one, name the group, the quarry and a numbered slab.

What does Statuario mean?

‘Statuary’ in Italian, the white of sculpture. It is one of the seven main designations. Two sources call the historic pure-white deposit exhausted, while the IUGS page and Primavori still list the name, so ask the partner which quarry and block a Statuario quote refers to.

Is Arabescato a veined marble?

Not in the way Venato is. The IUGS page describes Arabescato as a metamorphic breccia, a rock of fragments cemented together, so the pattern reads as a network of cells, not as long veins.

Is Nero Marquina a marble?

It is sold as marble, but a geological survey datasheet describes the stone from Marquina as a recrystallised reef limestone with white calcite veins. Write the petrographic name as well as the trade name.

Can I specify a marble by its trade name alone?

It is risky. Stone Federation GB asks for every sample to be labelled with the traditional name, quarry location, country and petrological family (BS EN 12440), and for the quarry to be established so that the stone’s history can be found. The trade name is a cross-reference, not the identifier.

Is a Calacatta-look porcelain slab the same as Calacatta marble?

No. A ceramic slab named after the marble is a porcelain product that imitates the look. If the specification means natural stone, say so, and exclude manufactured alternatives in the substitution clause.