What is Marble?
Marble is more than a decorative surface. Veins, grain size and accessory minerals reveal how limestone was recrystallised under pressure and heat, while provenance can connect a polished slab to a famous geological district.
Mineralogy and crystal structure
Reference formula: No single formula applies because this is a rock, mixture, trade material or multi-phase extraterrestrial material.. Marble is a metamorphic rock made mainly of recrystallised carbonate minerals, usually calcite or dolomite, with variable accessory minerals. It has no single chemical formula or unique lattice as a rock, so no artificial single-mineral structure is assigned. Marble is classified with a material or rock rather than one mineral class and has a not applicable because the entry has no single crystal lattice crystal system. Typical hardness is 3–4 on the Mohs scale and specific gravity is approximately 2.6–2.9.
Colour, lustre and habit
Typical colours include white, grey, pink, green, black. The usual granular, massive, veined habit and vitreous, dull, pearly lustre help describe a specimen, but colour alone is not diagnostic.
Formation and notable localities
Marble forms in or is associated with regional or contact metamorphism of limestone and dolostone. Important documented localities include Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, India, Brazil and the United States.
Metamorphic texture in a natural architectural stone
Marble is more than a decorative surface. Veins, grain size and accessory minerals reveal how limestone was recrystallised under pressure and heat, while provenance can connect a polished slab to a famous geological district.
Collecting and care
Porous and acid-sensitive: avoid vinegar, acidic cleaners and abrasive polishing; retain quarry or geological provenance.
