Shanxi Black Granite

Shanxi Black is the granite most buyers have in mind when they ask for Chinese Absolute Black. It is quarried mainly in Hunyuan County, Shanxi Province, in northern China, and is also traded as Absolute Black, Negro Absoluto, China Black and Emperor Black. Geologically it is a diabase, but it is sold as granite. The grain is so fine that individual crystals are hard to see, and a polished surface reads as a deep, uniform black from one piece to the next.

Its tight structure lets Shanxi Black take a mirror polish, hold a crisp edge and absorb very little water. That makes it a safe choice wherever uneven colour would show: kitchen countertops and islands, vanity tops, floor and wall tiles, stair treads, window sills, and monuments with engraved lettering.

Shanxi Black is sold in several grades. Top-grade blocks are pure black, without the small golden or white dots found in lower grades. We sort blocks by grade before cutting, keeping large clean blocks for slabs and countertops and smaller blocks for tiles, sinks and carvings. Tell us how the stone will be used, and we will recommend the grade that fits your budget.

Finishes: polished, honed, leathered (antique), flamed, flamed and brushed, bush-hammered and sandblasted. Polished is standard indoors; honed and leathered give a matte surface that hides fingerprints. Outdoors, flamed or bush-hammered surfaces improve grip. Note that these textured finishes turn the stone dark grey rather than jet black.

Typical sizes: 305x305x10 mm (12"x12") tiles, 600x600 mm and cut-to-size; slabs in 2 cm and 3 cm; countertops and vanity tops made to your drawings.