Quartz is the most popular worktop material in the UK and for good reason. It is non-porous, it never needs sealing, it is consistent from slab to slab, and the range now covers almost any look you could want.
That very consistency creates the choosing problem. Once you have decided on quartz, you are faced with a dozen brands and several hundred colours, many of which look nearly identical in a photograph.
Here is how to narrow it down sensibly.
What quartz actually is
Roughly ninety to ninety-three per cent crushed natural quartz mineral, bound with a polymer resin and pigment, compacted under vacuum and vibration and then cured.
Two things follow from that composition, and they explain almost everything about how quartz behaves.
Because the mineral content is very high and the resin fills every void, the finished slab is non-porous. It does not absorb liquids, it never needs sealing, and it resists staining well.
Because there is resin in it, quartz has a heat limit. Manufacturers generally cite around 150 degrees Celsius as a maximum, and a pan straight off a gas ring exceeds that comfortably. Thermal shock can also cause a crack, particularly near a cut-out. Trivets are not optional with quartz.
Resin also means UV sensitivity over the long term, which is why most quartz manufacturers exclude external use from their warranties, with the exception of specific outdoor-rated ranges.
The brands, briefly
Caesarstone. One of the original names and still one of the most respected. Strong colour development, particularly in the Supernatural and Metropolitan collections, and an outdoor-rated range.
Silestone. From the Cosentino group, with an enormous palette and a long-established position. Their lower-silica formulations, developed in response to industry concerns about silica dust in fabrication, are a genuine technical development worth knowing about.
Cimstone. Turkish manufacturer, very good technical quality, and often better value than the headline brands for a comparable look.
Classic Quartz. Strong on convincing marble reproductions, including Calacatta and Statuario interpretations, and competitively positioned.
Quartzforms. Italian, with some distinctive decorative ranges alongside the conventional palette.
NS Stone and Nile Quartz. Well-priced ranges covering the popular whites, greys and marble effects, useful where budget is a real constraint without wanting to compromise on fundamentals.
M&G Quartz. Our own range, which lets us hold consistent stock on the colours that get specified most.
Our quartz stone range sets out the brands we carry and links through to each collection.
How to actually choose a colour
The colour decision is where most regret lives, so it is worth some structure.
Look at it in your light, not showroom light. Take a sample home. Look at it in the morning, in the evening under artificial light, and against your actual cabinet doors and floor. Showroom lighting is designed to flatter stone and it succeeds.
Consider the veining scale against your worktop size. A dramatic large-scale veining pattern looks magnificent on a large island and can look chaotic on a narrow galley run. Conversely, a subtle pattern on a big island can read as flat.
Think about the joint. Quartz slabs are typically around 3050 by 1440mm. If your run exceeds that, you will have a joint. Heavily veined decors make joints more visible because the pattern will not match across them. Plainer decors hide joints better. This is a practical argument for a quieter colour on a long run.
Be realistic about very dark and very light. High-gloss black shows every fingerprint, crumb and water mark. Brilliant white shows every stain risk. Mid tones with some pattern are the forgiving middle ground, which is why they sell in the volumes they do.
Ask whether it will date. The safest bets are the ones that reference natural stone rather than a trend. A convincing Carrara or a warm mid grey will look reasonable in fifteen years. A strongly fashionable colour may not.
Finishes
Most quartz comes polished as standard. Honed, suede, concrete and rough-touch finishes are available in many ranges.
Polished maximises depth and is the easiest to clean. Honed and textured finishes look softer and more contemporary, and they are noticeably better at hiding water marks, but they show oils and fingerprints more and can be slightly more effort to keep looking clean on a dark colour.
Warranties: read them properly
Most quartz carries a manufacturer warranty of ten, fifteen or twenty-five years, and the number is a marketing figure until you read the exclusions.
Commonly excluded: heat damage, impact damage, external installation, damage from unsuitable cleaning products, and any installation not carried out by an approved fabricator. That last one matters. A warranty is often void if the worktop was not fabricated and fitted by someone the manufacturer recognises.
Ask who the fabricator is and whether they are approved for the brand you are buying.
Where quartz is the right answer, and where it is not
Right: the great majority of family kitchens, bathrooms and vanities, utility rooms, and any project where consistency between the sample and the finished article matters.
Reconsider: outdoor kitchens, worktops in very strong direct sunlight, households that habitually put hot pans straight down, and projects wanting a genuinely unique slab. In those cases sintered stone or natural stone is the better fit, and a good supplier will tell you so.
Getting it right locally
Quartz is a material where seeing the full slab still helps, particularly with the marble-effect decors where the veining scale only makes sense at full size.
If you are looking for a quartz and stone centre serving St Albans, Watford, Berkhamsted and Harpenden, our showroom holds full slabs across the quartz brands alongside natural and sintered stone, so the whole comparison happens in one visit.
We are at 136-138 Great North Road, Birchwood Industrial Estate, Hatfield AL9 5JN, open Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 10am to 4pm for showroom visits. Call 01992 535 038.