Marble
The first uses of large quantities of marble date back to ancient times in Egypt. It was used for sculpture and architecture purposes. Egyptian marble was widely used by the Greeks and Romans who greatly appreciated it for their statues, sarcophagi and various decorative objects. The Greek people also used it to build their building. It paves the ground, decorates the walls and supports the roofs. Engraved or painted, in friezes or bas-reliefs, marble has preserved the memory of these founding peoples and now offers us magnificent vestiges of their experience.
Marble also experienced hard times during which the Romans wanted to burn their statues and other objects made from this magnificent natural stone formed from calcite and metal wells.
But he was not forgotten for long. It will be reborn from its ashes during the Italian Renaissance and will be present in floors, furniture and sculpture.
Michelangelo will also make it his favorite material and will use it to sculpt his very famous "David" carved in a block of marble deemed unusable.
It was in the 16th century that the beauty of marble became known to the French during the wars in Italy and they did not deprive themselves of it! They erected constructions such as the Louvre, covered with a marble facade as well as the courtyard of the Palace of Versailles or even churches.
In the 17th century, the most beautiful building made of marble and precious stones was erected, measuring 61m on each side: the Tàj Mahal.
Today, marble remains one of the most appreciated stones for its beauty and quality that could satisfy the most demanding of customers.
Granite
Granite was a highly prized rock in ancient Egypt thanks to its incredible strength, hardness and beauty.
It is a type of igneous rock that is very hard, heterogeneous and composed of three minerals: quartz, mica and feldspar.
Unalterable to bad weather and very resistant, it has all the qualities necessary for solid and durable constructions.
It is formed at depth by the very slow cooling of terrestrial magma mixed with other rocks. Minerals crystallize inside: first micas, then feldspar and finally quartz. It is the crystallization of mica that makes the granite slightly shiny.
Coming from the city of Aswan, Egyptian granite was extracted by the ancient people for the manufacture of stone blocks which were used in the construction of pyramids, statues and royal colossi. We believe they used copper saws, water and sand to cut the blocks of rock. Today, we use diamond blade saws to create the granite slabs.
