Kitchen Granite Pegmatite Countertop

Geologic History Under Your Napkin

The above picture shows one of the two slabs of a granitic pegmatite dike that we selected for use as countertop in our kitchen. The dike displays large beautiful crystals that have grown into a center void that had been filled with a liquid, but now is filled with very pure and clear quartz.

The image above shows the same slab, as seen from the other perspective. The black material in the very center of this slab is very clear quartz. The feature running through the majority of the slab is a dike with large crystals growing into the center of the dike and with the quartz being the last to crystallize.

The above image is a closer view of the clear quartz (which appears here as dark grey), showing the large crystals of biotite (black) and feldspar (white) that are intergrown into it.

Above, outlined in thin red lines, is how one slab will be cut for the final kitchen counter.

The image above is the other slab with thin red lines showing the cuts that will be made.

Above is the other slab.

The above shows how the previous slabs were cut.

The image above shows how the cut slabs were applied in the kitchen.

The kitchen (above) with the new countertop, right after the installation was completed, but before the backsplash was added. Notice that the floor is travertine, which is also a natural rock. This travertine was mined in Turkey.

The kitchen (above image) with the new countertop with the backsplash installed. Interestingly, the backsplash is also travertine.

The image above shows the texture of geometrically intergrown quartz and feldspar is called "graphic granite" which is found uniquely in pegmatites. A pencil left over from my former teaching days is provided for scale.

The above image shows another view of the kitchen countertop.

Other portions of the new countertop are shown above, shortly after the installation.

We had a small table made from a left-over piece of the countertop granite pegmatite. In the above image I am shining a light into the bottom of the small table top from below to show the clarity of the quartz in the next picture.

The clarity of the pure quartz is in evidencein the above picture.

The above image is a photomicrograph of the granite pegmatite that is in my kitchen. The quartz is uniform grey, the feldspar is also grey, but with dark and light parallel lines running through it, and the biotite is brightly colored.

If you are further interested in pegmatites, I have attached the following reference which explains the fascinating geological history that can be discerned from these most interesting rocks. This reference is the abstract of a talk by David London to the Arizona Geological Society in Tucson on April of 2017 that I attended: https://www.arizonageologicalsoc.org/event-2431295. It was a great talk and gave me greater insights into my own kitchen counter, which I see and admire and appreciate every day.

For information about travertine, which I used in the kitchen counter backsplashes and throughout my home on the flooring, see the following: https://sefastone.com/travertine-hot-springs-formation-location-and-extraction/