INTERIORS & INTERIOR DESIGN
WHAT DOES ‘ BOOK MATCHING ’ STONE MEAN ?
Supplied and installed by Stone Circle in Fine Watches , Harrods , London .
How is it achieved and why is it so much more expensive then simply laying slabs side by side ? these on top of the others , you create the famous ‘ butterfly effect ’.
Often seen in high end residential bathrooms and corporate office entrances , ' bookmatching ' is a beautiful pattern where two or four seemingly mirrored pieces of stone meet , creating a sumptuous ‘ butterfly ’ or ‘ open book ’ image .
To start , a quarried block of stone is sliced , like a loaf of bread , by huge multi bladed saws , cooled by constant water , gnawing back and forth , down through the stone . The raw slabs , now 20mm thick , are then polished , photographed and calibrated . It ’ s at this point that the decision is made as to which faces of the slab to polish .
Heavily veined or patterned material is better for book matching . The direction and thickness of the veins giving the greatest effect .
If you imagine a closed book , you can only see one face - the cover . But if you open the book you can see two faces . So , like the open book , the faces touching each other in the sliced block are polished and a mirrored pattern or ‘ book match ’ is revealed .
If you then take four book matched slabs , cut next to each other , and turn two of them through 180 degrees and place
And if the project has enough space , and you have enough material to fill that space , then you can create the most stunning finishes such as this elegant wall of marble fabricated by Stone Circle for the watch department at Harrods , London .
Of course , the process takes much longer than plain cutting , because the sawyer has to cut each slab in exactly the same position to create the perfect match . Wastage increases too , because reproducing the pattern limits the amount of the slab that can be used . And if you accidentally break one piece …….? You might have to start again . The risks are higher and so are the costs .
But the effects are exceptional and unique and , I would argue , worth every penny .
If you need assistance with a stone project or would like to talk to a stone expert about your project , your choices and how to use this gorgeous material to achieve fantastic results please call Robert Merry on 07771997621 , email info @ stoneconsultants . co . uk or visit the Stone Consultants at www . stoneconsultants . co . uk . We look forward to hearing from you .
Block of stone
Adjacent slab faces polished to create a mirrored pattern .
Four slabs used to create the “ butterfly ” effect
62