Why Calacatta Marble Is So Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider

Michelangelo's famous "David" sculpture was carved out of marble. The iconic material has been used for centuries by artists and designers alike. And calacatta is one of the world's most expensive types of marble. It’s more than double the price of Carrara marble, yet mined in the same mountains. But the key to calacatta's price is its rarity.

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Why Calacatta Marble Is So Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider

[darren_anscombe]

Imagine cutting and moving a block of marble the size required for "David" and moving it to Michelangelo in his time. Now that is mind-blowing.

[yalz]

This Series could report about any product now considering how everything became expensive.

[XxMGOKillerxX]

As an estimator at a countertop company I can confirm people pay absurd prices for Calacatta Gold, having done an estimate recently where the material alone was $22k for a single slab.

[Vorusen]

Something tells me 95% of the people who have calacatta countertops wouldn't be able to tell the different between theirs and 4 other white marble counters if held side by side. Like to rich people enjoy being scammed or is it just a flex? Because getting "Calacatta Gold" looks like the pieces they would normally deem unworthy of selling but some people are dumb enough to eat that shit up at a higher price so why not sell it to them as "an exclusive luxury item"

[karenm]

Can’t help but appreciate Sergio’s passion. His comment on how meticulous they are about the sealing process because a crack may turn black from catching dirt if used as flooring…even when the marble is out of their hands, he still cares about the value of it.

[JayEssential]

I work with Calacatta marble but on a smaller scale. I’m a tile setter and there’s been projects where I’ve worked with Calacatta, had to spend almost $100 on a diamond tipped blade for my wet saw so the cuts come out clean and don’t chip the marble. These tiles were retailed at $600 a box and there only a quantity of 4 per box and the dimensions are 12x24. Scary material to work with when you keep the value in mind 😭💯

[steveny]

Can we just appreciate the art on the crane at 0:43

[michaeljeanrichard]

Stuff like this is always incredibly fascinating because there's so much knowledge that is just passed from one person to the other and could be traced back to the very first person that discovered it and that's always been amazing to me

[Wreckz_Tea]

I had a job at a marble and quartz slab company and did everything in the video other than the extraction process. I cut slabs, sealed and polished and it was a really cool job. Amazing process from start to finish. Unfortunately I had a serious lack of training and was just let loose to run machines that consistently broke down daily and nobody around who could fix them. I unfortunately was eventually fired because I was forced to run the machines in manual mode which vacuum suction the blocks to pick them up and stack them after they are finished and when suction cups failed I would inevitably drop slabs and shatter them. If that place had better management and decent equipment I would still be there today and would have no plans to leave. If you ever get the opportunity to get a job doing that stuff you should jump on it bc it's so cool. Now I'm a locomotive mechanic and have good management...quite the change in career

[Prioslupus]

"This step ensures that the marble has no flaws" except the mayor flaw of being filled with a man-made plastic.

[johnster]

it’s not even a good surface for a countertop that’s what’s crazy about it. i looked into buying a counter and prices and it stains the easiest, chips easily, looks pretty but there are knock off surfaces that look identical and don’t crack when you put a hot pan on them. marble is soft which makes it great for statues, not countertops.

[blacklavoux]

As an interior designer, this marble is very much overused to the point where i can’t appreciate the value anymore 😂

[macrexold]

I understand that marble is expensive and beautiful, but man I am just thinking what the first humans who discovered the mountains were thinking when they saw this mysterious weird looking mountain. I also curious about how it look back then.

[petrescuework-difficultcas]

"It pollutes the drinking water for locals and experts say, if they don't stop, the problems even get worse. But the customers don't care."

Yeah, humans pretty much explained in two sentences.

[SPLSE]

It's not mentioned clearly, part of the reason why Calacatta is so expensive is that these quarries are owned by a very small group of families or organizations.

[Stitcherrr]

As a marmor worker... Just don't use Calacatta for exterior use or countertop. It's a marble so anything acid will "attack" it (like rain / vinegar / lemon / tomato sauce) and the beautiful polish will disapear for a granular touch (but only where acid stayed). AND it will always be "dirty". Even if you wash it directly after a bad use, some time after, it will have stains of what you prepared on it. Same goes for cutting on it, it will make cavity. And hot plate will cause slits.

Same goes for every marble and limestones (exceptions do exist but yes 99% of marble won't like it)

[cheysheefel]

This is soooo cool! A marble mountain. This is going to sound crazy but I obviously knew marble was a rock, but I never knew it came from this! How crazy.

[wallacesouza]

I'VE BEEN SEEING POST EVERYWHERE ABOUT FOREX TRADING AND CRYPTO CURRENCY, A LOT OF PEOPLE KEEP SAYING THINGS ABOUT THIS TRADING PLATFORMS PLEASE CAN SOMEONE LINK ME TO SOMEBODY WHO CAN PUT ME THROUGH..?

[BaconTomatoCheese]

Absolutely beautiful material… I’ve done a lot of tile jobs with this, sometimes it’ll break, but the end results are worth the extra work

[ThomasNappo]

Best everything comes out of italy..
goes on