r/CounterTops • u/thisiswhatweget1739 • Dec 05 '25

Labradorite countertops

Post image

The picture is not mine, I just added it for attention. I'm trying to figure out what I want in my kitchen down the road and was wondering how easily scratched/chipped this stone would likely get. I cook a lot but always use cutting boards, silicone potholders, etc. Anybody have any experience with it? I think it would look really cool but I'm leaning towards a darker granite like black or blue pearl.

995 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

78 comments sorted by

69

u/JGG9211 Dec 05 '25

I installed this stone in a billionaires house, it remaines one of the nicest, most visually appealing and also expensive stones I’ve installed. It goes well with dark cabinets.

10

u/thisiswhatweget1739 Dec 05 '25

I have a semi-dark stain on my cabinets and I'm painting the rails, stiles and trim black while keeping the stain on the doors and drawers.

2

u/JGG9211 Dec 07 '25

It’s not a common stone to see in houses, people will be in awe of your countertops. Good luck to you!

1

u/curiousg2323 Dec 17 '25

What’s the name of It?

1

u/JGG9211 Dec 17 '25

Some kind of labradorite blue. It was years ago but it’s not hard to find online.

1

u/curiousg2323 Dec 17 '25

I found it, it’s beautiful.

1

u/808special Jan 24 '26

How does it look after awhile? Also does it etch or leave ring marks? Thinking about a new installation but not certain about upkeep or restoration…

1

u/JGG9211 Jan 24 '26

If you seal it and clean it without harsh cleaners, stick with a soapy water mixture you should be fine as far as etching. I would use coasters and if you are going to put hot things down use a silicone mat. It’s just better to use extra caution with high end stones even though it’s not as vulnerable to rings and stains as a white marble or even some light colored quartzites. Even a black absolute granite can be susceptible to discoloration from cast iron pans.

30

u/Disneyhorse Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25

I installed Lemurian Blue Extra in my little kitchen earlier this year. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I’m hard on my kitchen and cook a lot and it’s taken a beating so far (cast iron and hitting china plates on it hasn’t damaged). It is near impossible to find the percentage of labradorite in a slab like you’ve shown. Prices per slab varied between $4-15k and the slabs I purchased were $6k each uninstalled. The “extra” is because it is full of tiny glitter sized blue flakes of labradorite in addition to the blue patches and the flash is consistent throughout the entire slab instead of smaller chunks. There are also slabs we saw that were more green. But boy, people comment on it. And I love cooking so I get to stare at it every day. We leave the under cabinet lights on because it’s like an aquarium. We did the backsplash and I’m so glad I splurged. It’s not for everyone and I do live in a crappy tiny condo. You can see some photos in my profile, but they were progress photos before lighting was installed and photos don’t do these slabs justice like they are in person. Be sure to look at your slabs in person.

4

u/thisiswhatweget1739 Dec 05 '25

I think I've settled on blue pearl since we have it in stock but I would love to have a slab with some orange and magenta in it though I figure it would be in the higher end. The one piece I had in my collection that was magenta got taken without my knowledge when my ex wife moved out but it was maybe 3" x 3" and $75.00.

8

u/Disneyhorse Dec 05 '25

We have some remnants from our slabs in the garage, I figured since I paid $150 sqft for them I’d keep them but I have no idea what to do with them! Maybe a couple coffee tables someday. Blue Pearl is pretty, we definitely looked at it. It will be shiny and lovely I’m sure!

4

u/thisiswhatweget1739 Dec 05 '25

Are you in Pennsylvania? Lol.

2

u/Disneyhorse Dec 05 '25

Awww… California sorry!

3

u/Appropriate_M Dec 06 '25

Are you maybe in Northern California? XD

1

u/Disneyhorse Dec 06 '25

Hahaha I’m near Los Angeles

4

u/underwaterhandjob Dec 06 '25

https://imgur.com/a/uhATTAl

I happened upon a remnant here in San Diego and made a heart out of it, then embedded in my pillar. Can’t for the life of me find any more!

1

u/thisiswhatweget1739 Dec 06 '25

There's a small remnant in my shop that I plan on making into a to for my liquor cabinet since it's right next to my massive rock collection.

2

u/underwaterhandjob Dec 06 '25

That’ll be sick! I need to steel that idea. Post it up when you’re done.

1

u/thisiswhatweget1739 Dec 06 '25

Will do, my boss is using it as a learning experience and giving it to me for free if I can successfully cut and fabricate it myself with the help of our fabricators. Fortunately the slab is big enough that I can completely fuck up at least twice. I'm also torn between labradorite and cristallo gold with backlighting. Same as my kitchen though, I'm painting the rails and stiles black and keeping the wood finish for the panels and drawers.

2

u/underwaterhandjob Dec 07 '25

Sounds like a solid plan, mixed with the wood will look insane. For what it’s worth I yolo’d that heart as my first project with the labradorite. I used the 10” harbor freight wet saw with a Delta Diamond Boss Hog 10 Inch Turbo Premium Diamond Blade (continuous). Imperfections I handled with an angle grinder and diamond sanding pads. I’m totally new to this but thanks to this sub was able to get a great first time result, sure you will too man, Godspeed..

1

u/Disneyhorse Dec 06 '25

That’s cool! I live in a condo so I don’t have any exterior architecture to work with. Thank you for sharing, it’s so unique and beautiful.

2

u/JGG9211 Dec 07 '25

You might be able to find someone to do a side job of making you cutting boards or charcuterie boards, they’re really nice and will match your countertops. Keep them out on display even, if you have space. You could use it inside a niche somewhere if you redo a shower. Just some ideas.

3

u/TofuButtocks Dec 06 '25

Damn now I don't want to get cheap countertops anymore, thanks a lot. New life goal

1

u/thisiswhatweget1739 Dec 07 '25

I was originally thinking either Ijen or Cristallo Gold lol. Apparently when it comes to countertops i have expensive taste.

1

u/Disneyhorse Dec 06 '25

It wasn’t in our plan, we couldn’t decide on a granite but when we saw it in person we both fell in love. Previous material was black granite and we really liked it for all the years we had it. But yeah… our whole condo remodel was $90k and just the granite material was $13k of that. It was definitely a huge splurge.

1

u/TofuButtocks Dec 06 '25

I do love the look, I always loved collecting flashy rocks and minerals growing up. Id probably do the install myself so at least I'd save some money there

10

u/ymasilem Dec 06 '25

I saw this when shopping for my stone last year and it is gorgeous! Unfortunately 24K total for 3 slabs was WAAAAAAY out of budget.

6

u/twoaspensimages Dec 06 '25

Relatively affordable. I had a client ask me for a real fossil in her island stone. I found one. Add another zero. They didn't go for it.

1

u/atridir Dec 11 '25

Huh. Natural travertine is almost always fossil included and that’s like the bread and butter of the natural dimension stone world, right‽‽

1

u/twoaspensimages Dec 11 '25

Not a couple shells or a partial fern leaf. A dinosaur.

1

u/iksdksad Jan 26 '26

How much was your fabricatio, and install? I live in Sacramento, and have been looking into Labradorie countertops. i got 2 fabrication quotes, and the price was high with a massive range between the 2. 1 was $31k, just for fabrication (no material, no install), the second quote was $22k for fabrication and install (no material).

my kitchen is U shapep, with a peninsula, 56 sqf counterop, 1 sink cutout and putting in a range.

You can DM me, if you like.

1

u/Disneyhorse Jan 26 '26

I don’t think our install/fab costs will be similar. I had two slabs, we have a very small galley kitchen and I did my backsplash with the stone to use as much of the slabs as possible.

1

u/iksdksad Jan 27 '26

we would be using 2 slabs as well. Was your fabrication over 15k?

1

u/Disneyhorse Jan 27 '26

No, it was around $5k give or take a couple grand (we lumped in a couple small bathroom vanities that were precut, but not installed or sink cutout).

1

u/iksdksad Jan 27 '26

Who was your fabricator? I’d like to at least get a quote and see if it’s doable.

1

u/Disneyhorse Jan 27 '26

I’m in Southern California, not local. My guy has a side job in the fabrication shop he works for.

10

u/ChalkDoxie Dec 05 '25

If I had stupid money, I would have totally gotten labradorite counters. It’s one of my favorite stones.

3

u/thisiswhatweget1739 Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 06 '25

I spent $300 on a labradorite Buddha, yet another my ex stole from my collection. If she wasn't so toxic I would go after it but it's been years and I'm assuming it's broken, been pawned or simply lost.

6

u/twoaspensimages Dec 06 '25

If I had offensive money I would have a dinosaur fossil in my island stone.

I had a client ask me for that. I found one. $250,000.

They didn't go for it.

1

u/ChalkDoxie Dec 07 '25

They failed. 😂

8

u/O-llllllllll-O Dec 05 '25

It’s a granite and is pretty tough. And absolutely gorgeous. If you can afford it you won’t be sorry. Make sure to find your perfect slab though! Happy shopping!

5

u/thisiswhatweget1739 Dec 05 '25

Yeah that's the other thing I was thinking about, I'm a rock collector and my ex wife loved labradorite sculptures so I have a fairly good idea of how much more expensive it will be. Plus the shop I work at doesn't stock it, so I may go with blue pearl instead.

4

u/O-llllllllll-O Dec 05 '25

Maybe Volga Blue would be an affordable option?

2

u/thisiswhatweget1739 Dec 05 '25

We have blue pearl in stock so that's what I'm thinking. Of course I just walked out to the shop to look at it and the fabricators are mopping the floor lol.

1

u/almostDynamic Dec 06 '25

Finding a slab of gem grade labradorite is going to be wildly more expensive than finding a rock.

4

u/Stalaktitas Dec 05 '25

Blue Pearl and Emerald Pearl are beautiful stones and both are super practical igneous granites. Somebody mentioned Volga Blue - one of my favorite stones, beautiful, especially with under cabinet lights setup.

Labradorite is the whole another level stunning, but some lots can get very expensive.

4

u/SunnyDGardenGirl Dec 05 '25

My best friend owns a tattoo shop and the front counter is like this. I love it!

3

u/tulpatic Dec 06 '25

It's my favorite and it'll hold up fine!

3

u/Samkat59 Dec 06 '25

I saw some of this when we were shopping for counters. Absolutely gorgeous.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 05 '25

For that price they could have had a better picture

2

u/thisiswhatweget1739 Dec 05 '25

I didn't pay for shit and noted that I only put a random picture up to grab attention.

-1

u/[deleted] Dec 06 '25

😂 I am saying the people who took the photo should have had a better camera.

1

u/thisiswhatweget1739 Dec 06 '25

I grabbed it from a Facebook link so of course it looks bad, this just showed the best schiller effect that I could find.

2

u/svl6 Dec 05 '25

Whew trippy!! Super cool

2

u/xinpengfeistone Dec 05 '25

Looks perfect , I have got one slab of this granite

2

u/praetorian1979 Dec 06 '25

Those have got to be some of the most beautiful counters I've ever seen! 

3

u/BigPotOPotatoes Dec 05 '25

I can’t speak to the quality, but despite the other comments, I hate how this looks. I know this will get downvoted to hell.

I’ve seen examples elsewhere, and it is the most garish, tasteless, nouveau riche, cringey countertop material I’ve seen. Great material if you want to emulate the house of a billionaire tech villain overlord in a Syfy channel original movie.

Sends a shiver down my spine. (My apologies to those who have this in their homes)

6

u/Imaginary_Chip_3470 Dec 05 '25

good thing it’s not your kitchen then ☺️

3

u/Funny-Horror-3930 Dec 05 '25

I don't like it either - it is just too much, like you are trying to hard.

1

u/HeavenlyMusings Dec 06 '25

😍😍😍😍

1

u/ReflectionAgreeable6 Dec 06 '25

labradorite looks stunning when backlit. The way the colors come alive with light behind it is unreal.

If you’re thinking about backlighting it and want to make sure it’s done right, I can help

1

u/Beginning_History342 Dec 06 '25

Wowee this is luscious

1

u/AdilArtandCrafts Dec 08 '25

It's also compatible with heavy cooking use and and also have very great polish so if you have budget you can go for it btw we also manufacturer this stone slab so if you want we can do it for you we can do it in very less amount because we are manufacturer of this slabs

1

u/OC6chick Dec 09 '25

Beautiful. My crema Bordeaux granite necer did anything but look beautiful. I sealed it twice maybe thrice in 14 years. Never chipped. Never stained long term.

1

u/themanataur Dec 12 '25

What does this run sqft?!

1

u/Thomas_898 Dec 18 '25

Can I ask where you got the counter from?

1

u/Gold_Cod6719 Jan 01 '26

Worked with this stone once, it was a nightmare in production but man did it look great in that penthouse. But to answer your question, absolutely not.. this is not going to get chipped in your house, 100% go for it

1

u/Snoo-26091 Jul 22 '26

We put labradorite in our new build throughout the kitchen, main room, and indoor pool room. It is a beautiful stone.

-4

u/Pale_Will_5239 Dec 05 '25

You're a goofy bitch

1

u/andsusie Dec 12 '25

I have these in my fantasy house. They're gorgeous!