More than three million people die each year in the United States. All those deaths require a lot of gravestones.
Two types of gravestone material have become more common than all others: granite and marble. Choosing between them indicates how you intend to mark the passing of a life.
Why have granite gravestones become popular, and what advantages do they offer over others? Should you choose a granite gravestone when a loved one passes away?
Read on as we look at what makes granite a better choice than marble for a gravestone. We’ll also consider different types and designs and how they intersect with the choices you make.
What Is Granite?
Granite consists of quartz, biotite, and mica in various configurations. The color and texture of a piece of granite come from the amounts of each mineral in the chunk.
Granite forms when molten rock cools within the Earth rather than bubbling up in lava. This slow cooling process gives granite its grainy, chunky appearance.
Types of Granite
Different types of granite have been named for their appearances. To go through every type of granite would be several articles unto itself, but we’ll handle some of the common ones.
Uba Tuba granite comes from Brazil. Its dark color comes from having a lot of mica within its matrix.
Santa Cecilia granite includes a lot of garnets. This gives it a reddish hue.
Mixing many common granite components, Venetian Gold granite includes tan and white minerals as well as dark black and red ones.
Non-Granite Granites
Not everything sold as granite counts as granite. True granites are igneous rocks, and some commercial granite includes metamorphic or sedimentary rock as well.
This doesn’t degrade the quality of the granite. Black Galaxy and Volga Blue “granites” still have gorgeous, distinctive looks. They go through different processes, however.
Granite Gravestones
Granite holds up to a lot of punishment, making it well-suited to permanent outdoor fixtures. When choosing a fixture you intend to last more than a century, such as a gravestone, this durability makes it a solid choice.
Headstone suppliers like supernovaintl.com also choose granite for the ease with which it can be polished. Polished granite can take on a beautiful sheen perfect for a headstone or other monument.
Granite or Marble?
Many graveyards have their share of marble gravestones. These have fallen out of vogue compared to their granite counterparts, however, due to their lack of weather resistance. Marble can chip and degrade over the years until inscriptions become illegible and details vanish.
More colors of granite naturally occur than colors of marble. The uniqueness of each stone also adds a personal touch. Marble still suits crypts and other interior grave markers, however.
A Thoughtful Mark for the End
Granite gravestones earn their popularity thanks to a mix of beauty and durability. A granite headstone provides a marker your family can visit for years to come.
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