What the stone looks like
The listings describe the black marbles in their own terms. Nero Marquina has a deep black base with sharp white veining, Sirius Black shows deep charcoal tones with natural striations, and Toros Black is a deep charcoal black with white and gray veins. Alexandrette black is crossed by white veining. Adriatic Black is the exception: its veining is described as gold, warm lines on a dark ground.
One vessel is offered in a second stone. The 20 inch round vessel comes in Toros Black or in Carrara White, a white marble with darker veining, which makes it a light basin with dark lines. For pale stone with dark veining as the main subject, compare white marble sinks.
Polished, honed and the outside of the bowl
Polished is the leading finish here. The listings describe it as deepening the black and bringing out the veining, with a glossy face that reflects the vanity light. A honed face is matte and smooth, and the Nero Marquina listing notes that it keeps water marks and fingerprints less visible than a gloss. Semi polished is the middle option, with less shine than a full polish.
Some bowls have a worked outside, listed as a hand split face, combed or rough finish over a polished interior. The worked outside is textured and matte, while the interior is smooth and reflective. A 16 inch Toros Black vessel pairs a polished interior with a combed rough exterior, and the conical pedestal sets a polished basin on a combed column.
Four formats in black marble
Vessel bowls
Vessel sizes:
- Rounds at 16, 16.5, 17.5 and 20 inches
- A 16x5 octagon
- A 14x24 gondola with curved ends
- A 14x17 rustic oval
- A 17x17 split-face bowl
- A large 31x23 basin
Black vessel sinks walks through those bowls one at a time and adds the andesite versions.
Wall mount basins
Wall mount is the second largest group after vessels, mostly rectangles:
- Single basins at 12x18, 12x19, 16x30, 17x30, 18x30 and 20x48
- An 18x60 double with two basins
- A 16x36 vanity, 10 inches tall, polished inside and out
Several have carved fronts: a fluted 16x24 Toros Black, a fluted Nero Marquina at 48x20, a ribbed Sirius Black at 16x20 or 16x36 with a 4 inch stone backsplash, and a 15x33 with a polished backsplash. Other marbles in this format are in marble wall mount sinks.
Pedestals
The freestanding pieces come round, oval, conical and as a square prism. The descriptions give their construction too. The square prism is two-tone and part white: a Carrara White column between a Toros Black basin and base, built from three marble blocks. The conical pedestal is made from two blocks. More columns and basins in lighter stone are in marble pedestal sinks.
Farmhouse and apron front
The apron front basins include a black marble at 16x24x6 and another at 13.5x21.5x6, both polished. A low 14.4x20.3 semi polished basin is classed with them and sits on top of the counter. The same form in other stones is on stone farmhouse sinks.
Drains, mounting and fittings
The vessel bowls and pedestals list a 4 cm drain hole for standard fittings, apart from the gondola at 1.5 inches. Several wall mount basins list a 1.77 inch drain hole with 1 inch of clearance underneath for the mounting brackets, and the 20x48 Toros Black, the 48x20 Nero Marquina, the 18x60 double and the 16x36 vanity list a 1.5 inch drain.
Many of the wall mount models are also listed for use on top of a vanity, so the same basin can hang free or sit on a cabinet. The listings name fittings as well: brass, matte black, nickel and chrome come up across the bowls, and the 31x23 basin lists warm gold accents. The full set of carved basins in white, gray, green, red and purple marble is on marble sinks.
