Stone does not forgive a shortcut.
A piece of marble or onyx is a record of everything that happened to it underground — pressure, heat, mineral, time. Our job is to not get in the way of that.
What we work in
Marble, onyx and travertine, sourced from quarries in Italy, Turkey and Brazil. Each stone behaves differently on the bench — onyx is translucent and will carry light through it, travertine is open and matte, marble takes the highest polish and shows the most movement.
We cut the same piece in ten stones. Because it is natural stone, the veining in yours will not repeat anywhere else on earth, and the piece you receive is the only one of it that exists.
Read about each stone
Five steps, every time
- 01
The stone is chosen
We start at the block, not at a catalogue. Slabs are picked for movement, depth of color and how the veining will run across the finished face.
- 02
Cut and shaped
The piece is cut oversize, then shaped by hand. Edges are drawn to a line you can feel with a fingertip, and every face is worked until it is flat.
- 03
Polished through the grits
Successive grits, by hand, until the surface holds light the way still water does. This is the slow part, and it is the part that shows.
- 04
Gold, set by hand
24kt gold-plated metal trim is fitted, seated and finished on the bench, so it follows the stone rather than fighting it.
- 05
Lined and fitted
Interiors are lined in suede or cedar, hardware is set, and any engraving is cut — the last thing done, once everything else is right.
Four things that decide how it turns out
- I
The stone is chosen first
Every commission starts at the block. We pick the slab for its movement, its depth of color and the way its veining will run across the finished face — because on a table, an ashtray or a case, the stone is not a finish applied to a product. It is the product.
- II
Cut, not molded
Natural stone will not take a shortcut. Each piece is cut, shaped and hand-polished through successive grits until the surface holds light like water, and the edges are drawn to a line you can feel with a fingertip.
- III
Gold, set by hand
The trim is 24kt gold-plated metal, fitted and finished by hand rather than stamped on. It is the one warm note against the stone, and it is meant to look like it belongs there — because it was set by someone who could see the piece it was going onto.
- IV
Made for one person
Sizes, interiors, engraving and stone choice are all yours to set. Nothing leaves the bench until it is a piece that could only have been made for you — which is the whole point of commissioning one.
Custom is the default
Sizes, interiors, engraving and stone are all yours to set. These are two recent commissions — a travel case fitted around its owner’s decanter and glasses, and a set of stone boxes sized to what needed storing.
