To create a true veneer of natural stone you needed the stone (naturally) but you also need something to bond it to, otherwise it would just break in many pieces because natural stone has what we in the industry refer to as natural inclusions. These include seams/cracks these are not considered faults but part of the natural beauty of the stone itself.
Even traditional thick cut 2cm onyx is fragile but even more so when it is engineered to a thickness of 5mm. Now to the point to obtain a high level of translucency and strength the material of choice was glass. This resulted in a flat rigid panel with a 5mm decorative stone veneer laminated to glass for backlit translucent applications and this has been the case now for over a decade and we have been marketing this material under the brand name ‘Sheerstone’.
Technological advancements have resulted in better lamination techniques and alternative backing materials the result of which is the re-birth of ‘Sheerstone’ which no longer requires glass!
This means the same high level of translucency over a wide range of onyx & marbles but it is now both lighter & stronger than its predecessor and considerably cheaper too. So now the WOW factor is available to a wider audience.
