Iquartz Vs Granite Top

[hougangEM 0]

iquartz is made in china. their website report already state it. although iquartz is quartz, but its hardness scale is 6(granite), while silestone and caesarstone report states its hardness scale as 7(quartz). I do not know the reason but it is most likely due to the bonding resin secret ingredient. anyway you can get OEM quartz from china, iquartz is just a brand pasted on it.

[hougangEM 0]

in this chemical new age world, it is better to get products from brands which care about low VOC for consumer health reasons. same like getting Kronotex/Prego because of EPLF certification. same reason as getting odourless nippon and low odour ICI dulux pure with low VOC certification.

especially important for kitchen top because your food are being prepared on it and your family will all be affected by your decision. Corian/LG/Staron all have low VOC certification for solid surface. Silestone and Caesarstone also have low VOC and food safety certification. if you intend to use granite, remember to get an environmentally friendly and low VOC sealant.

silestone and caesarstone are around $200-$250 pfr, but iquartz is $100-$150 pfr, too good to be true?

[casa 0]

There's another brand of quartz "Hanstone"from korea by Hanwah its price higher then I quartz lower then silestone consider medium range

Thickness 20mm

I have seen it test it but too bad out of my budget

Neworkz is dealing with Hanstone and Hanex Acrylic

Edited July 23, 2012 by casa

[Batman 0]

Go with granite as its natural.. dun need to bother about what VOC..

[Batman 0]

really good luck to you, unless you can afford to do waterproofing to your granite surface every year.

shoot.. I think I had VERY good luck cos my current kitchen is black galaxy granite top n going strong. Not a single leak nor need to do any water proofing

[korbu 0]

shoot.. I think I had VERY good luck cos my current kitchen is black galaxy granite top n going strong. Not a single leak nor need to do any water proofing

Batman, how long have you been using your granite top? My in-law's granite top has a lot of 'potholes' on it after using it for more than 10 years. Of course I don't think waterproofing nor maintenance was done.

[Batman 0]

Mine coming 3 years with daily cooking. No pot holes or whatsoever.

Seems that they are chopping on the granite top. If that's true, then I guess no top will be able to withstand that kind of abuse..

[taichipanda 3]

Hi everyone,

We are from iQuartz

...

Anything you still don't understand,

Always ask people who knows,

But not people who are guessing.

So iQuartz is made in China, sorry my mistake i though is made in Singapore.

I do have a few questions...

1. How many color does iQuartz has?

2. Does iQuartz has pure white color such as SilesStone Zeus Extreme or CaesarStone 1141?

3. What are the available thickness?

4. Can food preparation be carry out on iQuartz surface safely?

5. Is there any data sheet or testing report that can confirm this?

I have a very convincing suggestion... if iQuartz can produce the same test report done by CaesarStone and SilesStone that your numbers are on par or even more superior than the 2 market leaders, then with your affordable pricing you will get a very huge chunk of this market, both local and international.

[cuier 0]

I'm using iQuartz for my home too. So far no problems, very satisfied.

[merri 1]

Hi everyone,

We are from iQuartz

I saw one of the posts that the information he provided is incorrect.

below are the test report;

Silestone report 6-6.5 from silestone.com is here;

http://www.silestoneusa.com/pdf/PhysCharacteristics.pdf

Caesarstone test report Hardness some 7.5 some 6.5-7,

We are not sure the Hardness due to not consistent report.

http://media.caesarstoneus.com/pdf/CS_TDM_0511.pdf

http://www.uhny.com/pdf/caesarstone_tech_datasheet.pdf

http://media.caesarstoneus.com/pdf/CS_DBOOK_0511_WEB.pdf

At iQuartz we publish our test report by our independent Singapore test centre Setsco (setsco.com).

http://www.iquartz.com.sg/public/iQuartz_Test_Report_singapore.pdf

***iQuartz***

Also say we evaluated our Chinese OEM factory and the colours they can produce and we selected the only the most sustainable quality material for iQuartz.

Chinese quality are comparable to the best in the world, however they manage it with practical technology and a strong hold on costs and flexibility of production.

The costs savings is then passed down to our customers.

So what do you think of iPhone? iPhone and iPad and most of your high tech mass market gadgets are made in China.

China is one of the countries who have sent man to space. If all rich Chinese stand together, they are like the population of Woodlands, China is not a weak country.

Visit China when you are free

Silestone is produced in Portugal, and Caesarstone in Israel.

We at Stonetile Enterprise Pte Ltd have dealt with quartz material longer then Silestone and Caesarstone and Hanstone and Samsung, with more than 10 years’ experience in the field.

We are also the distributor of Dupont Zodiaq, so we understand high quality quartz surface.

Most importantly, we supply fabricate and install in-house, and we do not subcontract, to mainstain consistency of product and service quality, coordination and accurate problem troubleshooting.

I don't think you wish (Others Brand) slabs supplier complaining that the fabricator made a mistake with cutting the measurements so your installed top is not accurate,

or the installer accusing the template taker of inaccurate measurements.

With us, we provided one stop service and after sales service, We are the First, Fabrication, Installing, Responsible, Supply, and Taking Measurement.

Anything you still don't understand,

Always ask people who knows,

But not people who are guessing.

Is Quartz counter top really worth the price tag? An ID quoted $2,400 for a piece of quartz..."Supply labour & material to install 20mm thick natural quartz stone table top for kitchen work top. L4800mmx600mm."

[dragonnite 2]

My 2 cents worth, since I'm also looking to renovate my house - I kinda think of it like a decision tree.

- Solid surface vs quartz/granite

---> If low usage, i.e. dun do heavy duty cooking (chinese stir-fry, deep fry etc) = solid surface else look at next point

- Quartz vs granite

----> IMHO, not much difference if your granite top was done properly. My mum's black galaxy granite top has been in operation for the past 7 years - every day heavy use, "tok" etc - never needed waterproofing etc. Looks a little dull, but that's ok.

a. Looks : quartz has a lot more colours than granite, and it just looks smoother to me. Personally, in this department, I would go for quartz.

b. Budget : iQuartz is not much different compared to granite, but you gotta consider the whole cabinet construction, i.e. is the same waterproofing and sealing required for granite the same as that for quartz ?

Of course, this is coming from a practicality perspective. If you are any of the below, forget about solid surface:

- Careless : solid surface must take care, hot pots etc cannot juz put on surface, not as scratch resistant as quartz/granite

- Need to "tok" chicken, pork etc on a regular basis (like my mum)

- Personal preference : biggest factor

For me, I've used both solid surface and granite before and I will be using solid surface in my new place cos I'm not big into cooking and I don't need a heavy duty countertop like granite/quartz.

[taichipanda 3]

Is Quartz counter top really worth the price tag? An ID quoted $2,400 for a piece of quartz..."Supply labour & material to install 20mm thick natural quartz stone table top for kitchen work top. L4800mmx600mm."

My L4800mmX600mm CaesarStone quartz costs me $4,000, my friend's L4800mmX600mm SilesStone quartz costs her $4,790; why yours only cost you $2,400? Something fishy, maybe dont have 20mm thickness, or they only have limited colors or the 7% resin in their quartz is not certify food processing safe?

[taichipanda 3]

So iQuartz is made in China, sorry my mistake i though is made in Singapore.

I do have a few questions...

1. How many color does iQuartz has?

2. Does iQuartz has pure white color such as SilesStone Zeus Extreme or CaesarStone 1141?

3. What are the available thickness?

4. Can food preparation be carry out on iQuartz surface safely?

5. Is there any data sheet or testing report that can confirm this?

I have a very convincing suggestion... if iQuartz can produce the same test report done by CaesarStone and SilesStone that your numbers are on par or even more superior than the 2 market leaders, then with your affordable pricing you will get a very huge chunk of this market, both local and international.

Where is that user iQuartz? I am still waiting for his professional advice.

[Guest]

Where is that user iQuartz? I am still waiting for his professional advice.

Hi Taichipanda,

I'm also from iQuartz. Can I offer my help instead as my colleague may be too busy to check back on this thread.

1. How many colours does iQuartz have?

At the moment, we have 11 colours with 6 more coming in end of this month and a few other colours in production.

2. Does iQuartz has pure white color such as SilesStone Zeus Extreme or CaesarStone 1141?

iPure is the pure white colour equivalent to caesarstone 1141. We also have another new pure white stone called "iJade".

3. What are the available thickness?

iQuartz comes in 15mm thickness.

4. Can food preparation be carried out on iQuartz surface safely?

Yes, no problem. My own kitchenset is also from iQuartz and I do cook pretty regularly for the whole family, including 2 children. Wouldn't be using something unsafe.

5. Is there any data sheet or testing report that can confirm this?

Our test report by Singapore test centre, Setsco shows iQuartz test results unbiasedly.

Thanks for your suggestion Taichipanda. What happens is that there are different types of test reports and the way they phrase it in different countries. If you look through our report from Setsco, we have included the important results such as hardness, moisture absorption, stain effect & impact resistance. We're definitely on par with the other international quartz brands.

Furthermore, I would like to stress that we've been in the stone industry for more than a decade. That was long before quartz came into the market. Before that, we've been actively supplying granite and marble kitchentops already. We can definitely say we know the pros and cons of each stone material and for now, Quartz is definitely one of the best products ever seen on the market.

We also carry a high-end brand of Dupont Zodiaq quartz which is not very widely known in Singapore. It's italy-made and has a similar test report to caeserstone and silestone. Price also similar la! Which makes it not really budget-friendly for most people in Singapore, including me!

You mention other brands costing much more and iQuartz costing significantly lower. Well, of course partly is because of the brand. Imported brands always think they can have a higher price-tag than local brands. Quality may be the same but cos they have an imported branding, so get a higher price tag! Thickness as you mentioned makes a bit of difference in the pricing also, but no difference in the quality or hardness as shown in the test reports. In fact, many designers are asking if we will bring in even thinner slabs such as 10/12mm as the sleek look is very In now.

Lastly, we bring in at least 2 containers of materials each month ensuring we get the best rates and supplies from our production factory, thus passing on the savings to consumers who can then be able to get Quality Quartz surface at affordable pricing. Isn't this what everyone wishes for?

Any queries, feel free to check with me. Hope I don't offend anybody with my comments and just stating what I know and feel. Any criticisms or feedback, I'll be glad to listen and improve. But be nice!

Edited August 9, 2012 by michelleiquartz

[taichipanda 3]

All brand standard is 93% / 7%, even your CaesarStone is the same,

You may say you are buying a brand,

A little example,

i can buy a real leather bag for SGD$150,

i need to use SGD$1500 to purchase for a PVC Leather LV Bag.

Sometimes, price doesn't do the talking

Cheers bro, no hard feeling, just giving example.

i dont like the SGD1500 Leather LV Bag; prefer the Hermes Birkin Bag.

some can afford the finer things in life while others anything can do.

Most of the time, it is taste that matters most.

Cheers bro, no hard feeling.