Backlight for Natural Stone

A natural stone is always unique – a painting of colors, grains and shapes crafted by nature over thousands of years. With the right lighting, this feast for the senses can be staged quite splendidly, especially with backlit natural stone. In this article, we will therefore focus on the aesthetic effect and technical aspects of backlighting for natural stone. And if you like what you see, we invite you to discover the whole variety of illuminated natural stone in our showrooms.

Which Natural Stones are Translucent?

For effective, luminous natural stones, you naturally need a translucent stone. However, not every stone allows light to shine through to the same extent. There are types of stone that become translucent from just a few centimeters thick, while some hardly allow any light to shine through at all.

Thanks to the latest technologies, however, extremely thin layers can be cut out of a stone and bonded to a glass pane. The so-called “thin stone technology” makes it possible to backlight almost any stone because the thin thickness of the stone layer allows light to pass through. The advantage of this technology is therefore mainly the wide choice of materials. However, the manufacturing process is quite complex and the result, although beautiful, is not particularly “deep” in its effect.

So if you want to enjoy the extravagant, vivid depth effect of a real stone slab, you should go for the combination of onyx with light. Onyx (also referred to as onyx marble) is translucent from a thickness of 2 cm and therefore particularly suitable for backlighting. It thus combines translucent and construction properties and therefore offers a very wide range of applications in the construction of translucent objects, such as lighting a natural stone wall or a washbasin.

It is also characterized by its richness of color and its multi-layered nature (onyx is a very expressive, dominant stone) and is particularly effective when onyx is backlit. The various layers and color gradients in the stone create an elegant depth effect when backlit. This visual “penetration” of the stone has a very special aesthetic.

Which Lighting Material is used for Backlit Natural Stone?

If a natural stone is backlit, the choice of the right illuminant is important. The choice, positioning and setting of the light source should always depend on the stone, or its appearance and its use. For example, should a warm or cool effect be achieved? Which light temperature goes particularly well with the color scheme of the stone? Such aspects are always taken into account at Real Stein when designing a backlit stone object.

Quite independently of such design issues, LED technology is always particularly well suited as a light source for backlit natural stone. The reasons for this are the small installation depth of LED lighting, the possibility of large-area illumination to create or avoid halos, and the high energy efficiency despite maximum brightness.

Also possible, of course, is the integration of the illuminants into one’s own smart home architecture. In general, there are hardly any limits to the technical possibilities. Thus, sensors for controlling the light or similar technology highlights can also be used, which give your backlit stone that little extra.

If a queen were chosen among the natural stones and collections we offer, the choice would not be particularly difficult for us. We present: Shellstone. Or rather, our Shellstone Collection. Behind the name stands the most extravagant, noble and sophisticated material creation in the house of Real Stein.

What is Shellstone?

Shellstone is the crowning glory — or in this case much more apt — the pearl among the natural stone collections. These are the smallest mother-of-pearl stones, or stone cut-outs, which are assembled in a mosaic-like arrangement by the finest manual work to form entire stone slabs and surfaces for interior design elements.

Depending on the selection of the underlying mother-of-pearl stone, the resulting surfaces differ in color, but also in the size and arrangement of the various mosaic pieces. From large and small rectangles to splinter-like set pieces – the overall picture is always a feast for the senses.

The color spectrum covers all the colors that the organic processes of the shells impart to the marine rock: from light pink shimmering beige to emerald green shining brown tones. The shimmer of the mother-of-pearl is further intensified by the optical reflections between the fragments, creating a veritable 3D effect.

Where is Shellstone used?

Sellstone is a very special material in interior design, because in addition to its robust properties as a natural stone, it has an unparalleled aesthetic appeal. This makes it the ideal choice for the creation of particularly high-quality, luxurious interior design elements.

Due to its particularly high-quality and filigree appearance, Shellstonde is most often used in interiors. Here, the most breathtaking design highlights are created from the mother-of-pearl stone, from the luxurious Shellstonde bathtub, to the shiny translucent mosaic wall, to the cladding of extravagant furniture. Shellstone is also used for wet rooms with incorporation of fittings or technical sensors. Outdoors, Shellstone is mostly used for finishing pools or water features, which is a fitting tribute to this marine rock.

On our website, you can get a first impression of the aesthetic effect of Shellstone indoors in our reference projects and browse through the different finishes in our Shellstone collection. Here you will find the most popular varieties from White Mother of Pearl to Caramel Abalone and our Rainbow Opale. But admittedly, only the real experience truly does justice to a majestic rock work like Shellstone. That’s why in our Shellstone Gallery in Gibswil you can not only marvel at the organic jewel live, but also touch it.

Wie teuer ist Shellstone?

Aufgrund der anspruchsvollen Verarbeitung per Hand und des edlen, organisch-gewachsenen Materials gehört Shellstone zu den hochpreisigen Materialien im Interior-Bereich. Das Label „Luxus“ hat sich das Perlmutt-Mosaik jedoch nicht nur aufgrund seines hohen Preises, sondern vor allem auch durch seine wirklich extravagante Erscheinung verdient.

Durch die vielseitigen Möglichkeiten der Verarbeitung ist eine genaue Preisangabe schlicht nicht möglich und muss immer individuell errechnet werden. Zu den relevanten Faktoren gehören zum Beispiel die Verarbeitungsformen, von grossen bis kleinen Fragmenten, die unterschiedlichen Perlmutt-Varianten und die vielen möglichen Einsatzgebiete, von der Shellstone-Wand bis zur Shellstone-Kommode, bzw. zu regelrechten Perlmutt-Möbeln.

Das heisst, die schlussendliche Bepreisung hängt nicht nur von der Materialauswahl und Grösse der Fläche ab, sondern auch von den konstruktiven Eigenschaften des zu produzierenden Objekts. Gerne können wir Sie zu den Kosten von Shellstone, aber auch zu den verschiedenen Einsatzmöglichkeiten unverbindlich beraten.