Silver Green Granite®
The Silver Green Granite® quarry named Argentera is located on the left side of the Dora Baltea valley, almost at the valley’s outlet into the Canavese plain, at an elevation around 450 meters above sea level. Exploitation of the quarry is attested from the 18th century in the nearby parish church of Borgofranco; numerous historical uses of the material are recorded in the neighboring municipalities of Borgofranco, Tavagnasco and Settimo Vittone during the century. Since 1975, the quarry has been cultivated by Vuillermin Gualtiero, which has been able to enhance, through workings carried out with the appropriate technologies, the technical and aesthetic qualities of a granite of particular tenacity and great aesthetic value. Silver Green Granite® has over time transcended the local sphere, finding uses in realizations throughout Europe and the world.
The material
Among the granites found in Italy, Silver Green Granite® particularly stands out in terms of color and decorative characteristics. The silvery reflections are given by the lamellae of a particular high-pressure ferriferous mica, phengite, while the splendid green color, slightly opalescent when polished, soft and variegated when natural, is given by none other than jade. The peculiar geological history of this material gives it mechanical and aesthetic qualities that are unique in the world: indeed, Silver Green Granite® has been hardened by such pressure surges by sinking to the bottom of the crust and transforming into rock of the abysses and then rising to the surface without damage.
The finished work
The commercial diffusion of Silver Green Granite® has grown over time the local sphere to establish itself not only in the Alpine region (Aosta, Zermatt, Verbier, Crans-Montana, Innsbruck, Chamonix…) but also on a wider European scale (Berlin, Bonn, Budapest, Paris, Munich…) up to prestigious overseas realizations (Singapore Subway, Maldives Presidential Palace, Plaza Hotel in Hong Kong…). The modestly sized material from the waste blocks is processed into blocks then used for drystone walls, cladding and paving of traditional roadways or gardens, or they are processed for objects.
