It wasn’t until the financial crash of 2008,
however, that they pivoted from supplying marble
for hotels, whose budgets were rapidly shrinking,
to supplying it to superyachts. “No one but yacht
owners would have the money for something so
time-consuming and precise,” explains Tomaž, the
CEO. Sandi Čeferin, head of special projects,
agrees. “The yachting industry really is the last
industry left where people care about the small
details. Perhaps that’s because, for the person
paying for it, it’s personal.”
Today, the company has three workshops, a
department of innovation and technology that
focuses on turning designers’ visions into
workable plans for the 120 craftsmen, and has up
to eight superyachts on its books at any one time.
It has played a key part in the fitting out of some
of the world’s most notable boats and it is the
go-to supplier for the industry’s leading builders
and designers, including Lürssen, Amels and
Oceanco; Dan Lenard, François Zuretti, Reymond
Langton, Terence Disdale and Winch Design.
“Though their name is an intricate one to
pronounce at first, these marble-makers are up to
the challenge,” jokes Zuretti. Lenard agrees. “They
have created the most beautiful yachts designed
in recent years.”
So how does this little-known operation work
behind the scenes? First, the Marmor Hotavlje
team flies around the globe – sometimes
accompanied by designers or stone dealers, but
also solo – to source the most flawless stone
available. Spain, Italy (notably Carrara and
Verona) and elsewhere in Europe are regular
destinations – Brazil, China, Iran and Afghanistan
are also on the map, but visited less frequently.
As with any interiors trend, which stones are in
vogue can change at any time. “Designers love
white onyx at the moment because it’s translucent,
so it works beautifully with the light,” says Čeferin.
“They helicopter down here to look at what we
have at the start of any big project, and sometimes
they say, ‘Wow, I’ve found a new material!’, but
they’re picking up things that our great-
grandfathers would have been using.”
“When people ask us how long things take to
make,” Tomaž adds, “we say 25 million years... and
two months.”
Of course, as with anything aesthetic, everyone
has their own individual tastes. Generally
speaking, European clients lean towards neutral
stones – honey onyx and ivory onyx, for example,
while Middle Easterners favour rich, jewelled-
toned stones in deep blues and greens, and
Russians often go for a little sparkle.
No new stones, then, for eagle-eyed designers
and owners to go hunting for, but “there are new
quarries in Asia that have some crazy materials
coming out of them”, Čeferin says. Most of them
are exporting for big commercial projects, and
selling stone at a relatively low price, but there
are “a few very special things on the market right
now that are very rare, and simply not available
in Europe”.
Some of the most noteworthy stones in high
demand from elsewhere also include azul
macaubas, an impossibly beautiful stone that
looks almost like a watercolour painting of the
ocean. It’s incredibly rare to find slabs that reveal
this stunning pattern without
any flaws, and it’s challenging
to work with because it is so
hard. Onyx fantastico,
meanwhile, is notably
striking, with line upon line of
burnt orange, rust reds,
browns and white.
There’s some confusion, say
Čeferin and Tomaž, on what
people are actually buying.
“There’s not a lot of marble on
the market that’s actually real
marble,” they explain. “Most
of it is limestone.”
This doesn’t necessarily
mean that buyers are getting
a raw deal, however. “People
think that if something is
expensive, it’s the best quality
available,” says Tomaž, “but in
the stone industry that just
means it’s rare. Nobody buys
marble or limestone because it
has a technically excellent
structure – you can find that
relatively affordably, but it’s all
about the pattern of one
particular piece, how much
there is of it to go around and
how badly someone wants it –
just like with antiques.” Plus, he adds, “it’s worth
remembering that if a stone has a very delicate
composition, the wastage factor is much higher,
as it’s far more likely to crack mid-build.”
Stone blocks sourced, the huge pieces are then
cut into thick, slice-like slabs, usually around
two centimetres deep. This is so that designers
can see the exact structure, patterns and markings
that run throughout each piece. As a natural
material, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that every“When people
ask us how long
things take to
make,” Tomaž
adds, “we say
25 million years...
and two months”Clockwise from below:
Jože Jesenko, head technician of
the quarry, has worked there for 31
years; assistant technician Branimis
Biškop operates the mine’s diamond
saw; all sculptures are finished
by hand; the entrance to the
Marmor Hotavlje quarry17209 2019