Boat International – September 2019

P

chemicals can ruin the patina on particularly

delicate stones – and some stones are harder to

maintain than others.

For now, Marmor Hotavlje has no plans for

expansion. Private jets beckon, as well as “more

complicated, bigger boats”, but its game plan is to

perfect the work they do, rather than do more of

it. Almost every artisan employed 25 years ago was

from the town of Marmor, they say. Today, you’ll

find craftsmen from Bosnia, Serbia, the former

Yugoslavia and elsewhere. Each staff member is

proposed by someone working in-house – who,

ultimately, will be responsible for the work they

do if the worker is employed.

As for what comes out of the old limestone

mine, tucked away up the hill from the factory,

surrounded by lush hillside and a peaceful

stream... “Let’s just say, it’s not a material for

making shopping mall floors with,” Čeferin says.

There’s a limited supply of the dappled stone,

which varies wildly from grey to yellow, red and

white, depending where in the mine it comes

from. Some is sent to the US, fashioned into

beautiful tabletops, but for the most part it’s

guarded closely. “We want to be very wise with it.”

“What people can forget is that it’s not just a spa

or a beach club or a staircase that they’re getting,”

Čeferin says, “but millions of years of history.

Stone is a raw, natural material, and it deserves to

be treated with respect. If you give it the proper

care and attention it deserves, thenitwilllook

beautiful and last for hundreds ofyearstocome–

in a way, we are just the custodians.”B

MOSTEXPENSIVE

Lapislazuli(right)

RAREST

Purewhiteonyx

BESTFORDRAMA

Confusiondark

BESTFORNEUTRALINTERIORS

CremaMarfil(right)

BESTFORAMBITIOUS

PROJECTS

Botticino(left)

NEWONTHEMARKET

QuartziteMichelangelo

MOSTSUSTAINABLE

MocaCream.Oncetheproject is

finished,theremainingpieces are

grounddownandusedlater on for

pharmaceuticalpurposes

SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT

Patagonia. It looks like different pieces

aregluedtogetherandinoneslabyoucan

identifymarble,graniteandcrystal

Star stones

“Yachting is the

last industry

where people

care about the

details. Perhaps

that’s because,

for the person

paying for it,

it’s personal”

From top: hand-finishing

pieces for mosaics; shaping

a superyacht washbasin;

stone is ground into a powder

to fill minute holes, along

with a special mix of glue

and other materials

09 2019