One of the most important choices the families we work with must make is the color of granite they would like to use for their memorial.
Granite colors not only play a major role in determining how much the monument will cost, but also what font styles will be legible, whether or not you can use laser-etching, and how a stone’s design will be laid out.
Granite is an incredibly diverse natural material and can range in color from black, brown, gray, pink, green, blue, and more. Not only does granite vary from quarry to quarry, but also within some quarries themselves.
For example, the Cold Spring Quarry in Milbank, South Dakota produces four colors of granite from a single quarry depending on how much variegation there is on the stone and which colors are most prominent in that particular piece.
The rest of this page will be dedicated to giving you an overview of our most popular granites, listed in alphabetical order.
Barre (Domestic)
Barre (pronounced Bear-ee) granite comes from the E.L. Smith Quarry in Barre, Vermont. It is one of the best granites available because of its tight and extremely even texture. These physical characteristics also make it very weather resistant and a good choice for harsher climates. This granite is a light gray with a hint of sparkle from a mineral called Micah evenly dispersed throughout.
Barre granite was actually chosen to construct the Korean War Memorial in Busan, South Korea because its physical properties make it one of the best granites available for sculpting.
Bellingham (Domestic)
This color of granite is domestically produced in Morton, Minnesota. Its color is primarily pink and black with white and beige throughout.
Blue Pearl (Imported)
Blue Pearl is a stunningly beautiful blue granite that comes from the Larvik Granite quarry in Larvik, Norway. The waves of large crystals set in the deep blue set this granite apart. There are also hints of black that serve to accentuate the rich blues and sparkly crystals.
Blue Silk (Imported)
This granite is imported from quarries in India. It draws you in with its beautiful shades of swirly blueish violet with hints of brownish burgundy that allow for one-of-a-kind monuments.
Carnelian (Domestic)
Carnelian granite is also known as Select Mahogany. It is quarried from the Dakota Granite quarry in Milbank, South Dakota. This granite has a very consistent base color of brown and blue with no variegation. This is the most consistent color that comes out of the Dakota Granite quarry and only about 5% of the granite they produce qualifies as Carnelian (or Dakota Mahogany).
Coffee Brown (Imported)
Coffee Brown granite comes from the country of India. It is a darker granite that is browns and blacks in it.
Colonial Rose (Imported)
Colonial Rose granite is imported from a quarry just outside of Lac du Bonnet in Manitoba, Canada. It has hints of red, black, gray, and white evenly dispersed with specks of garnet that accentuate the base colors.
Georgia Gray (Domestic)
This is one of the most popular granite colors and comes from many quarries in and around Elberton, Georgia. It is a very consistently colored granite and is primarily white with black spots evenly dispersed throughout. Georgia Gray granite is the granite of choice by the VA for all of the free granite markers given to our military veterans.
Gold Star (Imported)
Gold Star granite is a beautiful granite we import from quarries in India. It is a deep black that is speckled with “stars” of shiny gold flecks throughout.
India Red (Imported)
This red granite is imported from quarries in India. It has a deep crimson base color with spots of black and magenta. This granite has a magnificent finish that seems to vary throughout the day.
Jet Black (Imported)
Jet Black granite is the purest and deepest black on the market. It is quarried in both India and China. This is the darkest black you can find with little to no variation which makes it the best of all the granite colors for laser-etching.
Jet Mist (Domestic)
This is a domestic granite that comes from Pennsylvania. It is a dark gray with light gray streaks running throughout. Because of the gray swirls, no two pieces of Jet Mist granite will be the same.
Lake Superior Black (Domestic)
Lake Superior Black Granite is quarried in Ely, Minnesota by Dakota Granite. It has a beautiful dark base with lights flecks throughout.
Mahogany (Domestic)
This domestic granite is also known as Rushmore Mahogany and is quarried in the Dakota Granite quarry in Milbank, South Dakota. Its base colors are brown and blue with occasional larger spots of black or brown. This particular color has a moderate amount of variegation which can lead to some unique patterns.
Mesabi Black (Domestic)
Mesabi Black is one of the few black granites available domestically. It is quarried in Babbit, Minnesota and has been used in many large projects throughout New York City, including the new One World Trade Center building.
Morning Rose (Imported)
Morning Rose granite is a deep rose-colored granite imported from a quarry in Vermilion Bay, Canada. Its strong coloring allows for nice contrasting for easily visible lettering and graphics.
Paradiso (Imported)
Paradiso is a strikingly beautiful color of granite quarried in India. This granite has a rich pinkish gray hue with flowing streaks of lighter and darker purples that give every piece a sense of motion. Paradiso granite will seem to change throughout the day and no two pieces will ever be the same. Whenever we have a Paradiso monument in the showroom it is sold within days, almost without fail, because it is simply beautiful.
Silver Pearl (Imported)
Silver Pearl granite comes from the country of India. It has a black base with lighter “flakes” throughout. Silver Pearl looks really pretty in the sun as the lighter flakes catch the light and “sparkle”.
St. Cloud Gray (Domestic)
This color comes from the quarry outside St. Cloud, Minnesota. On the surface, it appears to be a dark charcoal color, but when you look closely you’ll see it’s actually made from a black base with white details mixed in.
Sunset Mahogany (Domestic)
Sunset Mahogany is the most unique color of granite that comes from the Dakota Granite quarry in Milbank, South Dakota. It is selected for as much variegation as possible which means no two stones will be alike. It has a blue and brown base with large sections of orange or brown throughout.
Taj Aurora (Imported)
Taj Aurora is a beautiful granite imported from quarries in India. It has beautiful swirls of deep red and black that creates a sweeping sense of motion throughout the stone. Because of this, you can rest assured that your Taj Aurora stone will be a completely unique piece.
Granite Colors Are Many, We Are Here to Help
With so many granite colors available we know the choice can become overwhelming. Our monument experts would love to walk you through the process of remembering your loved ones in stone.
We have offices throughout South Dakota and representatives in many of the surrounding states as well. Please give us a call to start the process of capturing your loved one’s memories in stone.