Caesarstone® 311 Graphite Metal belongs to the Lioli Porcelain Metal Effect line — Caesarstone's porcelain designs with a metallic industrial character. Caesarstone Ltd. (founded in 1987 in Kibbutz Sdot Yam, Israel; listed on NASDAQ since 2012) divides its range into three material families: the classic Quartz Surfaces (polyester engineered quartz, around 93 % ground natural quartz), the Mineral™ line introduced in 2024 (a low-silicosis material alternative) and Lioli Porcelain (sintered porcelain, produced in India). Lioli Ceramica is the Indian porcelain subsidiary that produces the large-format porcelain slabs.
Within the Lioli Porcelain line, the Caesarstone range covers various design worlds: Lioli Classico (calm solid colours), Lioli Supernatural (classic marble looks), Lioli Supernatural Ultra (premium marble looks with an elaborate network of veins) and industrial Metal Effect designs such as 311 Graphite Metal — porcelains that do NOT quote the look of natural stone but deliberately take up the aesthetic language of oxidised dark metal, steel, iron or Corten steel. The code 311 marks the design within this Metal Effect family.
The design approach is oriented not towards natural stone but towards industrial metal surfaces: dark oxidised steel with a corrosion patina, blasted iron, anthracite powder-coated metal, blackened rolled steel with warm corrosion accents, dark Corten steel in the early phase of patination. The idea is to translate an industrial-urban material language into a technically consistently designed porcelain — with all the advantages of the material class (UV-stable, acid-resistant, heat-resistant, scratch-resistant), but with the aesthetic statement of industrial metal.
In the slab picture, Graphite Metal shows a dark anthracite-graphite ground tone that shifts, depending on how the light falls, between a deep charcoal and somewhat paler anthracite reflections. Distributed across the surface are subtle warm rust-orange metal-effect accents — the finest pigment inclusions that look like small points of corrosion or oxidised flakes of iron. These warm dots are not dramatic or densely set, but distributed as very fine, evenly random accents — they give the dark ground tone a warm, almost metallically lively depth of effect without dramatically interrupting the picture. The material looks overall like high-quality oxidised dark steel with a subtle corrosion patina.
It is precisely this combination of a dark tonality and an industrial warm accent that distinguishes Graphite Metal from purely monochrome black or purely anthracite porcelains. Whereas conventional dark solid colours work as a reliably neutral architectural colour, Graphite Metal with its warm metal-effect accents is a deliberately chosen urban statement material — a dramatic, industrial accent that actively interacts with other material effects. In modern kitchens, lofts, industrially inspired residential architecture, hospitality and contract areas, the material develops a powerfully urban atmosphere.
In combination, Graphite Metal harmonises particularly well with warm timber (oak, walnut, ash), Corten steel, brushed brass, blackened steel, concrete and reduced colour palettes. The warm metal-effect accents form a subtle bridge to warm materials — unlike purely monochrome black designs, Graphite Metal does not look cool and distant but industrial and homely.
Technically it is a fully sintered large-format porcelain, manufactured by the classic high-pressure, high-temperature sintering process at Lioli Ceramica in India. Mineral raw materials (natural clays, feldspars, quartzes and pigments, including iron oxide pigments for the metal-effect accents) are pressed under high pressure into large-format slabs and sintered at temperatures above 1,200 °C. The result is a chemically non-reactive, almost pore-free ceramic material with a water absorption of < 0.1 %. The material properties: full UV stability, acid resistance, heat resistance, scratch resistance (Mohs hardness 7–8), frost resistance and food safety.
In direct comparison with genuine steel, Corten steel or powder-coated metal, Graphite Metal offers concrete advantages: no genuine corrosion (genuine steel goes on rusting, is sensitive to water and difficult to clean), no electrolytic susceptibility, a precisely reproducible look, full food safety (relevant for kitchen worktops), large-format availability without welded seams and a markedly easier-care application. Anyone who wants the industrial metal look in a technically consistently designed, everyday-fit quality is therefore clearly better served by the porcelain reproduction than by genuine steel.
Ex works, Caesarstone produces Graphite Metal in the jumbo large format 1,600 × 3,200 mm in thicknesses of 6 mm, 12 mm and 20 mm. The surface finishes available from stock are listed in the »Finishes« block further down. On request we produce from them kitchen worktops, islands, vanity tops, wall and floor tiles, counter fronts, outdoor kitchen counters, pool surrounds, façade elements, table surfaces and project-specific bespoke cuts.
For anyone comparing Graphite Metal with other materials: stylistically close are porcelain industrial looks from the Laminam Oxide line, Florim Metal Effect designs, the Neolith Iron range and the Atlas Concorde Marvel Metal range. Among genuine natural materials, Corten steel sheet, oxidised steel, blackened rolled steel and black volcanic rocks (Pietra Lavica, basalt) are related material languages.
Our honest assessment: Caesarstone 311 Graphite Metal is a distinctly powerful choice for projects that want to set a striking urban accent with a dark industrial metal look — with the full robustness of porcelain for intensive interior and exterior applications. Anyone looking for maximum geological authenticity should reach for black natural stone (basalt, slate) or genuine metal surfaces. But anyone who wants the precise, industrial-urban metal look in an easy-care, heat- and acid-resistant large-format quality — while using the Caesarstone fabricator infrastructure — will find a particularly consistent solution here.
