CTX BasicKeramik® ABK Ceppo di Gre

The design model: Ceppo di Gré is an authentic northern Italian natural stone — a lime-bearing pelagic conglomerate from the Lombard Iseo region (Lago d'Iseo, between Bergamo and Brescia). Geologically it is a Cretaceous sedimentary rock of the Tethys plate, in which water-rounded carbonate pebble fragments of varying size are cemented into a fine-grained carbonate matrix. Since the Renaissance the stone has been one of the most important Lombard architectural stones: it is found on Milan Cathedral, on classic palazzi of Lombardy and in numerous sacred buildings of the Brescia-Bergamo region. The name “Gré” refers to the historic locality on Lake Iseo where the material has been won for centuries. ABK takes up this design tradition and delivers it as a reproducible large-format porcelain into the modern architectural vocabulary.

In the slab appearance, Ceppo di Gré shows its unmistakable conglomerate structure: water-rounded and partly angular pebble fragments in various sizes — from a few millimetres to several centimetres in diameter — are distributed in a creamy white to light grey-cream carbonate matrix. The pebble clasts vary in colour between a stronger mid-grey, muted beige-brown, light cream sand and pure white. Between them run occasional more pronounced dark pebble fragments and fine interstices between the stones with restrained mineralisation. The impression is very strong in design terms: lively and animated, material and tactile, with a clear architectural character — unlike calmer solid colour designs, Ceppo di Gré deliberately shows material history.

It is precisely this design presence that is the decisive character of the material. Unlike calm concrete looks or flowing marble veining, Ceppo di Gré is unambiguous in its dramaturgy — the conglomerate structure acts as the lead player in design terms. The material carries the architecture instead of overlaying it. In modern staircases, floor surfaces, wall claddings, façades and exterior architecture, Ceppo di Gré develops a self-assured atmosphere rooted in material history, which connects contemporary architecture with the iconic Italian building tradition.

Technically it is a fully through-sintered large-format porcelain: mineral raw materials (natural clays, feldspars, quartzes and pigments) are pressed under high pressure into a large-format slab and sintered at temperatures above 1,200 °C. The result is a chemically non-reactive, almost pore-free ceramic material with water absorption < 0.1 %. ABK Group manufactures by the same process as the other premium manufacturers of the Emilian ceramic region, with all the properties of the premium porcelain class: full UV stability, acid resistance (wine, lemon and vinegar leave no etch marks), heat resistance (hot pans can be set down directly), scratch resistance (Mohs hardness 7–8), frost resistance and food safety.

In direct comparison with genuine Ceppo di Gré natural stone, the porcelain offers concrete advantages: acid resistance (genuine Ceppo, as a carbonate rock, is acid-sensitive), no sealing cycles, a precisely reproducible look (genuine Ceppo shows very strong block-to-block scatter with sometimes incalculable pebble distributions), full suitability for external use without freeze-thaw risks, larger slab formats without material limitations and markedly easier care in use. Anyone who wants the Ceppo look in a technically consistently designed, everyday-capable quality is therefore better served by the porcelain reproduction than by genuine Ceppo — particularly for stairs, floors and heavily frequented areas.

At ROSSITTIS we currently hold CTX BasicKeramik® ABK Ceppo di Gré as 22 large-format slabs in 12 mm and 20 mm thickness with a naturale matt finish — the standard working for architectural stones, which gives the look its authentically matt appearance, typical of natural stone. On request we produce from these floor surfaces, staircases, wall claddings, façade elements, external surfaces, vanity tops, table surfaces and project-specific special cuts. The 12 mm thickness is the classic floor and wall tile thickness; 20 mm is particularly suited to stair treads under heavy loading and robust external applications.

For anyone comparing CTX BasicKeramik® ABK Ceppo di Gré with other materials: stylistically close are genuine Ceppo di Gré natural stone (geologically authentic, but more care-intensive), Ceppo di Cava (a related natural stone from the same Lombard region), Pietra di Vicenza (a Vicenza conglomerate limestone) and Brescia marbles with a brecciated structure. Among competing porcelain materials, other manufacturers (Florim, Atlas Concorde, Lioli Porcelain, Laminam Naturali) offer similar conglomerate reproductions — ABK's Ceppo di Gré version is distinguished by the particular authenticity of the pebble composition and by its integration into the CTX BasicKeramik® house brand range with an attractive calculation.

Our frank assessment: CTX BasicKeramik® ABK Ceppo di Gré is a decidedly successful choice for projects that want to set a striking accent rooted in material history with the iconic Lombard conglomerate look — with the full robustness of porcelain for intensive internal and external applications. Anyone looking for maximum geological authenticity and unique block-to-block variation should reach for genuine Ceppo di Gré. But anyone who wants the timeless Lombard architectural stone look in an easy-care, heat- and acid-resistant large format — and wants to make use of the economically attractive calculation of a ROSSITTIS house brand in doing so — will find a very coherent solution here.