Sodalite Blue Marble of Bolivia
A Rare Luxury Stone Becomes Available through Creative Edge Master Shop of Fairfield, Iowa
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Above: Sodalite Blue marble was used to accent this floor medallion in the Lackland AFB Airman Training Complex. |
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Above: Sodalite Blue marble floor medallion designed for a private residence. |
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Above: This incredible expanse of Sodalite Blue and Thassos marble tapestry carpet was created for a Ukrainian Government summer palace. |
Creative Edge Master Shop, the pioneer and world leader in the application of waterjet technology to architectural fabrication, has announced a new partnership with International Classic Stones, becoming stocking distributor for the rare Sodalite Blue Marble of Bolivia. This stone will be on display at Creative Edge’s Coverings 2016 Booth #8418.
“We were always looking for a source for the purest, most beautiful blue Sodalite in large slabs,” says Jim Belilove, CEO of Creative Edge Master Shop. “We couldn’t source it in large enough slabs except from overseas through Alibaba, which means we would have to ship an entire container.”
As a result, Belilove has agreed to become the sole stocking distributor of the rare Blue Sodalite Marble of Bolivia, making it available to anyone in America who wants the best quality sodalite stone in small or large quantities.
The Purest Source of Blue Sodalite in the World
Of the handful of blue sodalite mines in the world, the Bolivian mine, which opened in 1985, is unique because its stone is a pure blue and white. Competing Brazilian sodalite, for instance, comes with black dots covering the blue, and the South African sodalite is green.
The Sodalite Blue Marble of Bolivia is very uniform and is the only existing sodalite mine that produces clear, blue sodalite in large enough slabs for use in decorative flooring and other high-end architectural finishes.
The Bolivian mine produces four grades of blue sodalite: Nuvalato, which is 20-30 percent blue; Sapo, which is 60 percent blue, and the highly coveted Royal, which is 80-90 percent blue. A small part of the mountain comes in horizontal stripes of blue and white, and is called Tiger. When it goes to over 80 percent, the blue becomes a deep and dark semi-precious stone.
Blue Sodalite A Standout in Luxury Floors
“Sodalite is in demand in luxury floor designs,” says Belilove. For instance, Sodalite Blue is the standout color in a lavish blue tapestry floor rug that Creative Edge created for a government summer palace in Ukraine. This project required massive quantities of the rare stone paired with White Thassos, to represent the Ukrainian national colors of blue and white.
Belilove says other high-profile projects involving large quantities of sodalite include a medallion created in red, white and blue for the outdoor plaza of the Airmen Training Complex on the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, where sodalite was chosen to represent the deep blue color of the Air Force emblem. In one luxurious private residence, an extensive whole-floor design covering many rooms combined white Carrara marble, Thassos White, Saffron Gold and extensive amounts of Sodalite Blue in elegantly designed medallions and borders.
For Belilove, the partnership is a huge boon, giving his customers access to the purest blue Sodalite in large slabs to create luxury flooring, murals and medallions. “Now no matter how large or small the needs of our clients, or any architect or contractor’s clients, we have the extraordinary Sodalite Blue Marble of Bolivia on hand for their use,” says Belilove.
To learn more about Creative Edge, visit www.cec-waterjet.com; email: jmb@cec-waterjet.com or call 641-472-8145.