Photo is for reference only. Color, veining, and shading vary between slabs. Visit our slabyard to select your material in person.

Salt and Pepper Granite

₱2,600 per sqm

Quarry: China
Surface Finish: Polished
Edges: Natural (Unpolished)
Thickness: 18 mm
Requires Sealing: Yes

Knives land straight on the counter through a week of cooking, and by Sunday it looks the way it did on Monday. Salt and Pepper Granite resists chips and scratches, and its even speckle leaves no focal point to wear.

Quarry	China
Surface Finish	Polished
Edges	Natural (Unpolished)
Thickness	18 mm
Requires Sealing	Yes

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Available at all 5 branches. Custom-fabricated and installed in 3-5 days.

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Why Choose Salt and Pepper Granite

Affordable The most accessible granite we carry, and the reason it appears in more Philippine projects than any other stone.

Highly Durable Resists chips and scratches, and takes knives, heavy pots and years of daily use in its stride.

Heat-resistant Set a pan straight off the burner on it. Granite will not scorch or blister the way a resin-bound surface does.

Quarried, Not Manufactured Cut from a single block rather than mixed in a factory, so every slab carries the geology of the place it came from.

What Is Salt and Pepper Granite (G603)?

The trade code, the quarry, and why contractors keep defaulting to it.

Salt and Pepper is a light gray granite scattered with black, white and silver specks spread evenly across the slab. The name is descriptive rather than poetic, and it tells you exactly what you are looking at. There is no veining, no movement and no focal point anywhere on the surface.

That absence of drama is the reason it gets specified so often. The stone reads as a neutral background rather than a design statement, so it sits behind cabinetry, splashbacks and fixtures without competing with any of them.

What Does G603 Mean?

G603 is the international trade code for this stone, and it is how the material appears on quotations, technical drawings and shipping documents worldwide. The G prefix denotes a Chinese quarry designation and the number identifies the specific stone.

Knowing the code gives you leverage when you collect quotes. Names drift between suppliers and markets while the code does not, so asking for G603 removes any doubt that two quotations cover the same material.

Where Does Salt and Pepper Granite Come From?

The stone is quarried in China, extracted at scale across multiple sites rather than from a single deposit. That broad supply base is why availability stays steady year round and why lead times rarely slip.

China sits alongside India and Brazil as one of the world’s three largest granite producers. Slabs are cut, polished and finished domestically before export, which is a large part of why the delivered cost stays low.

Where Can You Use Salt and Pepper Granite?

Salt and Pepper is the most affordable granite we carry, which is why it turns up in commercial work as often as in kitchens. These are the applications we supply it for most often.

Kitchen countertops and islands
Bathroom vanity tops
Lobby and commercial flooring
Wall cladding and window sills
Stair treads and risers

Consistency across large quantities is what makes this stone suit projects covering hundreds of square meters. Slab-to-slab matching becomes a real problem with a more dramatic granite, and it rarely does here.

What Slab Sizes Are Available?

Slabs run roughly 0.60 m by 2.40 m to 2.60 m at 18 mm thickness, with a polished face and natural, unpolished edges as delivered. Dimensions vary slightly between slabs, as they do with any quarried stone.

Every slab is sold as raw material and fabricated for your project, so nothing is pre-cut. Tiles are available for flooring, cladding and stair work, though countertops should always be slab, because grout lines in a work surface trap dirt.

How Much Does a Salt and Pepper Granite Countertop Cost?

Prices are subject to change without prior notice.

Item	Starting Rates
Salt and Pepper slab	₱2,600 per sqm
Fabrication	₱500 per lm
Installation	₱500 per lm
Sink or hob cut-outs	₱500 per set

Cut-out charges apply only when installation is included. Delivery is priced based on distance from your nearest Stone Depot branch.

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How Do You Clean Salt and Pepper Granite?

Three habits that keep a flecked gray surface sharp.

Clean as You Go

Clear spills as they happen rather than at the end of the day. The flecked pattern hides crumbs and water marks well, which is convenient until something acidic sits long enough to matter.

Use Only Granite Cleaner

Reach for a pH-balanced granite cleaner rather than dish soap. Soap residue builds up on a polished face and dulls it gradually, and it also degrades the sealer you paid to have applied.

Skip Anything Acidic

Vinegar, calamansi, bleach and abrasive pads all attack either the polish or the sealer. Once a polished finish is etched, no household method brings it back.

We stock specially-formulated granite cleaners at every branch, so pick one up when you collect your slab.

How Do You Care for Salt and Pepper Granite?

Sealing is the one job this stone genuinely asks of you.

Seal It When It Needs It

Reapply sealer roughly every twelve months, and sooner if the surface darkens where liquid sits. The job takes minutes and costs little, so treat it as routine rather than as a fault in the stone.

Always Use a Cutting Board

Granite will not scratch easily, but it dulls knives faster than timber does. A board protects your blades and keeps the polish even where you always work.

Never Sit or Stand on It

Granite is hard but it is not flexible, and an unsupported overhang can crack under body weight. Concentrated load is the most common cause of damage we see on an otherwise durable stone.

What Finishes Does Salt and Pepper Granite Come In?

Three finishes, each suited to a different job.

Polished

A reflective gloss that brightens the gray ground and makes the specks read crisply. This is the standard for kitchen countertops and vanity tops, and it is what the price above covers.

Honed

A smooth matte surface with the shine taken off, reading softer and slightly darker than polished. Honed hides water spots well, though it is marginally more absorbent, so water-test it a little more often than you would the polished finish.

Flamed

A rough, textured face produced by exposing the stone to extreme heat. Flamed G603 is the international standard for paving, cobbles and stair treads, because the texture stays slip-resistant when wet.

Is Salt and Pepper Granite Good for Kitchen Countertops?

Strong performer, with one honest caveat.

Yes. Granite handles the working conditions of a kitchen better than almost anything else you can put on a base cabinet, and this stone is no exception.

Hot cookware can go straight onto the surface without scorching or discoloring it, though trivets remain sensible with a pan fresh off the burner.
Knives and daily use rarely leave visible marks, because the stone is hard enough that ordinary kitchen activity seldom registers.
The flecked pattern swallows crumbs, dust and water spots in a way a solid dark polish never will.
Every slab differs slightly, so the counter in your kitchen is not identical to anyone else’s.
Sealing is required, unlike the dense blacks, because this stone has a more open mineral structure.

That last point is the real difference between this stone and Absolute Black or Black Galaxy. Oil, soy sauce, turmeric and red wine can soak into an unsealed light granite and leave marks that are difficult to lift.

For a busy household that would rather wipe once a day than three times, the forgiving pattern usually outweighs the occasional sealing.

Does Salt and Pepper Granite Need Sealing?

Yes, and you can test it in 15 minutes.

Yes. Plan on sealing a Salt and Pepper counter roughly once every twelve months, and sooner if you notice the surface darkening where liquid has been sitting.

The reason is structural. This stone has a more open mineral arrangement than dense blacks like Absolute Black, so sealer penetrates and does useful work. Left unsealed, oil and strongly colored liquids can soak in rather than sitting on top.

Test it yourself when you are unsure. Put a small pool of water on the counter, leave it 15 minutes, then wipe. If the stone underneath has darkened, the sealer has worn through and it is time to reapply.

Sealing is inexpensive and takes minutes per counter. Budget for it as routine maintenance rather than treating it as a defect, and the stone performs reliably for decades.

Salt and Pepper Granite vs Marble and Quartz

Each wins somewhere. Here is where.

Choose Salt and Pepper if budget and durability matter most

This is the most affordable natural stone in most Philippine slabyards, and it still takes heat, resists scratching and holds up outdoors. For a large project, or a kitchen where the counter is meant to work rather than perform, nothing else offers the same ratio of durability to cost.

Choose marble if you want the counter to be the feature

Marble has visual depth that granite cannot imitate, and its naturally cool surface suits anyone who bakes. It also etches when it meets calamansi or vinegar, stains more readily and needs sealing more often, so it asks for a more careful owner.

Choose engineered quartz if you never want to seal anything

Engineered quartz is stain-resistant, so sealing never enters the picture. The trade-off is heat: its binding resins can scorch under a hot pan, and it is not suited to outdoor kitchens or counters that catch direct afternoon sun.

On outdoor use, granite wins outright

Granite is UV-stable and will not yellow or fade in Philippine sun, which is why G603 turns up as paving, cobbles and curbs worldwide. Quartz is not recommended outdoors at all, and marble weathers unevenly.

What Are the Drawbacks of Salt and Pepper Granite?

Worth knowing before you buy rather than after.

Four things are worth weighing before you commit.

Sealing is an occasional task and a small recurring cost that the dense black granites do not carry.
The stone is built to disappear into the background, so it will disappoint anyone who wants a countertop that draws the eye.
Because it is the default choice for contractors and developers, some buyers read it as builder-grade.
The gray ground shifts slightly between batches, since G603 is quarried at several sites rather than one.

That last point only matters on larger jobs. The flecking stays consistent across shipments, but select all your slabs together if the project spans more than one..

What Colors Go With Salt and Pepper Granite?

A true neutral, which makes it easy to design around.

Salt and Pepper carries no warm or cool bias, so it does not fight anything placed next to it. That is the practical benefit of a stone with no veining and no dominant tone.

White and light gray cabinetry gives a clean, cohesive result that suits modern Filipino kitchens and keeps compact spaces feeling open. The counter recedes and the room reads larger than it is.

For contrast, navy, charcoal or black cabinets let the gray ground sit as a bright line between the upper and lower runs. This is the pairing that stops a neutral counter looking plain.

Timber works particularly well. Oak, walnut and darker tropical hardwoods all sit comfortably against the gray without either element competing for attention.

Fixtures are equally flexible. Chrome, brushed nickel, stainless and matte black all suit the stone, because there is no undertone to accommodate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Salt and Pepper granite so cheap?

Three structural reasons, none of which is quality. Supply is abundant and quarried at scale, the shipping distance from China to the Philippines is far shorter than from India or Brazil, and the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area removes tariffs that inflate stone sourced from further afield.

Price in the stone trade tracks rarity and logistics, not performance. A rare Brazilian granite costs many times more than G603 without being any better under a hot pan.

Is G603 the same as Salt and Pepper granite?

Yes. G603 is the international trade code and Salt and Pepper is the descriptive name used in showrooms. The same stone also trades as Padang Light, Crystal Gray and Sesame White depending on the market.

Quote using the code rather than the name. Names vary between suppliers while G603 does not, so it is the only reliable way to confirm two quotations cover identical material.

Does Salt and Pepper granite scratch easily?

No. Granite sits near the top of the hardness range for countertop materials, and ordinary kitchen knives rarely mark it. The practical risk is the reverse, because the stone dulls your blades faster than a timber board does.

Use a cutting board to protect your knives rather than the counter. Grit dragged across any polished stone can eventually haze it, so wipe rather than scrub when the surface is dusty.

Can you use baking soda on Salt and Pepper granite?

Yes, as a poultice for a stain that has already set. Mix baking soda with water into a paste, spread it over the mark, cover it and leave it overnight, then wipe it away in the morning.

Do not use it as a daily cleaner. Baking soda is mildly abrasive, so repeated scrubbing will wear the polish and strip the sealer. For routine cleaning use a pH-balanced stone cleaner.

How do you know when it needs resealing?

Run the water test. Put a small pool of water on the surface, leave it 15 minutes and wipe it off. A darker patch where the water sat means the sealer has worn through.

Check the areas that work hardest, typically beside the sink and around the hob. Sealer wears unevenly, so one patch failing does not mean the whole counter has.

Can Salt and Pepper granite be used outdoors and on stair treads?

Yes, and it is one of the stone’s strongest applications. Granite is UV-stable, so it will not yellow or fade in Philippine sun, which is why G603 is used internationally for paving, cobbles, curbs and monuments.

Specify a flamed finish for anything underfoot or outdoors. The texture stays slip-resistant when wet, where a polished face becomes hazardous.

Compare the three finishes

Is Salt and Pepper granite outdated?

No. It has never been a trend material, so it cannot fall out of fashion the way a statement stone can. Neutral gray is about as durable a design choice as a countertop offers, and a kitchen renovated in fifteen years will still work around it.

What dates a kitchen is the cabinetry and hardware around the counter, not the counter itself.

Where can you buy Salt and Pepper granite in the Philippines?

Stone Depot stocks Salt and Pepper granite at all five branches: Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo and Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Each branch holds its own inventory, so availability varies by location.

Because this stone is often specified in volume, we can advise on batch consistency and quantity pricing. All branches are open Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 5 PM, and you can message any branch on Facebook or email email@stonedepot.com to check current stock.

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