The International marketing of natural stone has introduced a great number of names to designate the different varieties of stone. Most of them are traditional names and usually reflect the typical colour and/or other natural features and the place of origin of the stone, although this is not always the case.
Sometimes, the name of a variety includes terms related to the geological calssification of the rock (such as granite, marble, quarzite, etc) that may or may not coincide with the accurate petrological name of the rock. Other times the same name is used to denominate different stones or similar varieties are denominated with different names.
The objective of this standard is to unify the designation criteria of natural stone varieties, mantaining the traditional names and introducing terms related to its petrologic nature, typical colour and place of origin.
An informative annex provides a non-exhaustive provisional list of the names under which most stones from each contributing European country are known. This list is subjected to revision in future editions.