How backlit stone works

Certain stones are translucent when cut thin: onyx is the classic example, and some quartzites and light marbles also let light through. Place an even, diffuse LED source behind a slab of the right thickness and the internal veining lights up as if the stone were glowing from inside.

Three things decide whether it works: the stone, the thickness and the frame. The slab has to be translucent and thin enough to transmit light but strong enough to be handled and set. The frame has to hold the lights at the right distance so there are no bright spots, and it has to let heat escape.

We build the frame ourselves, so the stone and the lights are designed together. The same piece of translucent slab can be shown through the whole LED range, from cool blue to warm white.