Durat speckles
The possibilities
Date: 11.08.2024
Endless colour combinations
Durat is available in hundreds of vibrant colour bases, including the RAL Classic chart, and the multidimensional surface can also be custom tinted. With nine standard patterns that can be mixed in, Durat can have clear, white, black or multicolour speckles. The speckle colour and pattern can effect the look of the base colour, often appearing deeper or warmer depending on the speckle.
Here is a breakdown of the speckle options:
Classic speckles
Small in size, classic speckle patterns are available across Durat Classic and RAL colour bases. The subtle terrazzo look is achieved by mixing in crushed flecks of recycled plastic in production. Classic speckles are the base price level which includes a mix of clear, black and white, grey, grey mix and sparse or dense multicolour speckles. The dense multicolour speckle is made with production surplus and recycled sheets of Durat.
Explore the images below showing the difference between the 00 clear speckles and the effect of adding standard speckle patterns with the related colour codes.
Helping speckles
Darker and more vivid colours usually need contrasting speckles to improve how the surface performs and shows wear. Often called helping speckles, they create a more varied appearance that's easier to care for. For example a dark blue base colour like Durat D0700 or RAL5003 would not be produced with 00 clear speckles, but works better as D0700-04 (704) or RAL5003-02.
The most common helping speckle patterns are 02, 03, 04, 05 and 06. Even small scratches can be more visible in darker colours, so those colours are better suited to applications that aren't subject to heavy wear.
Large speckles
Large speckles are produced by crushing waste plastics to a larger granule size, around 10mm. Because of the larger size and different production methods, sheets and sinks with large speckles or speckles from the Palace Collection are in a higher price group.
Large speckles and the Durat Palace Collection colours are less visible in sink basins because of the way washbasins are cast. Depending on the design intent they can still be specified and will match in tone and colour but won't look the same as the work surface. Alternatively sinks can be cast in the same base colour with a standard small speckle or a contrasting colour to highlight the difference. If a uniform appearance is needed, sinks can also be fabricated from sheets, typically clad on a stainless steel sink base which is also useful for accommodating boiling taps.
Custom speckles
It is possible to mix small and large speckles to create custom patterns from existing granules. The Durat Palace Collection is a range of 16 curated colours using shimmering minerals from a 17th Century paint mill. These colourful shimmering speckles can be also used to customise speckle patterns. Any customised speckle pattern will be made to order at a premium price with additional production and sampling time.
Bespoke R&D
Beyond customising patterns from existing speckles, designers can specify small or large speckles tinted, cast and granulated from RAL classic colours. If standard Durat or RAL base colours don't quite suit, the base can also be custom tinted to match a Pantone colour, tile or paint colour. These need a sample for production to colour match against, and are made with an R&D process to achieve the closest possible match, which requires an additional charge, time and sampling.
