Porcelain is the only material in the SNB Stone range that is manufactured, not quarried. That distinction matters. Where natural stone carries the unpredictability of the earth, the unique vein, the subtle shift in tone, porcelain offers consistency, precision, and performance engineered to exact specification.
Our suppliers, Infinity Porcelain for New South Wales and Queensland, and Fondovalle for Victoria provide porcelain that harnesses consistency and strength, while replicating the visual richness of natural stone. Produced in Italy, it is designed for clients who want high performance with low maintenance, without aesthetic compromise.
A Brief History of Porcelain Ceramics
Porcelain began in China. The result of centuries of ceramic experimentation, and one of the most consequential material discoveries in human history. Its earliest form emerged during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), with a more refined iteration appearing during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368 CE).
The key ingredient was kaolin, a fine white clay that occurred naturally near Jingdezhen, a city that remains synonymous with ceramic production to this day.
The word porcelain itself comes from the Italian porcellana, meaning cowrie shell. The resemblance was noted by early western traders struck by its smooth, lustrous surface. It was also known as white gold, porcelain was extraordinarily valuable, lightweight, and unlike anything European craftspeople could produce themselves.
Definitions of porcelain have always varied by geographical region. In China, porcelain is understood as pottery that rings when struck. In the West, it is defined by translucency, the quality of holding light when lifted to a window. Both definitions speak to the same essential refined character.
The golden age of Chinese porcelain export began in the 17th century, driven by surging European demand. The rise of tea-drinking and coffeehouse culture among the wealthy classes required drinking vessels more luxurious than pewter or metal.
Europe Attempts to Crack the Formula
For decades, European manufacturers tried and failed to reverse-engineer Chinese porcelain. The secrecy surrounding kaolin, its location, its properties, its preparation, was closely guarded, and early European attempts produced reasonable imitations but not the real thing.
The first credible European success came in 1708, when German alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger, working under Augustus the Strong of Saxony, produced a white, vitrified porcelain. This laid the foundation for Meissen, which would become Europe’s most celebrated porcelain manufacturer.
The Making of a Global Leader
Italy’s path was different, and arguably more enduring. Under Francesco Vezzi in 18th-century Venice, Italy made significant advances in true hard-paste porcelain.
But it was industrialisation and Italy’s deep roots in earthenware production that positioned the country to lead the next evolution of the material: engineered porcelain stoneware, or gres porcellanato. Today, Italy is the global leader in large-format porcelain tile production, supplying architecture and interiors across the world.
Porcelain in the Contemporary Home
Infinity Surfaces represents where the porcelain story has arrived today. These large-format tiles are non-porous, UV stable, and produced with consistent patterning, making them a reliable choice for applications where natural stone’s variability is a consideration rather than an asset.
As an engineered product, porcelain suits clients with specific performance requirements: heavy-traffic flooring, outdoor applications exposed to UV and moisture, commercial spaces that demand uniformity across large areas. It can also replicate the look of marble, limestone, or concrete with precision offering visual flexibility alongside its technical advantages.
The choice between porcelain and natural stone is ultimately a question of what a project needs. Where porcelain offers predictability and low maintenance, natural stone offers character that deepens with time. Both have their place and both have a history worth knowing.
View our full porcelain ranges online and come visit a showroom in Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane.