Fioranese Unica Onyx-Effect Polished Porcelain Tiles

Unica by Fioranese — an onyx-effect porcelain in five colours with a full polished finish, made up to a 74x148 slab. It is the most decorative material in the Fioranese range and the one that behaves most like a natural stone: the pattern is large, it has direction, and where it lands on a wall matters.

Unica is Fioranese's reading of onyx — not the veining of marble but the translucent, cloudy depth of a stone that light passes into rather than off. The graphic is large and directional, which is why it is made in slab formats: at 74x148 a single tile carries a whole movement of the pattern.

Five colours, four rectified sizes, one finish. There is no matt option — the polish is the point, and it is what gives the surface its depth.

Colours

Crystal White is the palest, a translucent white with soft grey cloud. Misty Rose is a warm blush with amber movement, the most obviously onyx of the five. Cloudy Grey is a cool mid grey and the most restrained. Jade Green is a deep saturated green with pale veining — the boldest, and the one most often used as a single feature. Deep Dark is a near-black with bright veining running through it.

Specification

Material: Glazed porcelain stoneware, gres porcellanato + (EN 14411:2012 Annex G Group BIa GL)
Thickness: 9mm
Shade variation: V4 — random variation in tone and pattern from tile to tile
Finish: Levigato Rettificato — polished and rectified
Sizes: 74x148, 89x89, 60x120 and 60x60 rectified, plus Deco Macro and Deco Micro panels at 89x89
Application: Internal floors and walls. The polished surface is not suited to wet areas underfoot or to floors exposed to grit
Health: hypoallergenic surface, non-porous and free of harmful emissions
Durability: fireproof, colourfast and unaffected by UV
Sustainability: LEED® compliant, made in Italy

Working with the pattern

Unica is directional and the graphic repeats over a long run, so it should be treated as you would treat a natural stone rather than a plain tile. Dry-lay and number the pieces before fixing, and decide where the strongest movement falls — centred behind a bath or a vanity, not cut in half by a door reveal. On a large floor, mixing from several boxes keeps any one area from looking heavier than the rest. The 74x148 slab is the format that shows the stone properly, but it needs two people, a suction frame and a genuinely flat substrate.

About the polished finish

A full polish is what gives Unica its depth, and it comes with the usual trade-offs. It shows footmarks and fine scratching more readily than a matt tile, and it is slippery when wet. Use it on walls, on floors in dry, low-traffic rooms, and behind matting at any entrance. For a bathroom, it is the better choice on the walls with something matt underfoot.

The Deco panels

Two decorative panels are made in Crystal White and Misty Rose only, and are listed here alongside the plain sizes. Deco Macro is a single 89x89 piece carrying one large circular composition; Deco Micro divides the same 0.7921m² into a 44.5x44.5 sheet of four pieces, so the motif repeats four times as often. Macro suits a panel seen whole and from a distance; Micro works better in a smaller room or where it will be seen close up. Both are directional and both are priced as special pieces, so set the wall out on paper and order the exact count — a panel cut to fit loses its composition.

Made to order

Fioranese will also produce a bespoke decorated wall at 126.5x322cm to order, at an indicative €425 per m². It carries no fixed article code, so ask us for a quotation if it is of interest.

Ordering & delivery

Minimum order: 5m²
Sold by: the m² for field tiles; per piece or per sheet for the Deco panels
Prices: inclusive of VAT
Full pallet: reduced rate applied automatically on m² lines — Deco panels are special pieces and are not eligible
Delivery: 4–6 weeks, ordered from Italy. Delivery is charged after purchase, calculated on the weight of your order — we will confirm the cost with you before despatch
Allow 10% over your measured area for cuts and future repairs

See it before you buy

Onyx effect is the single hardest material to judge from a photograph. The depth only reads under real light, and because the graphic is large, a small image shows you a fragment of one tile rather than the pattern. Samples are available to order, and the range is on display at our luxury interiors showroom in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. Our team can help with quantities, book-matching and adhesive specification. Call 01782 617517 or email sales@homeofclay.co.uk for a quotation or to arrange a visit.