Selenite, or lapis specularis, or moonstone, is a rock characterised by its shiny white appearance and hard texture and has been associated with spirituality since ancient times. Selenite is a luminous, transparent, crystallised stone that flakes into thin translucent layers; it takes on the symbolic image of a mineral-moonstone, guardian of ancient legends, evoker of creative awakenings. In its natural state, the material can be found in mountainous or hilly stratifications, but it has also been used extensively as a building material since Roman times. We can see it in towers and walls, in Italy and especially in Bologna.

The fascination of this stone material is the inspiration for the new Selenite Maximum collection by Fiandre Architectural Surfaces. The design of natural ceramic surfaces offers an evocative and emotional architectural experience by presenting luminous textures that encapsulate ancestral values of light and essentiality. 

Porcelain stoneware, in the form of lapis specularis, accommodates the physical and metaphysical characteristics pandering to the needs and desires of designers. An ancestral enigma thus becomes a contemporary solution: a seductive answer of considerable aesthetic and formal value that design can provide to an urgent demand for balance and novelty. Visually enveloping and naturally luminous thanks to crystalline refractions, the ceramic surfaces of the Selenite Maximum collection are designed to embellish architectural projects, interiors and furnishings. The result of a complex research process, Fiandre's new collection surprises with the graphic traits of its textures and the originality of its three colour variants: Selenite White Maximum, Selenite Greige Maximum and Selenite Black Maximum.

The Selenite Maximum collection introduces the exclusive Jewel finish that gives surfaces an even more vivid and romantic effect. Thanks to an alchemic alliance between an iridescent mineral and a glassy material, the light melts into a crystalline cast that allows itself to be led through the gaps in the texture, for a lush stone effect in its silvery reflections. 

The quest for beauty goes hand in hand with the protection of the environment and the promotion of well-being. In addition to significantly reducing the use of raw materials and energy consumption by virtue of their reduced thickness, Maximum surfaces contain a percentage of recycled material in excess of 40% by weight, in accordance with ISO 14021, thus guaranteeing the highest scores according to the LEED & BREEAM system.

The new Selenite Maximum surfaces can be seen in the Iris Ceramica Group's ICG Gallery Milan showroom, to which Fiandre belongs.