One of the first steps in designing a headstone is choosing a granite color. At Milano Monuments, we offer 23 unique granite colors, providing families with a wide range of backdrops for various headstone lettering styles.
Below we explore how different headstone lettering interacts with our selection of gray, black, red and brown granite colors.
When you’re finished reading, we hope you feel more confident in the design direction your family wants to go in for your loved one’s headstone.
Various techniques, including engraving and etching, are available to create diverse lettering styles on headstones.
If you're seeking a cost-effective option, consider skin-traced or v-sunk lettering for your loved one's memorial. For those desiring more prominent lettering, raised or tooled lettering options would be the ideal choices.
>>> Related Resource: How Much Does It Cost to Letter a Headstone?
Our most commonly used granite colors fall under the gray spectrum. Gray and white granite colors offer a versatile canvas for headstone lettering with its subtle and serene tones.
V-sunk lettering creates a classic and profound effect. The deep-cut letters provide a striking contrast on smoother gray stones like Pearl White, Bethal White and Barre Gray. This style adds depth and shadow, enhancing the overall look of the memorial. Below are examples of V-sunk lettering with and without black paint.
Black granite is renowned for its sleek beauty, making it a popular choice among families looking for a more luxurious headstone. The deep, rich color provides a striking backdrop for lettering, highlighting the inscription with clarity.
Laser engraving on black granite, such as Jet Black or Galaxy Black, is exceptional for its precision and detail. This method carves out crisp, clean lettering allowing each character to stand out vividly against the dark background. It's an ideal choice for adding a contemporary touch while ensuring the inscription remains legible.
For a more dimensional and tactile effect, square-raised lettering is an excellent option on black granite, like Sapphire Blue or Impala Black. This style leaves the letters polished and raised above a chiseled background, creating a striking contrast. The raised lettering not only catches the light but also adds an elegant texture to the headstone.
Red granite, known for its rich and vibrant hues, offers a striking choice for memorials. For this group of granite colors, it’s important to choose a headstone lettering style that stands out on such a bright background.
We recommend the following lettering styles to enhance the beauty of red granite.
For red granites like Aurora Red or India Red, square-raised lettering offers a distinctive look with the lettering left polished and raised against a textured background. This method highlights the letters, making them prominent and easy to read. It also adds a sense of dimension and texture to the memorial.
Granite varieties like Mountain Rose or Cathedral Red also mesh well with the V-tooled lettering technique. It involves hand-chiseling each letter to be beveled at a slight angle, giving them a 3D effect. The depth and angles of the V-tooled letters catch light differently, creating a dynamic and visually appealing contrast against the vibrant red of the granite.
Brown granite, with its warm and earthy tones, provides a comforting and timeless choice for memorials. The unique patterns and hues offer a distinctive canvas for the following lettering styles.
V-sunk lettering brings a classic and artistic dimension to brown granite memorials. The deep-cut letters create shadows and enhance the natural beauty of granites like Canadian Mahogany or Colonial Rose. This style adds depth to the inscription, contributing to the overall warmth and character of the memorial.
Meanwhile, skin-traced lettering is an excellent choice for brown granites like Coffee Brown or Tan Brown. The subtlety of skin-traced lettering complements the earthy hues of brown granite, ensuring the text is legible, yet seamlessly integrated into the stone’s natural beauty.
Choosing the right lettering style for a loved one’s headstone can be a personal decision. To help you envision the perfect memorial, we invite you to explore our Headstone Vision Board tool. This interactive tool allows you to experiment with different granite colors and design elements, offering a tangible way to see your choices come to life before sharing them with one of our memorial specialists.