Oriental White blocks in the yard beside the processing plant, in the mountains of western Sichuan.
Oriental White and Pure White Jade come from the quarries of Baoxing County, Ya'an, in western Sichuan. Eastwood Stone holds a shareholding in an Oriental White quarry in Baoxing, which gives us a steady supply of blocks and a say in how they are cut. Our team selects blocks at the quarry for colour, veining and soundness, then follows them through sawing, polishing, cutting, inspection and packing.
Below you can see each stage of production in our factory, followed by the quarry where the blocks are cut. Click any photo to see it full size.
Factory Processing
From block to finished product, every step is done in-house so we can control thickness, finish and colour matching. Typical lead time is confirmed with each quotation.
Sawing blocks into slabsEach block is sawn on a gang saw into slabs of even thickness. The block number painted on the face stays with the slabs, so every slab can be traced back to its block.Slab warehousePolished slabs stand on A-frames in our covered warehouse. Slabs from one block are kept together, so clients can choose consecutive slabs that match.CNC bridge saw cuttingPolished slabs are cut on CNC bridge saws into tiles and cut-to-size pieces, following the sizes and drawings agreed with the client.Polishing lineSlabs and large tiles pass under a row of polishing heads that bring out the white base and soft grey veining with an even, high gloss.Drying after polishingTiles leave the polishing line on rollers and run through a drying unit before they are checked, sorted and packed.60 x 120 cm cut-to-size piecesLarge-format pieces cut to 60 x 120 cm and stacked for inspection. Other sizes and thicknesses are cut to order.Calibrated tilesThin tiles are calibrated to an even thickness, then stacked by size with protective strips between the polished faces.Dry lay before shippingFor project orders, large pieces are laid out on the factory floor so colour and veining can be checked across the whole area and approved by photo.Quality checkTiles are laid out and inspected piece by piece for shade, veining, size, flatness and polish. Pieces that do not match are replaced before packing.Loading the containerPacked bundles are braced inside the container so they stay upright in transit. Goods ship from Xiamen, by full container or LCL.
Quarry
The quarry we have invested in sits high in the mountains of Baoxing. Because we are a shareholder, we see the blocks as they come out of the face and can reserve the best material for our clients. Blocks are cut with diamond wire saws rather than blasting, which keeps the stone sound, and every block is numbered and checked before it leaves the quarry.
Quarry benchesOriental White is worked in open benches cut into the mountainside. Blocks are taken out level by level along the natural bedding of the stone.Diamond wire sawDiamond wire saws cut the marble out of the quarry face with little waste and without blasting, which keeps the blocks free of hidden cracks.Wire-sawn quarry faceA freshly sawn face shows the clean white stone inside the mountain. Large sections are cut free first, then divided into blocks.Freeing a section from the faceQuarry workers measure and mark a large section before it is pushed over onto a bed of crushed stone and split into blocks.Freshly cut sectionA section lies on the quarry floor after being pushed free. From here it is squared up into blocks of a size the gang saws can take.Sawn marble wallsSmooth, wire-sawn walls show the even white of the stone and the direction of its light grey veining.Squaring a blockA worker sets up the wire saw to trim a block square. Clean, square blocks give more usable slabs and less waste.Checking the veiningEach block is numbered and checked for colour, veining and soundness before it is selected for our factory.Selected blocksBlocks selected for whiteness and an even vein pattern, stacked at the quarry and ready to be moved down the mountain.Numbered blocksBlocks are marked with a number and their size so each one can be followed from the quarry through sawing and polishing.Block yardRough-cut blocks wait in the yard below the quarry before they are loaded and trucked to the processing plant.Blocks marked for shipmentBlocks marked with the buyer reference and measurements, ready for loading.
Visit or Request Photos
Clients are welcome to visit the factory, or we can send photos and videos of the actual blocks and slabs for your order before production. Tell us what you need and we will reply with a quotation.
