A wall of RR diamonds in metallic glaze, the flat, convex and concave faces each giving back a different amount of light

Metallic glazes

Glazes that readas struck metal

Red body ceramic. The effect is not a coating and not a foil. It is a glaze fired onto clay, so it holds the same handmade variation as everything else we fire, and shifts from dull to bright as you cross the room.

Shapes
Field tiles and diamonds
Glazes
Pewter and Platinum
Body
Red clay
Made in
Gardena, California

Field tiles and diamonds

Five sizes, one diamond

Field tiles and diamonds, sharing one glaze family, and the family is two colors.

The Metallic Glaze Series is field tile. Five sizes, from an eight inch square down to a two by eight, in Pewter or Platinum.

The RR Collection is one diamond cut three ways. Flat, convex and concave, all at the same size, and the three faces take the same glaze.

Both are red body ceramic, fired in Gardena, and both are figured on a quarter inch joint rather than the three eighths most of the clay line uses. The metallics are a short range and a limited one, so they are not open to the rest of what we make.

Walls. Both are ceramic wall tile. Ask us before you put them anywhere else.

The glaze

Pewter and Platinum

A short, separate range that reads as struck metal rather than as color.

  • A field of Pewter tiles laid square, the satin surface holding the light evenly across each piece Pewter Satin
  • A field of Platinum tiles laid square, the gloss surface breaking the light into bright and dark faces Platinum Gloss

Where it goes These two glazes are for the Metallic Glaze Series and the RR Collection. Nothing else we make is finished in them.

Availability Limited, and limited on custom shapes and sizes too. Both price separately from the rest of the line.

On the body Fired onto the red clay, so it varies from piece to piece and from firing to firing the way every glaze we fire does.

No image of a glaze is the glaze, and a metal least of all, because half of what it does depends on where you are standing.

Metallic Glaze Series

Five sizes, four of them square

These are the Studio field sizes, 8x8, 6x6, 4x4, 3x3 and 2x8, taken out of the standard glaze range and finished in the metallics instead.

Line drawing of the four square sizes nested inside one another, from 8x8 down to 3x3

The four squares, drawn nested at their real sizes against each other

8x8

Actual size
8 1/8 by 8 1/8 inches
Pieces per sq ft
2.25
Weight per piece
1.9 lb
Packaging
22 per box, 45 boxes per pallet

6x6

Actual size
6 by 6 inches
Pieces per sq ft
4
Weight per piece
1 lb
Packaging
26 per box, 30 boxes per pallet

4x4

Actual size
3 7/8 by 3 7/8 inches
Pieces per sq ft
9
Weight per piece
0.5 lb
Packaging
88 per box, 45 boxes per pallet

3x3

Actual size
2 7/8 by 2 7/8 inches
Pieces per sq ft
16
Weight per piece
0.25 lb
Packaging
120 per box, 45 boxes per pallet
Line drawing of the 2x8, a long thin rectangle

The one rectangle in the set

2x8

Actual size
1 3/4 by 8 1/8 inches
Pieces per sq ft
9
Weight per piece
0.4 lb
Packaging
100 per box, 45 boxes per pallet

Coverage is based on a 1/4 inch grout joint.

RR Collection

One diamond, three faces

A four sided diamond at 2 3/4 by 2 7/8, cut three ways. Flat, convex and concave. Laid together on one wall the three faces take the same metallic glaze and give back three different levels of light, which is a quieter way to build a pattern than changing color.

Line drawing of eight RR diamonds laid up point to point, each one a raised face with two shaded facets below it
  • Flat A level face.
  • Convex A raised face.
  • Concave A dished face.

All three

Actual size
2 3/4 by 2 7/8 inches
Pieces per sq ft
20
Weight per piece
0.4 lb
Packaging
90 per box, 30 boxes per pallet

Coverage is based on a 1/4 inch grout joint.

Ask us

Start with a call

Availability on the metallics is limited and they price on their own, so this one starts with a call rather than a cart.

Hours
Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Address
15209 S. Broadway St, Gardena, CA 90248
Contact us

The material

Built to outlast the install

The craft is in the maker's hands. The performance is in the fired clay body. ARTO publishes CSI 3-Part specifications and installation guides so architects and designers can specify with confidence.

  • The mix

    Red Body Ceramic

    Handcrafted in Gardena from high fired terracotta. The field tiles and the diamonds are both a red body. Every piece is made by hand, so size varies across a run.

  • The color

    Two Metallic Glazes

    Pewter in satin and Platinum in gloss, and no others. Both are graded V2 for shade variation. Availability on the metallics is limited and they price on their own.

  • The documentation

    Specs and Downloads

    A CSI 3-Part master specification covers clay tile, 09 30 13 Quarry Tile. Cleaning, efflorescence and sealing guides are in the technical library.

  • The application

    Walls

    Both are ceramic wall tile. Ask us before you put them anywhere else.

  • The industry

    Industry Standards

    Member of TCNA, NTCA, and CTDA. Custom products are available with project-specific testing on request.

  • The decision

    Sampling

    Always order a sample before you commit. What you see on a screen is not what your hand will know in the room. Samples ship from our Gardena facility.

Material truth

Rustic Elegance

Rough and refined at the same time. A handcrafted edge where no two pieces are exactly alike. Glaze fired over handmade clay, in a palette that reads differently at every hour of the day.

It is not a marketing phrase. It is a material truth. Far from perfect, and that is the whole point.