Do you remember the last time you went to a hotel or a fancy building? Did you notice the patterns on the floor with different complex shapes that look drawn or handpainted?

Those patterns are called a waterjet medallion—or “medallion”—and we create them from different materials with natural stone as a common choice. The material is then cut into precise shapes using advanced waterjet technology before assembly.

The floor that you saw in the fancy building is neither drawn nor handpainted. In this article, we are going to tell you more about the medallion, such as its types and the technology we use to manufacture it.

Basics of Waterjet Medallion

This section contains the correct information that will tell us about waterjet medallions, giving us basic knowledge, especially if we are planning to install them in homes or buildings.

Why Do We Call It Waterjet Medallion?

Some of you may have been wondering why the name of the design is like that. Maybe you know what a medallion is, but waterjet is a foreign word that doesn’t seem to make sense (unless you have manufacturing knowledge).

Waterjet

The term waterjet is from the technology that we use to cut possibly any material to create medallions.

This cutting technology uses water mixed with an abrasive that is not harmful to the environment such as garnet. This mixture is then ejected at great pressure that measures up to 94,000 psi and at a supersonic speed.

Imagine a fire hose that is strong enough to send someone flying backward when they are hit; the water pressure that it has is only 390 to 1,200 psi (which is thousands less than the waterjet’s).

Combined with the speed of its release from the tool’s nozzle—with a velocity quicker than sound—waterjet technology can cut anything, such as natural stone, with impressive precision.

Medallion

Explaining medallion is not complicated since we are familiar that this is usually something circular with intricate designs in the middle.

Although in architecture, we use it to decorate floors, walls, and pavements, to name a few. Its shape can also vary and is not limited to being round. For example, we may see stone floor medallions with square borders.

The designs in a waterjet medallion can also mean more than just decoration but also something valuable like a family crest.

What Are the Types of Stone Medallions?

Stone medallions are all meant to create image output. However, they differ in how we assemble the parts. Do we cut the stones too little or with bigger and specific sizes like a jigsaw?

Mosaic

In arts, a mosaic is where tiny parts of certain materials create a whole new image. In floorings or walls, we will cut tiny pieces of stones—whether marble, limestone, granite, travertine or a mixture of these—to create a wall or floor medallion.

Intarsia

Intarsia is where we cut the stone into pieces with clearer dimensions compared with mosaic, making the process almost like a puzzle.

The thing about intarsia is you can still determine the image that the stone pieces are supposed to create even when not yet assembled. With mosaic, the details are small and can be abstract, so you need all these pieces in the right places to see the output.

However, we at Sinodec cannot deny the beauty that a stone mosaic gives a place once we finish its installation, making people wonder how the medallion is made.

Marquetry

Marquetry medallions are known for using thin materials or veneers. Medallions of this style often use wood, but we can also use stone.

In marquetry, we inlay thin stones together to create the desired output. This is highly similar to the intarsia medallion and can be difficult to distinguish between them. But marquetry uses laminated materials, and intarsia utilizes materials in total thickness.

Advantages of Installing a Waterjet Medallion

Emphasizes Your Symbol

Even before the rise of waterjet technology, medallions in floors, walls, and ceilings were already present not just as decorations but as symbols.

Churches built during the medieval period have medallions on their windows, and many nobles have their houses with their family symbols installed on the floors.

In this modern day, Sinodec’s clients are usually businessmen that want their logos installed on the floors in the form of a stone waterjet medallion. Our factory also manufactures medals for homes, with waterjet mosaics as a popular pick.

Highly Customizable

Earlier in this article, we explained that we create medallions using advanced waterjet technology.

Unlike in the earlier times when everything had to be done by hand, we can also manufacture waterjet medallions quicker (usually in less than a month) with a machine aided by computer software for the designs and styles.

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) or Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) allows us to program the machine to cut the medallion by controlling the following:

• cutting speed
• deepness of the cut
• the flow of the water and abrasive
• type of piercing such as circular, wiggle, dynamic, low pressure, spiral, and pressure ramped

The stone waterjet medallion will come out with a precise shape and design that can perfectly fit the place of installation because of the technology’s high accuracy.

Gives the Place a Unique Look

Waterjet medallions are versatile. Having one in your place—either inside your home or outdoors on your walkway or pool—can transform the architecture from plain into something that inspires curiosity.

For example, a marble floor medallion will project elegance but still be minimalist according to our client’s design choice. Overall, it can increase the value of our place, which is why we can see medallions in fancy areas such as corporate or hotel elevators.

Durable

Waterjet medallions, especially those made of natural stone, are durable. We can walk and run on them, and they will stay intact.

Of course, while the stones offer quality construction, the medallion will last longer if created with high standards. For example, our factory performs quality checks on the stone slabs and the waterjet medallion before delivering it to the client.

Easy to Maintain

We can clean our waterjet stone medallions just as we would clean our walls, floors, and ceilings. Our only recommendation is to avoid using cleaners with high pH levels to keep the beauty of the stone. For marble, the best pH level is 7.

Although if we believe that our waterjet mosaic needs intense cleaning, we recommend contacting experts in stone care to perform the job.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

In this section, we added questions we often receive from inquiries or clients about waterjet medallions.

Can We Install a Stone Medallion On a Wooden Floor?

Installing a waterjet medallion made of stone on a wooden floor is possible.

The modern architecture allows us to mix materials to offer a wide choice of aesthetics. So, considering that you have suitable materials or are in contact with an expert, combining a stone medallion with a floor made of wood will be a stylish idea.

Can We Install a Medallion by Ourselves?

Many pre-fabricated waterjet medallions are sold in the market, claiming they are easy to install. Unless you have experience in construction or home DIYs and don’t mind an imperfect installation, you may lodge a waterjet medallion by yourself.

But if you want to be efficient and ensure that the medallion will be put into place accurately, we advise you to seek help from a professional.

Conclusion

A waterjet medallion is an architectural design that we can apply to floors, walls, ceilings, or pavements. It has an intricate design that can be decorative or purposeful, such as a company brand logo or any symbol that depicts essential meaning.

Made with advanced waterjet technology that can potentially cut any material, we can use stones such as marble, granite, and travertine to create precision medallions. We can cater to any style or design requirement with the right equipment.