My marble looks cracked. Why does it have vertical stripes cutting across the prominent horizontal ones?

Although most of our products are vein cut to show horizontal veining in the tile, some vertical fissures will occur. Fissures are a natural part of the stone, and these deposits and surface cracks do not compromise the durability of the stone. Each stone has a different characteristic, and fissures, as well as veining, will be more frequent in some stones than in others. You cannot hand-select individual stones to avoid these naturally occurring variations.