Swisspearl Carat

Swisspearl Carat is a through-colored fiber cement façade board with a translucent, lightly pigmented surface. It is in the Swisspearl Largo range and is sold in the US as a commercial rainscreen panel. It is one of the fiber cement rainscreen panels that share a sheet with Terra and Nobilis.

Carat is marked AC 90, ASTM 1185, EN 12467.

Face and core are colored through, which gives a monolithic look. Carat is also available with a special HR coating that offers greater scratch resistance and protection against heavy soiling and graffiti. This optional transparent high-resistance coating is applied where greater surface protection is wanted.

The US range is broad: Anthracite, Ivory, Limestone, Sandstone, Azurite, Granite, Crystal, Amber, Jade and Coral.

• Nominal thicknesses: 6, 8 and 12 mm.
• Nominal widths: 46.38 and 49.21 in.
• Nominal lengths: 98.82 and 120.08 in.
• Thickness tolerance (up to 0.79 in): +/- 0.024, +/- 0.032 and +/- 0.047 in.
• Width +/- 1.18 in; length +/- 2.0 in.
• Shipping weight (average): 2.54, 3.40 and 5.08 lb/ft².
• Dry density: minimum 96.7 lb/ft³, average 112.4 lb/ft³ (ASTM 1186).

Bending modulus of elasticity averages 12.0 GPa at ambient conditions. Carat has a wet average of 3669 psi in flexure and a minimum of 2610 psi. Moisture content is 2 to 7 percent. Under ASTM 1186 Carat is classed Type A, class IV.

Carat is classified A2-s1, d0 for reaction to fire under EN 13501-1. ASTM E84 gives Class A (Does not ignite). NFPA 285 and ASTM E136 (materials at 750 °C) are recorded as Passed. In ETB-Guideline (1985) impact testing, Carat passed both the hard body and the soft body test, for balconies.

Carat: thermal conductivity 0.5 W/mK; expansion 0.01 mm/m °C; use range -40 to +80 °C. Carat completes 100 frost cycles with RL still above 0.75.

Absorption reaches 14.6 percent. Moisture movement (30/90 percent RH) is 0.009 in/ft. The vapor figures are Z 5.21 GPa m² s/kg, Sd 1.01 m and μ 651. Production-line color variation is a ΔE below 2.0. UV color resistance (ASTM G155) is a ΔE below 5.0 at 3000 and 5000 hours. Carat has a total footprint of 16.7 kg CO₂-eq across A1 to C4, split into 0.74 biogenic and 16.5 fossil. The facility holds ISO 9001 certification and the board is CE marked.