Your comment that "regular pebbles are then divided into regular, deluxe and premium" is right on and really an important, if not critical fact to fully understand; and, IMO, frequently not brought to the homeowners attention by a lot of PBs (who just fall back on their stock, finish receipe); so they will quite often just quote a figure that is the lower tierd product line, and fail to mention the upgrades - this in order to be the winning bidder. I found that out myself, and after doing so, became more engaged with my PB about these upgrades (in my case, the upgrades to Stonescapes Tropics Blue).
Glad I found this out in time to make the adjustment...in my case, opting out of the standard Tropics Blue and even opting out of their tri color mix upgrade. Instead, opted to add $2200 worth of glass....and even finding out the glass comes in a couple different grades.
Finally, if one goes for an upgrade in a particular finish, its a good idea not to skimp. Adding, say, 10% glass at $1000 (rough $ mind you) won't be seen and will be a waste of money, whereas opting to pay more to get that ratio up to 25% or more is going to be have a positive impact on the overall look. Yes, this can be a budget squeeze..but this extra $2500 is often a small fraction of what the total budget was, but will have a huge visual impact - more than any other line item in the pool build.
In sum, the pool finish is not the place to economize...not after spending $35k+ to build the pool. Just saying.
