they use 6mm toughened glass for splash backs
once glass is toughened it cant be cut ,the line will simply follow any thing in the glass fracture line BEFORE it was toughened,
tiles are standard ,glass is expensive ,laminate is unpractible,granite is a cost relative to the expensive of your top,so that leaves me with go with the flow ,do as you wish to do and if your budget doesnt match your desires ,hang off until it does ,because you will only get one chance to do it right and many chances to do it wrong ,be patient !!!:D