Copper Sink Reviews:

Compare Copper Sinks. The differences are staggering. I know it is confusing trying to understand why some copper sinks are half the price of others. Do you want to dry your copper sink after each use? (No need with ours) Do you want to wax your copper sink regularly? (Never wax our sink) Do you want to find out your copper sink does not drain properly after it is permanently installed in your kitchen? (Ours are guaranteed to drain properly) Do you want to find that blemishes inside your sink are permanent? (Can not happen with ours) Do you want to find out, after the fact, that Clorox can permanently damage your sink? (Clorox will not harm our sink) Do you want to find out after a year that you have no warranty on your sink? (Our warranty is for life)
These are just some of the risks you take when you buy a copper sink based on price without doing research.

Copper Sinks - compare ours with theirs - nothing is similar!
Quick fact check

Feature	The Competition	Rachiele
Sink manufacturing location Read about lead in Chinese products	Over 95% of all copper sinks you see online are made in Mexico, India and China. Many websites give the impression of being an American company, so we suggest you ask where the sinks are actually manufactured.	Made in Orlando, Florida Our sinks are made of pure 99.9% virgin antimicrobial copper. We never use recycled copper, nor do we use annealed copper. Not only are you supporting our economy, but you are purchasing a sink that looks distinctively different than any import. Import workmanship is no match for American craftsmanship!
Price	You are likely buying through a dealer, who purchases through a middleman, who purchases from a company over seas.	You buy our products at true factory direct pricing (Direct to the public). From 1999 to 2008 Rachiele products could only be purchased through Authorized Dealers. You could not purchase direct from Rachiele. In 2008, we terminated all 165 Authorized Dealers so I could give the customer service that I felt appropriate with such a high quality product. We are offering you the same prices we offered our displaying dealers. They used to double their cost to sell retail. Now you can buy at their cost! (Half of retail) If you are going to consider an import, at least get one of the better ones like Native Trails (from Mexico). Their 30" apron front copper sink sells for about $50 less than ours.
Type of Copper used is important	32 ounce or 16 gauge copper. Generally recycled annealed copper - from melted down telephone wire and old pipes from demolished homes. Generally not as pure as virgin copper. Low yield strength. Much weaker than cold rolled copper.	Cold Rolled 99.9% pure virgin Copper (much harder than annealed copper) 14 gauge Don't be fooled by the other 14 gauge sinks out there. They are likely annealed and much softer than ours. Our copper has an ASTM code of B370, which is 99.9% purity. We use a 122 alloy with an RB harness of 50. The yield strength is 51,800 psi compared to 6,700 psi of annealed copper. (12.9 times more - given the same gauge) Yield strength is  is an indication of a .2% movement under stress. As you can see, our sinks are significantly stronger. Our material is also RoHS compliant. RoHS restricts the use of mercury, lead, hexavalent chromium, cadmium and a range of other hazardous materials.
Drain Location (most important feature determining the workability of a sink)	Generally middle or rear center - right in the way of your workspace. This is the most obsolete idea in sink manufacturing. What are they thinking?	Rear corner - more uninterrupted work space in your sink. Also gives you significant room in your sink cabinet. Ergonomically correct for right or left handed users. (We do make left rear drains for lefties!)
Sink drainage The number one complaint we hear regarding some imported sinks.	Generally quite poor. We receive countless calls from customers who have purchased "other brand" copper sinks with pooling water issues. They ask us what can be done. There is NO solution. Make sure your sink will drain BEFORE you install it.	We guarantee that your sink will drain properly. Ask others to do that and put it in writing. That is the most common complaint regarding copper sinks. It is simple to build a copper sink with a flat bottom. It is somewhat easy to build one where the bottom slopes to the drain. It is very difficult to build a copper sink where all bottom portions drain to a rear corner. We do it and guarantee the sink will drain properly.
Apron thickness	Generally 2-3 1/2"	1 1/2" Our apron is thinner for a reason. We do not want you to have to reach over a large shelf of copper to access your sink. The main purpose of an apron front sink is that it eliminates the countertop in front of the sink.
Sink depth	Generally 10" Must be deep to compensate for ridiculous drain location. Can not place anything of size inside the sink without covering up the drain so you really do need a deep sink with their drain locations.	Generally 8"  We believe a 10" deep sink is too deep for our ergonomic sinks.  Imagine working at that height while standing. Other sinks should be deeper.  You have to put half of the item in the bowl, wash that part, spin it around, wash the other part, then do the same spinning routine for rinsing. Wouldn't it make more sense to just make a sink with a rear corner drain so you can place items inside without covering up the drain? No more spinning! When you work at the bottom of the sink all the time, it should be shallower. I promise, with a good faucet, no worries with splashing!
Antimicrobial Claims?	Lots of sites currently mention that copper kills bacteria, etc. Only EPA registered firms can legally make this claim. The EPA will warn the offender, and if they do not remove that information, they can levy fines as high as $50,000. Just look up the EPA website and look at the fines levied in the past.	At this time (April 2011) I believe we are the only EPA registered copper sink company that provides copper sinks for residential use. There are several others that are registered that do work for the medical field. That means we are the only ones that can legally claim our sinks are antimicrobial. Since imported sinks are made with recycled copper, and the EPA does not test imported copper, they can not legally make these claims.
Use and Care Remember how funny Laugh In was? Click here to see some comical use and care instructions - just as funny!	Lots of mention regarding what you should not use inside the sink (lemons, bleach, abrasives). Most suggest wiping the sink dry after each use. Also regular waxing of the sink is often mentioned. My car requires less maintenance! At least I don't have to dry it every time it rains.	NO disclaimers! Just use the sink as a sink. This is the major difference between our sinks and others. There is no lacquer inside our sinks, no artificial coloration. Our sinks are naturally aged and will always return to that coloration. Bleach, lemons, abrasives are just fine. Our use and care suggests cleaning the sink with the same soap used to wash your dishes. That is all you do! NO DRYING, NO WAXING
Warranty	Many offer a one year warranty Warranty information is usually well hidden.	Lifetime "transferable" warranty How does a manufacturer put a limit on length of warranty on an item with no moving parts? If something goes wrong with a Rachiele sink, it should never be the problem of the customer (unless there is abuse). By the way, we have never had a warranty claim. If we did, my mom would be so disappointed in me.
Interior finish	Often an unnatural coloration. Generally waxed or lacquered. Very difficult to care for.	Natural patina (self healing) using only vinegar and water. Requires only washing with any dish soap. No other maintenance at all.
Company access	Often very limited - difficult to reach owner	My home/cell phone number is listed on the every single page of our site. I return all but sales calls on weekends. (I often return those too) A sale can usually wait, but a past customer is my number one priority.
Can locate double trash unit in sink cabinet	Not Possible	Yes, due to rear corner drain and shallower sink.
Can install apron sink in existing cabinetry	Not Possible	We own the patent. No other company can offer this solution. Simple installation.
Near Zero Radius corners	Generally not available	Gives a more custom look, more usable space inside the sink and just as easy to clean.
Solid copper flange/drain offered (plated drains will likely fail in a matter of a few years)	Generally not available - more and more importers are purchasing drains from us, so if you purchase someone else's sink, ask for a solid copper drain.	Our sister company (Vostra USA) manufactures solid copper drains and flanges for our sinks. Trust me on this one, plated drains will fail. The plating will eventually come off. Ours are lifetime products.
Hammered finish on copper	95% are hammered	It is impossible to hand hammer cold rolled copper to look like the imports. The material is too hard. We will hand hammer our sinks, but the look is truly hand hammered. Our hammering is in keeping with the quality of our sinks. There is no mistaking our hammered sink for any import. If we hammer the bottom of a sink, we do so lightly. Heavy hammering will allow water to sit in the dimples. Hey, maybe that is why the other guys have you dry the sink after each use???
Finishes on apron portion of sink	Few options	Our Pateneur has developed many different patinated finish options for the aprons of our sinks that are exclusive to Rachiele.
Gauge of copper	18 to 14 gauge - mostly recycled annealed copper.	14 gauge cold rolled copper, many times stronger than 14 gauge annealed copper. If they do not specify cold rolled copper, you can safely assume it isn't! (metal gets thicker as the gauge gets smaller - funny huh?)
Guarantee	We know of no other company with a guarantee of quality satisfaction.	If you are not thrilled with the quality of our sink, we will buy it back, pay all shipping costs and send you a check for $100 in consideration of your inconvenience. We claim to build the finest copper sink in the world and we back that claim with the above guarantee!
Construction	Wonder why they rarely show the bottoms of their sinks? Flimsy construction!	The bottom of our apron is closed, so are the sides. The apron is so strong I can stand on it with no bending at all. I weigh 215 pounds! No other sink is built as strong. No copper sink on the market is built as strong. That is why we can offer a lifetime warranty.
Strength Worried about accidentally denting the apron portion of the copper sink? Worried about the weight of a garbage disposal hanging from the bottom of the sink?	Very soft annealed copper	Strength Demonstration
Recycled vs Virgin Copper	Generally recycled - unlikely electrolytically refined. The myth that recycled copper is somehow better for the environment in this case is simply not true in my opinion. Recycled copper, that is not electrolytically refined, has no place near food surfaces.	We use only virgin copper. The following is text from Copper.org website. "Where scrap copper is associated with other materials, for example after having been tinned or soldered, it will frequently be more economic to take advantage of such contamination than try to remove it by refining. Many specifications for gunmetals and bronzes require the presence of both tin and lead so this type of scrap is ideal feedstock. Normally it is remelted and cast to ingot of certified analysis before use in a foundry. Scrap of this type commands a lower price than uncontaminated copper." "Uncontaminated recycled process scrap and other scrap that has been electrolytically refined back to grade 'A' quality may also be used." The cost process of electrolytically refining copper is much higher than mining and refining virgin copper, hence is rarely done.
Quick Fact Check Rachiele The other guys These are generalizations - please do your homework Lifetime Transferable warranty Satisfaction guarantee 14 Gauge Cold Rolled Copper Right Rear Drains Made in the USA Self Healing Interiors Guarantee of Proper drainage Phone Access 7 days a week Ships in plywood box with Monitor Custom Patina Available EPA Certificate Can claim sinks are antimicrobial No drying required No waxing required 1 year NO NO NO Majority - NO NO Majority - NO NO NO NO NO NO (Illegal if they are not registered with the EPA) Must dry sink after each use Periodic waxing recommended

As copper gets more and more expensive, the poorer quality copper becomes more attractive.
To my knowledge, imported copper sinks are not tested by any regulatory agency at all when
brought into this country.
Read an excerpt I found online regarding this issue.