Livinox, HCE are not German based. They just claimed to use German technology but either made here or China. HCE is from China.

Teka have manufacturing facilities globally. Some in China. Some in Thailand. Some in Europe. Only their high-ends are made in Germany. Typical of global organization. Blanco is almost entirely made in Germany.

Those made in China can be high quality too. Your iPhones are all made in China and nobody seems to complain. The only thing is image/perception as well as quality consistency. While u still may get shitty stuff from Germany and Japan it is not likely. Whereas anything is possible from China.

The bottom line regardless of country of origin, read the specs. Understand the technology used. Don't be duped by marketing jargons such as German technology. Understand what exactly is the technology.

For sink, what is the materials used, thickness, depth, damping materials, warranty etc are more important[COLOR=red]

Material - granite (silgranite)
Brand - Blanco
Using for 5 years now, no regrets

These are the two main choices. The plusses and minuses were started somewhere in the thread too.

If you have children or careless people using the sink stainless steel won't break your fragile china/plates/glasses like granite. Problem of stainless steel is you need to wipe down after use. Otherwise water marks will be ugly. Some cheaper ones will show some"rust". Not to mention ugly scratches.

Granite sink is much easier to take care. But it will destroy fragile items for careless people. Also if you get lousy ones out may crack if knock hard. But then I have 3 Blanco and they are fine and some are more than 15 years old

If you don't mind ss sinks you will more choices. Sorento, Teka, Haustern etc are all within your budget. Only thing is they are either local or china made.

Blanco is expensive because of built quality and made in Germany. The sink materials contain antibacterial material. They build like tanks and not easily stained or discolored. Soo you get for what you paid for.

That said ss sink if you have genuine type304 (type 316 even better but that's expensive) and it is thick gauge enough with sound deafening material then you will be fine. Just have to wipe down every time after use.

Maybe i’ll wait till end year, else i would juz buy a good cheap ss. I don’t even know when my stupid developer will VP my house. Thanks for the advice!

For kitchen mixer tap -  pull down spray, which brand is ok? Kraus, grohe, hansgrohe? Budget around 1k

Any review on Elba's sink? Like their design but the price, while acceptable, abit on the high side.
Also i only consider top mount sink, can those undermount convert to topmount?