Aquabrass Faucets Alt Progetto Aqua Faucets Review & Rating Updated: December 2, 2024
2255 W. Desert Cove Ave.
Suite D
Phoenix, AZ 85029
(888) 239-9336
(602) 943-4664
AD Waters Distribution (CAN), Inc.
9805 Clark Street
Montreal, QC H3L 2R5
(905) 660-4992
Warranty Footnotes:1. "Aquabrass offers a lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship" … for "as long as the original purchaser owns their [sic] home…"2. e.g Touch sensors, etc.3. Typically not asked for.
For more information on how to read and interpret faucet warranties, see Faucet Basics, Part 6: Understanding Faucet Warranties
This Company In Brief
Aquabrass sells good to very good quality faucets made by reputable manufacturers and fully certified to North American reliability and lead-free standards.
There are two tiers of faucets, the top tier made in Italy and a second tier made in Taiwan and China. The styling and price differences between the tiers are evident but there is no obvious difference in quality.
The faucets are supported by a lifetime limited warranty and capable customer service.
Organized in 1986, Aguabrass is a Canadian importer of faucets and kitchen and bath accessories for sale through authorized dealers in Canada and the U.S. It is owned and managed by the Panzera family.
The Company
In 2016, the original Aquabrass, Inc. was split into two separate corporations, Aquabrass Design, Inc. and AD Waters Distribution (CAN), Inc.
AD Waters is the exclusive distributor of Aquabrass products.
It also distributes upscale bathwares and cabinetry from:
• Fiora Bath Collections S.L. (Spain),
• Simas S.p.A. (Italy), OLI-Sistemas Sanitários, S.A. (Portugal) and faucets from
• IB Rubinetti S.p.A. (Italy). In addition to selling its own brand of faucets, IB Rubinetti is one of the suppliers of Aquabrass faucets (See more below).
U.S. distribution of Aquabrass products is managed by Aquabrass International Corporation, a branch of AD Waters located in Arizona.
It distributes two lines of faucets, Aquabrass, its primary brand, and Alt Progetto Aqua, a budget-priced project brand made in Taiwan intended for builders, contractors, and multi-unit applications including condominium, apartment, and hospitality projects.
The Cllections
Aquabrass faucets are organized into two collections: Modern and Classic.
The Modern collection is very contemporary, showing faucets that are minimalist, stark and angular.
Its classic collection is more relaxed and traditional. The faucets are usually part of a broader body of products that includes showers, tub fillers, and accessories. In some cases coordinating architectural and cabinet hardware is available to finish off the look. Most of the faucets are stunning, only a very few are prosaic.
The Manufacturers
Aquabrass does not manufacture its faucet. It buys them from various overseas suppliers, including:
- Holatz Plumbing Fittings Industry Co., Ltd. (China) trades as Weixiang Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd., B-Jou, Kiki, Madison, and Calise Faucets. It supplied faucets to while that company was still selling faucets. It no longer does so.
- Horng Lai Industrial Co., Ltd. (China) has been manufacturing faucets since 1975 that it sells under the Home Life brand throughout Asia. The company manufactures the Geo line of faucets for Aquabrass.
- IB Rubinetterie S.p.A. (Italy) is an established Italian manufacturer that sells a broad collection of faucets, fittings, and accessories throughout Europe and most of the rest of the world.
- It also manufactures faucets for the Canadian importers
- NCIP Inc. (Taiwan) is a well-establised manufacturer that supplies Aquabrass with its Alt, Antipasto, Cantina, Circo, Riga, Metro, Misto, Pranzo, Primo, Pulmi, Tapas, Trattoria faucet lines and all of the builder-grade Alt Progetto faucets.
- NCIP also manufacturers faucets for
- Rubinetterie 3M S.r.l. generally known as Treemme, also manufactures faucets distributed by
- Vicario Armando & c. S.R.L. , trading as Armando Vicario. Rubinetterie, has manufactured in Gozzano, Italy since 1974. It is a fairly small company that makes well-designed contemporary faucets, fillers, and showers.
- It also manufactures faucets for
These companies are well-regarded manufacturers of good quality faucets and bath wares.
Faucet Designs
According to the company, an increasing number of Aquabrass faucets are being designed in-house by a staff of engineers and designers.
It has not, however, as of the date of this report, identified a single faucet designed in house by Aquabrass.
Many of the Italian faucets sold by Aquabrass are also for sale outside of North America under other model names. For example,
- The distinctive Aquabrass Stiletto faucet (shown above), designed by Giancarlo Vegni for Treemme is also sold in Europe by Treemme as the Hedo faucet.
- The Bridge series of faucets, designed by Treemme designer Rémi Théberge, is sold to the rest of the world as the Bridge Mono collection.
This suggests that the faucets are taken from the of the Italian factories that manufacture the faucets rather than being designed by or especially for Aquabrass.
It is likely that the company relies on the award-winning product designers and architects that work for its Italian manufacturers for most, if not all, of its designer faucets. These include such notables as Maurizio Duranti, Giulio Iacchetti, and Andrea Galmarini for IB Rubineterie and Danilo Fedeli, Giancarlo Vegni, Gianluca Belli, Marco Pisati, Rémi Théberge and Oco Studio for Treemme.
Also, according to company sources, Aquabrass has begun assembling some of its faucets in Canada. The company does not, however, claim that its local assembly is sufficient to qualify the products for "Made in Canada" status, as that term is defined by the Canadian Competition Bureau.
Faucet Pricing
There is a considerable price difference between the Italian faucets sold by Aquabrass and the same faucets sold in Europe.
For example, the Aquabrass Stilleto faucet sells in the U.S. for a street price of $558.75. In Europe. Treemme sells the Hedo faucet for $357.73 (€302.00).
But, before you get tempted to compare prices at Amazon Italy, keep in mind that these European faucets do not meet North American standards and will not work with North American fittings.
Also, they are not certified lead-free to the strict Canadian/U.S. standard and, therefore, may not be lawfully installed in North America in any drinking water system. (And, prices with shipping are generally higher to much higher in the Euro Zone.)
Don't expect any steep price discounts on Aquabrass faucets.
The company enforces a Minimum Advertised Pricing (MAP) policy which prohibits a dealer from advertising a price below the minimum price established by Aquabrass.
Dealers may sell a faucet for below the MAP price, but they cannot advertise the lower price. The purpose of the policy is to keep internet sellers with much lower overheads from undercutting brick-and-mortar showrooms which are the principal Aquabrass retailers.
Julien Faucets
Aquabrass supplies many of the faucets offered by Canadian sink manufacturer which then sells the faucets under its own, completely different, model names.
Aquabrass Finishes
The Aquabrass finish chart shows nine "in-stock" finishes that include polished chrome and usually brushed nickel.
Not every faucet is available in all nine finishes. The in-stock finishes available on a faucet depends on which manufacturer makes the faucet. (The website sometimes incorrectly identifies the standard finishes available for a faucet, so you will need to download and display the .pdf format "specs" page for each faucet to see the actual standard finishes – a somewhat cumbersome process.)
The company also offers fourteen custom finishes. There is, of course, not only an additional charge for custom finishes but a longer lead time while the faucet is custom manufactured.
Brushed gold appears on the company finish chart as both an in-stock and custom finish. It is available on some faucets as a standard finish, on others as a custom finish.
Aquabrass Warranty
The Aquabrass warranty is standard for North America. It provides as follows:
"Aquabrass offers a warranty against defects in materials and workmanship under normal conditions of use, care and maintenance of the product(s), for as long as the original purchaser owns their home. The warranty applies only when the product is purchased from an authorized Aquabrass dealer. It is not transferable and is limited to products sold and installed in Canada and the United States."
Polished chrome, electro black, stainless steel and finishes are guaranteed for as long as the buyer owns "their" home, but custom finishes are warranted for just three years(down from five years in 2018).
We don't know what the problem is with these finishes that makes Aquabrass uncomfortable enough that it felt it could offer only a three-year warranty but, obviously, something.
The warranty does not even beging to comply with the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. §2308) applicable to faucets sold in the U.S. It is missing all of the required statutory language, and is unlikely to survive even a minor challenge in a U.S. court.
For example, Aquabrass attempts to disclaim any liability for consequential and incidental damages but omits the required clarifying statement that the disclaimer of these damages may not be allowed in certain states by state law. Without the clarifying statement, the attempted disclaimer of consequential and incidental damages is void in the U.S.
Consequential and incidental damages refer to damages, other than the defect in the faucet, caused by the defect. For example your Aquabrass faucet leaks and floods your kitchen. The repair to the faucet is the direct damage. The repair to the kitchen is the consequential damage and your expenses in making a warranty claim against Aquabrass, including any attorney fees, are the incidental damages. By disclaiming consequential and incidental damages, Aquabrass hopes to be liable only for the repair of the faucet, not of the rest of the kitchen or your costs of proving your warranty claim.
The warranty is not well drafted. It was probably not written by a lawyer but by someone who copied provisions from other faucet warranties.
Some of the warranty's language may lead to trouble down the road. For instance, the "lifetime" duration of the warranty is not actually for the owner's lifetime. It is defined as "as long as the original purchaser owns their [sic] home." But consider these scenarios:
1. Purchaser installs an Aquabrass faucet in her home, then moves to a new home, renting the old home. Is the faucet still under warranty? According to the definition, yes it is.
2. What if the buyer buys a new home and sells the home in which the faucet is installed , is the warranty still in force? Probably. The warranty does not require the buyer to own the home in which the faucet is installed. It merely requires the buyer to own a home that qualifies as "their" home. Since the new home is certainly "their" home, the warranty continues in force which could put Aquabrass on the hook for faucet defects for most of a century.
One consequence of the defintion is that the orignal faucet owner could make a warranty claim for the benefit of the new owner, and if that owner sells the house to an even newer owner, for the newer owner as well, and the next owner and the next.
As long as the original buyer owns a home, the warranty is in force and claims can be made for the benefit of any subsequent owner of the faucet.
Customer Service
Our customer service experience with Aquabrass has been very good. But, it has changed.
Neither the telephone number nor an e-mail address for customer support is published any longer on the company website (but see above). The only contact option is through a contact-us screen, which, if you need help right away, is not very helpful.
Once you get an agent on the phone, however, things move along quickly.
Most of the time the customer service agent just wants to know what model faucet you have so the correct parts can be sent. The original receipt that the warranty requires "be made available" is almost never asked for. Most of the time Aquabrass takes the common-sense approach that you would not be asking for help with an Aquabrass faucet if you did not own one.
Neither the Better Business Bureauss of Canada nor that of the U.S. have a file on Aquabrass, which typically means that it has received no adverse reports about the company in either country, a very good record to have. But, it also means that the company is not a business that has been accredited by the BBB, which is not so good. The company certainly qualifies for and should apply for accreditation.
Faucet Quality
We upgraded our rating of Aquabrass from 5-8 to 6-8, several years ago for a number of reasons, including:
- Clear and evident improvement in the company's faucets over five years.
- Choice of world class manufacturers with solid reputations for quality products.
- Faucets with very few reported problems, and customer support that is quick, capable, and bi-lingual.
- Adoption of the excellent Flühs ceramic cartridge for all Aquabrass two-handle faucets.
- No serious installation issues.
Testing & Certification
Comparable Faucets
Fully certified, safe and lead-free faucets made in Italy that are comparable to Aquabrass include any of the following:
We judge Aquabrass Italian-made faucets to be a good to very good value with a good price-to-value relationship and well worth consideration by Canadian buyers looking for an Italian-inspired design that is reasonably priced with a North American warranty and parts support.
Aquabrass compares well to the Three other North American companies that import Italian faucets: All offer at least as good a value on a well-designed faucet coupled with a good warranty. Some Italian companies such as that sell in North America, offer 5- and 10-year warranties – acceptable in Europe – but substantially below the North American standard limited lifetime warranty.
Fully certified, safe and lead-free faucets made in Asia that are comparable to Aquabrass include any of the following:
Aquabrass Taiwanese- and Chinese-made faucets are substantially equivalent to the faucets sold by companies such as The four companies share roughly the same manufacturers, so their faucets are very similar in quality if not in design.
Continuing Research
We are continuing to research the company. If you have experience with Aquabrass faucets, good, bad, or indifferent, we would like to hear about it, so please contact us or post a comment below.