Delle Rosa Review & Rating Updated: January 2, 2024
Law Requirements
This Company In Brief
Henan Songde Furniture Co., Ltd. is a Chinese corporation that sells contraband faucets on Amazon as Refin Kitchen Faucet.
Songde is a trading company with some relationship to Guangdong Goldkey Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., also a trading company and the owner of Delle Rosa trademark in the U.S. The nature of the relationship, however, is unknown.
Songde Furniture sells only through Amazon as a third-party seller in what Amazon calls its Marketplace.
The faucets are of average quality and virtually indistinguishable from the hoard of Made-in-China faucets sold through internet venues in the U.S. and Canada. They have no warranty of any kind.
Black Market Faucets: These faucets are not legal for sale in the U.S. and not legal for installation in a drinking water system in the U.S. or Canada. For more information on contraband faucets and how to avoid these potentially dangerous products, please visit Illegal and Black Market Faucets in North America.
Henan Songde Furniture Co., Ltd is a Chinese trading company that sells contraband faucets in the U.S. and Canada under the Delle Rosa brand.
Delle Rosa faucets are sold only on the internet through websites that host third-party sellers. Currently, Amazon is the only sales venue – one of the 550 or so contraband faucet brands sold on Anazon's platform.
To learn more about illegal and contraband faucets sold on Amazon, read our investigative report on Amazon's Illegal Faucets.
Songde is not very keen on disclosing its actual identity.
Amazon now requires owners of its storefronts to identify themselves and Songde does so but in Hanyu Pinyin (or just Pinyin), a phonetic rendering of the company's Chinese name in the Roman alphabet:
henansheng songdejiaju youxian gongsi.
We had the name translated into English.
The Company
Formed in 1983 as a Chinese corporation, Songde is solely a trading company. The company's blurb on Amazon is vague about what it does, it is clear that it is a distributor.
Delle Rosa pulldown commercial-style kitchen faucet in Brushed Gold that also dispinses purified drinking water.
The same faucet is also sold on Amazon under the related brands.
The faucets and accessories that it sells in the U.S. and Canada are made by other companies. We have not identified the manufacturers. We can make an educated guess based on details of fabrication and finish but we don't like guessing. We are certain, however, that the faucets are made in China.
Songde Furniture is part of a group of sellers that sell contraband faucets on Amazon under brands registered as trademarks by Guangdong Goldkey Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., an internet trading company located in Guangdong Province. These include:
- Dongguan Jinpai Furniture Co., Ltd. ( faucets)
- Dongguan Dongcheng Zhanduo Furniture Firm ( faucets)
- Dongguan Feihongda Technology Co., Ltd. ( faucets)
- Xinyang Yingjia Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. ( faucets)
- Dongguan Honghui Property Management Co., Ltd. ( faucets), and
- Foshan Municipal Party Committee Stanley Home Furnishing Co., Ltd. ( faucets)
According to its U.S. trademark filing, the Delle Rosa trademark covers a wide range of products including:
"Faucets; Anti-splash tap nozzles; Faucet aerators; Faucet sprayers; Kitchen sink sprayers; Mixer faucets for water pipes; Plumbing fittings, namely, drains; Tap water faucets; Taps being faucets; Water control valves for faucets."
In North America, however, it sells only kitchen and lavatory sink faucets, pot fillers, filtered water faucets, and accessories that are not covered under the trademark such as soap/lotion dispensers and paper towel holdeers.
Songde's North American Facilities
Songde runs its trading business from China. It has no functioning presence in North America. All of the details of its sales have been delegated to Amazon: warehousing, inventory, payment processing, and delivery.
It is entirely possible to successfully market faucets in the U.S. without having a physical presence in the U.S. The German luxury faucet companies, manage it extremely well.
Their approach takes advantage of the fact that with smartphones and the Internet, physical proximity to a market is no longer necessary to sell in that market. To a plumber or homeowner located in Miami, Memphis, or Montreal, technical or customer support provided from Germany is just as useful as help from California or Connecticut.
But, to be successful, the time difference between customer and company must be overcome. In2aqua and Jörger have done so by ensuring that their technical and customer support is available during North American business hours by telephone.
Songde has not.
Delle Rosa stainless steel pullout kitchen faucet in a nickel finish.
It does not make it easy for customers to contact the company, providing neither an email address nor a North American telephone number. The only contact is through Amazon.
Construction & Materials
The company claims that Delle Rosa faucets made from brass and stainless steel. The faucets, however, are by no means of "solid" brass or 100% stainlesss steel, and there is no independent verification that the brass is lead-free as required by law.
Stainless Steel
The stainless steel is probably 304 stainless, an alloy that includes chromium and nickel. The nickel gives the steel a crystalline structure which increases its strength. The chromium helps the steel resist corrosion.
Stainless 304, also known as "food-grade" stainless, is by far the most common alloy used to make kitchen utensils, silverware, cookware, and faucets.
Why Stainless Steel Does Not Rust: Properly alloyed stainless contains at least 10% chromium (which gives stainless its slight yellowish tinge) and a dollop of nickel. These form a coating of oxides and hydroxides on the outer surface of the steel that blocks oxygen and water from reaching the underlying metal, preventing rust from forming. The coating is very thin, only a few atoms thick, so thin that it is invisible to the eye under ordinary light but thick enough to protect the faucet.
Steel is much harder than brass. It can be made in thinner profiles that use less material and still have more than adequate strength.
Brass
Brass, however, is still the preferred material for faucets and the most common material used, for two reasons:
- Brass is strong but easy to work with. It casts, forges, and machines with relative ease.
- Brass is naturally anti-microbial. The copper in brass kills bacteria, retarding the build-up of potentially hazardous microbes inside a faucet.
But, brass has one serious drawback. It may contain lead.
Traditional (Alpha) brass is a blend of copper and zinc with a small amount of lead added to make the material more malleable, less brittle, and easier to fabricate.
Lead, however, is now all but banned in North America in any drinking water component due to its toxicity to humans, particularly children.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), lead, even in small amounts, causes slowed growth, learning disorders, hearing loss, anemia, hyperactivity, and behavior issues.
Before 2014, a faucet sold in the U.S. or Canada could contain as much as 8% lead and still call itself lead-free.
Now the maximum lead content of those parts of a faucet that touch water is 0.25% (1/4 of 1%), basically just a bare trace.
In fact, there may be more lead in the air you breathe than there is in a faucet that has been certified lead-free.
To comply with the restrictions on lead, today's faucet brass replaces lead with other additives to reduce brittleness without adding toxicity. The most common is Bismuth.
Bismuth is similar to lead – right next to lead on the periodic table of elements – but it is not harmful to humans.
It is, however, very expensive. It is 300 times rarer than lead, even rarer than silver, which is the reason that Bismuth-brass alloys are considerably more expensive than leaded brass.
This increased cost has encouraged many manufacturers to use substitute materials in their faucets where possible.
Zinc & Zinc/Aluminum Alloys
The common substitute is zinc or a zinc-aluminum (ZA) alloy. One of the most common is called ZAMAK, a composition containing 4% aluminum.
Zinc is not as strong as brass and does not resist water pressure as well as brass. But, its use in non-pressurized parts of a brass faucet such as handles, base and wall plates, and is common even among manufacturers of luxury faucets.
It does no harm when used in these components, and may save consumers a few dollars.
Plastics
Plastic is the other commonly used substitute material. It may be safely used in incidental parts like base plates and has been largely trouble-free in aerators and as casings for ceramic cartridges but otherwise, its use is suspect especially if under water pressure.
Among those suspect uses is its use in the spray heads of kitchen faucets. Plastic spray heads (called "wands" in the faucet industry) have become the standard for many manufacturers, including some that sell upscale faucets such as
Delle Rosa kitchen faucet sprays are plastic.
Manufacturers give three reasons for their use of plastic:
- Plastic does not get uncomfortably hot in use like metal wands;
- Plastic is not as heavy and is more comfortable to hold for long periods of time; and
- Plastic is a lot cheaper than brass or stainless steel – even cheaper than zinc.
However, plastic wands also fail much more often than metal wands. And although engineers have made significant improvements to their reliability over the past decade, the problem has not been entirely solved.
Better wands are made of metal, insulated against excessive heat transmittal.
The Sure Cure for Too-Hot Spray Wands: The simple cure for spray wands that get too hot is to reduce the temperature of the water. Dishes do not need to be rinsed in scalding hot water.
Faucet Design & Styling
Delle Rosa faucets are contemporary designs. The styles are conservative – fairly common designs, attractive enough but exhibiting no particular design originality. Similar styles are available from nearly every faucet company that sells Chinese-made kitchen faucets.
The goal of Chinese faucet manufacturers is to sell as many faucets as possible, which means keeping their designs well within the mainstream to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible.
Designs are usually adopted from Europe and North America.
A style that sells well in these major markets will often be imitated by Asian factories (with minor changes to avoid patent infringement). The lag time is usually 3 to 5 years, so by the time a design appears in a Chinese faucet, it is no longer new.
Delle Rosa's faucet designs fit this pattern. They are pleasant and often smartly styled but most are over a decade old, some are well past voting age, and a few are looking at their thirtieth anniversary in the rear-view mirror.
Delle Rosa Faucet Components
The critical components used in Delle Rosa faucets are ceramic valve cartridges and aerators.
Valve Cartridges
The faucets we examined contained standard configuration ceramic cartridges made in China.
Dozens of Chinese companies manufacture ceramic valves, most of which do not export, so we never encounter them.
What we do know about the cartridges is that they are not one of the better cartridges like those manufactured in China by Sedal S.L.U. that have established a solid reputation for quality products and have been proven by having passed the North American life-cycle stress tests.
The Faucet Cartridge
Its cartridge is the heart of a modern faucet and should be your very first consideration when making a buying decision.
It is the component that controls water flow and temperature.
Its finish may fail and the faucet will still work. It may be discolored, corroded, and ugly but water still flows. If the cartridge fails, however, the faucet is no longer a faucet. It is out of business until the cartridge is replaced.
It's important, therefore, that the cartridge is robust, durable, and lasts for many years.
The standard North American life-cycle test requires operating a cartridge through 500,000 cycles under 60 psi of water pressure without a single failure. At one cycle per second, the test takes six 24-hour days to complete.
The cartridge is also subjected to a burst test under water pressure of 500 pounds per square inch – many times normal household water pressure of 40-60 psi. A cartridge that deforms in any manner under this enormous pressure fails the test and is not certified for use in the U.s. or Canada.
In other countries, the standard is much less rigorous. The European durability standard (EN 817) requires 70,000 cycles, and the Chinese (GB18145-2014) test is just 30,000 cycles.
Delle Rosa cartridges are probably certified to the Chinese standard but not to North American standards, so we have no idea how well they will stand up to use in a normal kitchen.
Aerators
There are dozens of companies in China that manufacture and spray-head assembles. Most are a least adequate.
Faucet used to be simple devices that merely added a little air to soften the water stream so it would not splash out of the sink.
Today, however, they are also used to limit water volume to the lower flows required by federal and state water conservation laws, and in some cases, to prevent back-flow that can result in the contamination of household drinking water.
It is important, therefore, that this little device, often smaller than a dime, be the best available.
The manufacturer or manufacturers of aerators and spray heads are not identified by Songde, and our examination of several aerators and spray heads did not disclose any markings on the devices that would allow us to determine where they are made.
All we can say is that in our testing they modified the stream of water just as they are supposed to so it did not splash out of the sink. We do not know how resistant they are to mineral accumulation that causes clogging or how long they will last in ordinary household use.
We asked Songde for information about its aerators but have not received a reply from the company.
Delle Rosa Faucet Finishes
We found four finishes on Delle Rosa faucets: Matte Black, Brushed Nickel, Brushed Gold, and Copper. The usual polished chrome finish is missing from the lineup.
Songde does not disclose the type of finish used on its faucets. However, from examination, we believe Brushed Nickel is electroplated. Black is probably a powder coating. Gold and Copper are likely a physical vapor deposition (PVD) finish.
Electroplating
involves immersing the faucet and the metal to be used as plating in an acid bath, then applying an electrical charge to both objects so metallic ions are drawn from the plating metal to the faucet.
Usually, multiple coats are applied, one or more undercoats and then two or more coats of the finish metal.
The process is potentially hazardous to the operator and the environment. It involves toxic and corrosive chemicals that must be disposed of safely. No other coating technology even comes close to the dangers involved in electroplating.
The top coat may be polished or brushed. Chrome, a relatively hard metal, is usually polished to a high shine. Nickel, a softer metal, is usually brushed to help hide the inevitable minor scratches.
Physical Vapor Deposition
or PVD is one of the latest space-age faucet finishing technology, rapidly replacing electroplating as the finish of choice.
Although the technology was discovered in the 19th century, it was not used in industry until the 1950s and then only rarely due to its great expense. Its first use was in nuclear reactors. Today,the technology is everywhere and the machinery required is getting smaller, faster, and cheaper all the time.
The process itself mixes art with science.
Load a chamber with unfinished faucet components, remove all the air, and add back a carefully calculated mix of nitrogen or argon and reactive gases.
Add a rod of the metal to be used for the coating. Heat that rod to a temperature so high that the metal dissolves into individual atoms. The atoms mix with the various reactive gases to get the color and finish effects you want and are then deposited in a very thin layer – 2 to 5 microns – on the faucets.
A micron is one-millionth of a meter or 1/26,000 of an inch. The average human hair is 83 microns thick. The smallest the human eye with excellent vision can see without magnification is about 5 microns.
Despite being just microns thick, a PVD coating is extremely dense and, in consequence, very hard and durable. By some estimates, it is up to 20 times more scratch-resistant than electroplated chrome.
From long experience, we know that PVD is nearly impossible to accidentally scratch or mar, never fades or changes color, and resists all forms of soiling.
A PVD finish can usually be maintained with just an occasional wipe from a damp cloth to remove water spots.
Finish Durability
Some finishes are more durable than others. Here are the Fontana Showers faucet finishes and their durability from most to least durable.
- is the old standby. It is a tough finish that will stand up to most abuse. but its durability depends on the metal used.
- Chrome is durable, nickel less so because it is inherently a softer metal (the reason chrome replaced nickel as the faucet finish of choice in the early 20th century.)
- (PVD) finishes are 10 to 20 times more scratch-resistant than electroplated chrome. They are also not affected by most household chemicals. In our experience, they are largely invulnerable to harm.
- is essentially a paint applied in a powdered form and then heated in an oven to cure. It is considered semi-durable with about the same scratch resistance as the finish on your car.
Powder Coating
is usually described as semi-durable
, not as robust as electroplated or PVD finishes, about as durable as the finish on your car, and requiring more care to maintain a like-new appearance.
It is essentially a dry paint in powder form applied using a special low-velocity spray gun that disperses the powder while giving it a positive electrical charge. The particles are drawn to the item to be finished which has been given a negative charge.
Once the powder is applied, the item being coated is baked in an oven which melts and bonds the powder and changes the structure of the coating into long, cross-linked molecular chains.
These chains are what give the coating its durability, reducing the risk of scratches, chipping, abrasions, corrosion, fading, and other wear issues.
Finish Care Instructions: Always read and follow the faucet seller's care instructions. Careful cleaning and maintenance not only preserve the good looks of your faucet but also your finish warranty.
Delle Rosa Faucet Warranty
Songde claims to offer a "5-year free replacement" warranty. However, we could not find a warranty document online, and a request to the company through Amazon for a copy of the warranty resulted in no response.
Songde does not appear to have an actual written warranty. U.S. law requires consumer product warranties to be in writing and to specifically set out its terms and conditions in plain and simple language.
If it did have a warranty, the company does not provide the contact information such as an email or North American telephone number by which a warranty claim could be made.
Delle Rosa Website
The closest Songde comes to a North American website is its Amazon storefront. The storefront does not, however, provide nearly enough information about the faucets sold by the company to permit an informed buying decision.
The best place to get the information needed to make an informed buying decision is the listing for the individual faucets.
The listing typically includes the faucet's dimensions, flow rate, and primary material but you have to scroll far down in the listing to the section headed "Technical Detils." The intervening area is filled with illustrations that are, however, worth examining for additional nuggets of hard data.
Many of the specifications important to an informed decision are missing. Among the most critical are:
-
Faucet Valve:
No information is provided about a faucet's valve other than the fact that it is a ceramic cartridge. In addition to this basic notice, the name of the cartridge manufacturer is needed. There are good ceramic cartridges and not-so-good ceramic cartridges. To make an informed buying decision the buyer needs to know the actual manufacturer. Otherwise, there is no way to judge the quality of the cartridge.
-
Type of Finish:
The type of finish is not disclosed. Type of finish (electroplated, powder coating, PVD, etc.) is important to the long-term durability of the finish and the type and amount of care and maintenance required.
-
Warranty:
If Songde does offer a written warranty, the actual warranty document is nowhere to be found. U.S. law requires a consumer product warranty to be in writing and made available to the buyerprior to
the sale of the product.
- For faucets sold only online, this means the warranty must be part of the online faucet listing. If not then a conspicuous link to the warranty must be provided from every place on the internet where the faucet is sold. Delle Rosa does not comply with either requirement.
Delle Rosa Testing & Certification
Comparable Faucets
Faucets made in Asia comparable to Delle Rosa in quality with a better warranty but not necessarily comparable for design or price, include
Conclusions
There is absolutely no reason to buy an Delle Rosa faucet. The seller has ignored almost every law and regulation that apply to the sale of faucets in North America.
- The faucets are not tested and certified compliant with joint U.S./Canadian standards of reliability, durability, and safety as required by the law in both Canada and the U.S. Consequently, the presence of toxic substances in the faucets such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury has not been excluded. Because these faucets are made in China where the use of lead in faucets is not regulated, the risk of lead contamination is even greater than usual.
- The faucets are not identified as Made in China as required by law, nor are the indelibly marked with the name of the manufacturer – two requirements for the legal importation of faucets.
- Owners of Delle Rosa faucets are not protected against defects by a written warranty enforceable in U.S. and Canadian courts. The stated five-year Delle Rosa warranty is a sham. It is not in writing and the company provides no means of actually making a warranty claim.
- The only source of replacement parts is 7,000 miles away, assuming the parts are available at all and the buy can find some way to get in contact with Jinpa to request parts.
The prices on Delle Rosa faucets make them attractive but, as the list above demonstrates, a great many other companies sell Chinese-made faucets for about the same price that are fully certified, legal to use in a drinking water system, and backed by a written warranty of some kind. Many are guaranteed for the lifetime of the buyer.
Delle Rosa faucets cannot be legally installed in a public or private drinking water system anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. A plumber probably will not install one for you, and if you do it yourself you risk, at the very least, having to replace the faucet with a legal product and the possibility in some jurisdictions of a fine and some jail time.
We are continuing to research the company. If you have experience with Delle Rosa faucets, good, bad or indifferent, we would like to hear about it, so please starcraftreviews@yahoo.com or post a comment below.
Footnotes
- The actual seller may be Guangdong Goldkey Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., 24, Room 210, No. 11 Building, No. 1 Xuefu Rd., Songshan Lake Park, Dongguan City, Guangdong 523808 China. Goldkey is an internet trading company that owns the trademarks Avola, Delle Rosa, EKRTE, Fonveth, Kmeino, and Rzoeox all used to sell faucets on Amazon. Goldkey also appears to be related to Guangdong Hongqi Furniture Co., Ltd., also a trading company that sells faucets under the brand on Amazon.