Look at the gauge number with stainless steel sinks for their thickness.

We were looking into going with a stainless sink, and my husband insisted we go with 16 gauge steel, not 18 or higher as he says they're too thin.

On less expensive silverware there is only a stainless steel coating (do a magnet test on them to determine) if solid or not. So when buying ss sink and receptacles bring a magnet with you. For the faucets go with a known brand name. Anybody can make a faucet look good, it's the inwards like seals that fail in less expensive models

wow I just love this site! Thanks so much. I found the section on the Houzz website too, which was helpful. I am learning very quickly. We call Faucets "Taps" in Australia, much easier to spell! Thanks for your comments.

Here at Julien, we believe that a good kitchen sink is the one who will suits your needs perfectly. And to find it, you have to ask to yourself the right questions: Do you cook a lot? Alone or with someone else? Do you often use big pots and pans? Do you handwash item? Do you often let soak or thaw food? How tall are you? Left or right handed? All of these questions (and many more) will help you find the best bowl configuration.

Regarding the price differences between the sinks, this can be explained by the thickness of the material. Here at Julien, we manufacture all of our residential sinks with 16 gauge commercial grade or 18 gauge stainless steel and we would never recommend to go any lower than that (as gauge number increases, thickness decreases). If you choose a 20 or 22 gauge stainless steel sink, its cost will be cheaper, but quality will drop significantly too. And this is not to mention the bad sound and vibration absorption.

Another important thing explaining the price is the way the sink is manufactured. Here at Julien, all of our 16 gauge sinks are handcrafted, that means they are all bended and welded by hand. This process helps us maintaining our superior quality standards. In most of the cases, cheaper sinks are simply embossed by an industrial press which deforms steel and material becomes thinner and uneven.

Hope this helped you differentiate a good quality sink from a cheap one! Good luck with your project.

http://www.julien.ca/en/home_refinements/sinks/stainless_steel/index.html