Suzanne: I didn't know that there existed brass restoration services! Thanks for the tip! I just Googled and found one in my city. How often do you find you have to do this? The local shop has a one year guarantee on their finish. If this has to happen annually or even every 5 years, that would be way too much for me to manage. My cabinet maker uses Richelieu for the hardware. It's included in the price of the cabinets. I'll do some research on their brass finish. That "ever brass" finish sounds mighty appealing... I might consider paying for the hardware myself and getting Baldwin pulls if it does indeed last forever! daisychain: You read my mind! That was going to be my next pondering. .. should I mix the metals or use the same? ;) Glad that it won't look so awful if I don't use brass for the faucet too. That piece would likely be very high maintenance. writersblock: Good point. Tarnishing doesn't happen evenly either. And, if I hire a service to restore the brass, then I don't have to worry about the hassle of stripping the lacquer. They'll do it for me! Lacquer is probably the way to go for me.

Just to update, I went to our plumbing supply. No shocker that they don't carry anything in polished brass - not popular enough (I can't tell you how many times this happens to me!!!). I contemplated going with brushed nickel, just to take it home, but DH said, and he is right, that I won't be happy with it. I really liked the Delta champagne bronze color, but in the end I went with what Pal linked, the Kohler Fairfax in polished brass. I think it will look great and if not, oh well! One day, when we redo the kitchen, I can get my unlacquered brass.

I think it's beautiful. I love the champagne bronze finish. I just looked at the Cassidy and I like that too. I don't think it's less traditional/more transitional than the the Valdosta. I don't know what else you have going on in your kitchen but to me they are both really nice and I don't see one as being more modern than the other.

Hey All, Rohl distributor here. That is definitely the Tuscan Brass finish that does live/change over time. You can speed up the process when you buy a new one by touching it alot or wiping it down with soap and water often to quicken the pace. Rohl was purchased by Fortune Brands, which has changed some of their distribution over the last couple years, but the items are still made in Italy. In our market, about half of the issues are installer related because they are not the Delta quick connect installations. To acheive this look would be hard in any mainstream brand. Waterstone is fantastic! I have been their facilty in CA. They also have a Tuscan finish that changes, but again, it would still be different. In my experience there are certainly issues with higher brands, but they always take care of you. It's just not at an Amazon pace. Unlacqered Brass is going to be bright and shiny, and will also turn, but I don't think they would ever look the same (TCB that had changed and ULB that had changed). I would stick to TCB finish and maybe even purchase "Brass Ager" on Amazon and test on the underside of a flange or something. Or buy a soap dispenser to test it out on that wouldn't be costly to replace. Enjoy!