April 28, 2026

Unlacquered brass darkens to a warm brown within a year and then slowly returns to gold where hands touch it. Aged nickel barely changes at all. Blackened steel lightens at the edges and reveals the metal underneath. All three age well. The question is whether you want a finish that changes or one that does not.

Brushed brass

Ours is cast in Porto and left unlacquered, which is a deliberate choice and worth understanding before you pick it.

Year one. The bright gold dulls quite quickly, within a few months, to a deeper honey tone. Some people panic at this stage. It is meant to happen.

Year two onwards. A patina develops across the whole piece, and the areas your hand touches most start polishing themselves back towards gold. The result is a handle that is dark at the ends and bright in the middle, which is the thing people actually fall in love with.

If you want it to stay bright, a lacquered brass exists, but the lacquer eventually wears through in patches and that looks considerably worse than an honest patina.

Aged nickel

Softer and cooler than brass, warmer than chrome. It is pre-aged at the factory, so what you receive is roughly what you will have in ten years.

It is the safe choice, and we mean that as a compliment. If the idea of a finish changing under you is unappealing, this is the one. It also sits comfortably with almost any door colour, which brass does not.

What damages it. Very little. Abrasive cleaners will dull the finish over time, so warm water and a cloth is all it wants.

Blackened steel

Hand-waxed rather than coated, so every piece comes out slightly different. Modern without being cold, and it works particularly well against pale timber.

How it ages. The high points lighten first, usually the outer curve of a handle, revealing the steel beneath as a soft grey. It takes on the shape of how the kitchen is used.

Maintenance. A wax refresh every year or two if you want to hold the depth of colour. Skip it and it simply continues lightening, which many people prefer.

Choosing between them

• You like things that develop. Brass, without hesitation.
• You want it to look the same in ten years. Aged nickel.
• You want contemporary but not cold. Blackened steel.

One thing worth knowing

Hardware is the cheapest part of a kitchen to change your mind about. Handles come off with a screwdriver. If you are torn, pick the one you like now and accept that in five years you can swap the lot for a few hundred pounds, which is not true of anything else in the room.