Artos Faucets Review & Rating Updated: January 29, 2024
Law Requirements
Warranty Footnotes:1. The Artos warranty is based on the Model Standard Limited Lifetime Faucet Warranty and meets all requirements of the U.S. Magnuson-Moss Warrantt Act.
- Read the Artos faucet warranty.
- Learn more about faucet warranties.
This Company In Brief
Westover, Inc. is an importer and distributor of kitchen and bath faucets manufactured in China and Italy that it sells under the Artos brand through internet retailers and a national dealer network.
The faucets are of good quality and supported by a lifetime warranty on all but the electronic components and competent, friendly customer support.
Artos faucets are, overall, a good value for the price.
The Italian faucets in the Otella and Quarto collections are generally priced below substantially equivalent faucets from other importers of Italian faucets.
Artos faucets made in China are also priced competitively.
The Company
Westover, Inc., was formed by Jonathan Petersen, Toby Hill, and Peter Hill on January 19, 2009 as a Nebraska corporation.
The company is an importer and distributor of good-quality kitchen and bath faucets manufactured in China and Italy, and coordinating showers and accessories that it sells under the Artos brand through internet retailers and a national dealer network.
The Artos logo, pictured above, ihas been registered by Westover as a trademark in the U.S. for "plumbing and bathroom fixtures and accessories." The mark is not registered in Canda.
Artos Faucet Manufacturers
All of the remaining Artos faucets are made in China. Its known manufacturers are the following:
- Taizhou Fenghua Brassworks Co., Ltd. manufactures faucets in the Cascade and Safire collections for Artos.. It also sells under its own Flova brand in Europe and Asia.
- Zhejiang Slion Brassware Co. Ltd. manufactures faucets in the Opera collection of faucets for Artos.
- Wenzhou Haijun Sanitary Hardware Co., Ltd.
- Jiangmen Luxury Houseware Co., Ltd. manufactures some of Artos' kitchen faucets.
Westover also imports some faucets through a Chinese broker, Zhejiang Zhong Rui Yi Sheng Trading Co. Ltd. These faucets appear to have been manufactured by Taizhou Catly Sanitary Wares Co., Ltd., a Chinese manufacturer located in Zhejiang Province.
It produces faucets sold by Artos in the Milan collection. Catly also makes faucets for
All of these manufacturers are .
All faucets are out of each manufacturer's None are designed especially for or are unique to Artos.
For example, the Artos Otella F301-2 is manufactured by RESP, appearing in its standard catalog as the 280.352 faucet.
Likewise, the Artos F501-7-1 In Wall Lavatory Faucet from the Opera series is made by Fenghua Brassworks is sold by that company throughout Europe and Asia as the Flova Century FH8286-D11.
Artos Faucet Designs
Artos sells its bathroom sink faucets as a part of coordinated collections that include faucets, showers, tub fillers, and accessories such as towel racks and bath tissue holders, and towel warmers.
Although the faucet designs are not cutting-edge, they are stylish but also very contemporary. There are no traditional or transitional faucet designs in its catalog. Those remodeling a Craftsman, Victorian, or Post-War Modernist bathroom will have to look elsewhere for a faucet that fits the decor.
The Italian designs are new, crisp, and interesting. The Chinese designs are more conservative.
Chinese faucet designs usually lag behind. Although true design originally is growing in China, it has not yet reached most of the country's faucet industry.
Chinese manufacturers profit from sales volume, so they tend to stay well within existing style boundaries to appeal to the largest population of potential buyers.
Most Chinese designs are adapted from successful European and American styles. A faucet design that proves popular in the European or North American markets will ultimately be copied by Chinese factories with just enough variation to avoid infringing design patents.
The lag time is normally three to five years behind the Western designs, by which time the design is usually no longer new.
Although not original, Artos' Chinese-made faucets are stylish and pleasant, suitable for all but the design glitterati. Which means that most of us "just folks" will find them attractive.
Most of its faucets are single-handle mixing faucets. We count only a few two-handle faucets that in the Artos lineup, and these are all for the bathroom.
Where to Buy
Artos faucets are sold throughout the U.S., primarily in plumbing and remodeling showrooms and by interior decorators. There do not appear to be any Canadian dealers. A dealer locator on the company website facilitates finding a retailer in your area.
They are also sold online through the company's website and by Quality Bath, Décor Planet, Plumbtile, Studio 41, Plumbing Overstock, and Houzz.
If you are coordinating a faucet with a shower system, tub filler, and accessories, we suggest you buy through a showroom. But if just one or two replacement faucets are your goal, an internet retailer will probably serve.
Artos Faucet Pricing
No matter where you buy, however, do not expect substantial discounts. Westover appears to have and enforce a Mininimum Advertised Pricing policy that prohibits online sellers from advertising steep discounts.
They can sell at a deep discount; they just cannot advertise the price. We have not seen the MAP policy, but Artos faucets' street prices suggest that one is in force. The maximum allowed discount appears to be in the neighborhood of 30-35%.
Artos' prices are consistent with prices charged by other importers of Italian and Chinese faucets, and less costly than many. There is a considerable difference in the price range, however, between the Italian-made Artos faucets and the company's Chinese faucets.
We consider the Artos Italian faucets a better buy than similar faucets sold in North America by the Italian manufacturers themselves.
Italian manufacturers selling in North America such as are not at all bashful about pricing their faucets somewhere above the clouds.
They also offer European-style warranties on their faucets that range from 5 to 10 years rather than standard North American lifetime warranties.
North American companies importting italian-made faucets including also typically fail to provide full lifetime warranty protection.
Artos stands apart from these manufactures with its lifetime warranty on all parts (except electronics) and finishes.
Only also back their Italian-made faucets with a lifetime warranty but faucets from these companies are generally pricier than Artos offerings.
Prices for Artos faucets on the company website appear to be the company's list or MSRP prices. The Kascade widespread lavatory fuacet in chrome, for example, sells for $888.00 on the website. The non-sale street price for the same faucet ranges from $581.00 from Houzz to $666.00 at Quality Bath. Street prices are, of course, subject to change.
Artos Valve Cartridges
The ceramic cartridges in Artos' Chinese-made faucets are manufactured by Sedal S.L.U. Sedal is chartered in Spain but does all of its manufacturing in China in two facilities: Sedal Technical Ceramics in Jiangmen and Sedal Kaiping.
Buying Rule for
Smart Faucet Buyers
Valve Cartridge
Never buy a faucet until you know the type of cartridge used in the faucet and who made it.
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 be robust and durable, lasting for many years.
For more information on faucet vales and cartridges, the differences among them, and the history behind each technology, see Faucet Basics, Part 2: Faucet Valves & Cartridges.
The Sedal cartridge is a favorite of Chinese manufacturers making faucets for the European and North American markets.
The cartridges in the Italian-made faucets we examined were manufactured by Kerox Kft of Hungary. Kerox cartridges have, in recent years, acquired a growing reputation for reliability and are often preferred by European faucet makers for their single handle mixer faucets.
Although manufactured overseas, both of these cartridges have been certified to North American cartridge standards, the world's toughest.
The North American cartridge life-cycle stress test requires operating the cartridges through 500,000 cycles under 60 pounds per square inch (psi) of water pressure[2] without a single failure. That's not a typo; a full half-million cycles are required.
At one cycle per second, the test takes six days to complete.
Thr 500,000 cycles is equivalent to average use in a kitchen or bath for about 70 years.
Life-Cycle Stress Testing: For a video showing the operation of the type of machine that puts faucets through life-cycle testing, go here. Warning: it's very noisy.
A second test is informally known as the burst test. It subjects the cartridges to a water pressure surge of 500 psi – 10 times average household water pressure, for one minute. If the cartridge leaks or deforms under this pressure, it fails the test.
In other countries, the standards are much less rigorous. The European (EN 817) life-cycle test is just 70,000 cycles, and the Chinese requirement (GB18145) is a mere 30,000 cycles.
Kerox and Sedal cartridges are sold by any number of sellers of after-market cartridges, so a replacement from a company that sells in North America should not be hard to find should the cartridge ever fail.
Artos Faucet Finishes
All Artos faucets are available in bright chrome, most are available in brushed nickel.
Other finishes such as Satin Brass and Matte Black are available on some, but not all models.
Certain faucets such as the F301-2CHB lavatory faucet from the Novi collection can be ordered in a in which a basic finish is complemented by a different trim finish.
Artos Faucet Warranty
The Artos Faucet Limited Lifetime Warranty is based on the Model Standard Limited Lifetime Faucet Warranty. The model warranty fully complies with the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. §2308)
The Warranty Language
Unfortunately, however, the language of the Artos warranty has wandered far from the "readily understood" language of the model.
The model is not written in what many laypersons believe is lawyely language with all the "wheretos," "hereinbefores," and "parties of the first part."
This is intentional. Grandiloquent legalese has no place in a consumer warranty. "Simple and readily understandable" warranty language is a bedrock requirement of federal warranty law. (16 CFR § 701.3(a))
A consumer product warranty must be written in language understood by the average consumer. Legalese is the antithesis of "simple and readily understood."
Moreover, much of the modified language in the warranty has created problems.
For example, the warranty, by its terms, applies only to
"sink faucets manufactured and distributed by Westover, Inc."
However, since Westover does not manufacture even a single one of its sink faucets, none of the company's faucets would be covered by the warranty.
Here is more language that is very puzzling, seemingly negating all reasonable warranty coverage:
Voidance of WarrantyThis Warranty shall be rendered null and void under the following circumstances:
- Damage incurred from accidents, misuse, abuse, improper installation, incorrect cleaning, or unauthorized alterations.
- Replacement parts damaged due to normal wear and tear.
- Labor charges, installation, or any ancillary or consequential expenditures.
- Failure to provide proof of purchase while lodging a claim.
The word "void" is frequently overused by unskilled warranty writers unfamiliar with the legal consequences of the word, and this provision is a sterling example of the problems "void" can cause.
In the law, void means "of no legal effect: an absolute nullity." In layman's language, a voided document is cancelled, finished, terminated, over, done, ended, kaputt.
Let's see how this provision affects coverage under the Artos warranty:
- I accidentally scratch my Artos faucet, nothing major — just a tiny scratch, berely even visible. But at that very moment, my warranty is over: voided for
accidental damage.
- I have my new Artos faucet installed. The warranty is done. "Installation" is one of the events that voids the warranty. I also paid the plumber for her labor. The payment of "labor charges" also ended the warranty. And, very pleased with the plumber's work, I bought her a cup of coffee. That purchase was an "ancillary or consequential expenditure" that again terminated the warranty. Clearly, I am not having a good day, warranty-wise.
- I make a claim on the Artos faucet warranty but forgot where I put my receipt. Later the same day, I find the receipt, but, unfortunately, it's too late. My failure to "provide proof of purchase" earlier in the day immediately voided the warranty. So, there is no longer a warranty to make a claim against, It is "an absolute nullity."
As for this provision,
"Replacement parts damaged due to normal wear and tear,"
No attorney who read this language had any idea what it means. What it appears to say is that if Westover provides replacement parts that are subsequently damaged by ordinary wear and tear, the warranty is voided, which makes no sense whatsoever.
Does Artos intend these insane results? Almost certainly not. And we have no doubt that Artos considers all of its faucets covered and does not treat the warranty as voided under the circumstances described above. But that's the way it chose to write its warranty, and in evaluating the warranty, we have to go by what's written. Nonsensical results are the frequent downside of inexperienced legal drafting.
In scoring the warranty, however, we gave less weight to what the warranty says Westover will do in to fix a defective faucet and more weight to what it actually does. On that basis, the company scored three stars, meaning that its warranty is equivalent to the standard North American lifetme warranty. Were it better drafted, it probably would have scored four stars which would put it in rare company with sellers like
These few are not the only drafting issues with the warranty, just the ones that immediately grabbed our attention. There are others.
A warranty is a legal contract and, like any contract, needs to bulletproof. This warranty is bullet-riddled. In the event of a lawsuit, it is likely to cost the company some serious money.
A court is very likely to determine that the Artos warranty "fails of its essential purpose" and deem it void (and that the correct use of the word "void") for lack of a sufficient remendy to the purchaser. That determination would put the company at the mercy of an unrestricted state law warranty of merchantability where it is exposed to liability for consequential and incidental damages. Not a place where Westover wants to be.
The warranty needs to be rewritten yet again, more closely following the model warranty, by someone who knows how to write a warranty and leaves the grandiloquent prose at home.
Read the Artos Faucet Limited Lifetime Warranty.
For an example of a warranty that has been properly adapted from the model, read the Limited Lifetime Warranty".
For more information on how to interpret faucet warranties, see Faucet Basics, Part 6: Faucet Warranties.
To learn how to enforce a product warranty, read The Warranty Game: Enforcing Your Product Warranty.
Read our Model Limited Lifetime Warranty.
Artos Custmer Service
Customer service is very good. Our usual "stump the rep" questions did not faze Westover's customer service agents.
The Better Business Bureau shares our opinion of the company's post-sale service. The BBB rates the company A+ on its scale of A+ to F for the company's handling of consumer issues — not a single complaint to the Bureau in all the years Artos has been in business.
The company is accredited by the BBB and pledged to its high standards of integrity and business ethics.
Artos Website
The Artos website is well-organized, with intuitive navigation and a product search function that is easy to use and usually accurate. It is an adaptive site, meaning that it displays properly on all devices, from a smart phone to a desktop monitor.
Specification sheets and installation instructions are downloadable in .pdf format for each faucet and provide details about available finishes, dimensions, flow rate along with a parts diagram.
Listings do not identify certifications.
Most include a dimensioned scaled drawing – useful for determining whether a faucet will fit your bathroom or kitchen. All now have the link to the company's faucet warranty required by the Magnuson-Moss pre-sale availability rule.
Each faucet is illustrated by multiple images, some showing the faucet installed. Faucet images are dynamic. When a user selects a finish from the finish table, the image morphs to show the faucet in the new finish.
The images enable a viewer to visualize the faucet adequately. However, a 360° view such as is provided by faucets would be useful for more complete visualization.
Installation instructions provide a step-by-step text description of the installation process with illustrations. Our plumbers had no problem installing the faucets and rated installation Very Easy
on a four-point scale from Very Easy to Very Hard.
Testing and Certification
Comparable Faucets
Certified safe and lead-free faucets made in Itly that are comparable to Artos' Italian-made faucets from companies that provide a lifetime warranty include:
Certified safe and lead-free faucets made in China with a lifetime warranty that are comparable to Artos' Chinese-made faucets include:
Conclusions
Artos faucets are a good value for the price. The Italian-made faucets in the Otella and Quarto collections are well made and generally priced below and sometimes well-below equivalent faucets from other importers of Italian faucets.
Artos faucets made in China are also of good quality and priced to compete against other importers of certified Chinese-made faucets.
It would be hard to go wrong with an Artos faucet. No one here would hesitate to install one in even the busiest kitchen or family bathroom.
The fabrication is good to excellent, the cartridges used in the faucets are reliable, the warranty has a few problems but largely complies with federal warranty law, provides lifetime coverage, and is backed by excellent post-sale service.
The company has earned and maintained throughout its existence an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau by taking care of customer issues in house before they lead to a BBB complaint, no small feat.
We are continuing to research the company. If you have experience with Artos faucets, good, bad, or indifferent, we would like to hear about it, so please contact us or post a comment below.