So I figured I'd add a few words about the sauciers that I have. I ended up with a bunch of Demeyere Atlantis sauciers, in 20 and 24 cm (I think those are referred to as 2qt and 3,5 qt in the US). Basically my requirements were:
-Clad construction - IMO disk bottom sauciers are pointless, especially since I'm still using gas.
-Induction-ready because there's a good chance I'll be using induction at some point. That takes most copper pans off the table
-Flared rim, because pouring sauce without one sucks.
-Encapsulated rim, because I want to be able to throw them in the dishwasher without getting a sharp rim from eroding aluminium. This one takes a surprising amount of options off the table - even from Demeyere!
-At least 3mm thickness, that takes a lot of the cheaper options out of consideration.
-Preferably a welded handle (no rivets on the inside is IMO preferable, especially on a saucier).
If you add that all together you almost automatically end up with Demeyere Atlantis being your only choice. Well there is the Silver series, but that one is just a glorified Atlantis. All their other lines lack either a flared rim, an encapsulated rim or both. Similar kind of story on a lot of other brands, there's always something lacking.
My pros, cons, and general considerations for prospective buyers:
-I have a bunch of them, especially the 24, because they truly are my go-to-pan for everything that doesn't go in a frying pan. Basically I use the sauciers not just to make sauce but to also replace all my small to mid sized pots, saucepans, etc. They're incredibly versatile and can be used for pretty much everything.
-Thermal performance is as you'd expect very good.
-Like the frying pans, when they say a pan is 24 cm they measure internal dimensions so compared to some other brands they run rather big.
-The handles are the same skinny cast stainless steel ones like on a lot of the frying pans... not a fan of those because they're both on the heavy side and the grip isn't ideal when pouring. It's not a dealbreaker (they're not that bad), but I'd rather have cheap hollow oval tubular handles. If Apollo series had a flared encapsulated rim I'd have bought those instead; those handles are better IMO.
-They are heavy boys... Not a problem for me but I can imagine this might be a problem for people who intend to use the 24 cm version as an 'everyday pan'; some might find it too heavy. It's one you might want to test in a store first to see if it'll work for you. If you're specifically looking for a pan just to do mantecare you might want to look for something else that's lighter instead.
-I still can't say I really notice much of a difference from that Silvinox treatment in the short term. But who knows maybe that's more of a long-term thing.
General tip, if you're willing to compromise on some of the requirements (like not having encapsulated rims, or going thinner), you can get sauciers cheaper if you're willing to look around. But if you truly care about a specific aspect, make sure you always check first... for example, a surprising amount of the more expensive sauciers have exposed aluminium on the rims.
it doesn't really make an important difference.
