Washbasin - Mineral casting vs. Ceramic?

In search of a washbasin for the bathroom, i.e. furniture washbasin/table on top and directly attached underneath a cabinet, we were not really successful with the major manufacturers (Villeroy & Boch, Duravit, Keramag, ...). However, we noticed that there are a number of furniture manufacturers like Puris, Marlin or Pelicon who sell complete sets of furniture and washbasin.

With the big, well-known manufacturers, the washbasins are apparently always made of ceramic and the furniture manufacturers offer mineral cast. On the internet, I find no clear opinion as to whether one or the other is better.

Series like Marlin Cosmo or Pelipal Cassca actually appeal to us quite well, with a centered washbasin and storage areas on the right and left (120-160cm total width, so plenty of space on the left and right).

But I still don’t quite understand the whole thing. The "big manufacturers" or the "well-known manufacturers" also offer furniture programs, don’t they? And such curved shapes with storage areas on the left and right are abundant among "furniture manufacturers with mineral cast or glass," i.e. in many variations, but not at all with the big manufacturers!?

Can’t such shapes be made with ceramic? Do the big manufacturers simply refuse to offer mineral cast? What is to be thought of these furniture manufacturers—do they also offer quality or is it more of a DIY store thing? Whereas the DIY stores rather have Fackelmann.

We don’t want to buy anything of inferior quality now, but visually we simply like something like Pelipal Cassca much better than the washbasins like Subway 2.0 with base cabinet or similar.

Mineral cast is softer than ceramic and scratches more quickly, although in the old apartment I didn’t notice anything extreme even after 10 years. Back then I also bought it on Ebay and it was okay.

Ceramic is as hard as hell but brittle and probably much more expensive, which is why it's rarer as a piece of furniture. Or you look straight in the 4-5k range.

Your favorites are "cheap," we once went to a warehouse sale of sam style Art Möbel .de. Your Pelipal Cassca belongs in that price range, but don’t be surprised if the wood smells of chemicals.

And is a Villeroy & Boch Subway 2.0 base cabinet significantly better in quality? Less chemicals?

As I have now found out, both Pelipal Cassca and Villeroy & Boch Subway 2.0 are as follows: - Foil on MDF board

There is nothing wrong with that, but objectively there is actually no reason to assume that the Villeroy & Boch Subway 2.0 is of better quality. Only the white front at Villeroy & Boch is according to third parties melamine on chipboard and therefore also okay, but not as good as foil on MDF.

And there is nothing wrong with MDF and foil on MDF. It meets the requirements, also suitable for damp rooms. It is often used for bathroom furniture and kitchens. This is how an engineer specializing in timber construction/technology explained it to me.

At Pelipal I clicked through several series and the construction is actually almost always the same. Foil on MDF. The fronts are the same in almost all series.

Actually, I have to say now, almost all bathroom furniture (not DIY stores or the like) is just foil on MDF, right? For example, I just looked at Laguna. But the mid-range bathroom furniture manufacturers and the in-house productions of the ceramic manufacturers are no different there, right?

Keuco, which was highlighted as particularly expensive in another thread here, offers, for example, lacquer or real wood veneer on MDF board. But it is actually always MDF board. But well, who pays a five-figure sum for a washbasin cabinet now?

So in my second house I want to have something built... I actually wanted to do it already, but it got overlooked. Now we have a half-column and a wall shelf at handle height - that has something to it too.

They are simply different materials. Ceramic is very hard, which is why it is also very durable over the long term. You just have to be careful with the edges, because something can chip off if you hit it with something hard. Mineral casting does not have this strength. Ultimately, it is a plastic or reinforced plastic. It is also very abrasion and wear resistant, but not quite like ceramic. Over the years, some scratches or marks will accumulate that you can see upon close inspection. Whether that actually bothers you is something to consider. It is simply an everyday object. On the other hand, mineral casting offers significantly more design freedom. More is possible in terms of design, and overall at a lower price. Regarding the base cabinets, I don’t see a huge difference either. You should always look at them in person, including from the inside. Differences exist (regardless of whether it is a furniture store or a sanitary provider) in hinges, guide rails, workmanship, and surface finish.