Le Creuset Le Creuset Signature Round French Oven

Le Creuset lives up to its reputation for precision manufacturing, beautiful styling, superb cooking. The lids fit snuggly and securely, eliminating the rattling so often encountered with cast iron or enamelled cast iron cookware. The clean lines and high quality enamel make the vessel a thing of beauty. And, of course, what really counts is that this cookware performs as expected, working equally well on a gas range, an induction cooktop, or in an oven, and cleaning up easily. I have no hesitation in rating this item at the full five stars. The one observation which I feel I must make, however, is that this cookware is indeed priced as a first-rate product of the highest craftsmanship and manufacturing standards. One must ask one's self: will my enjoyment and appreciation of this piece make the cost worthwhile for me? I own a variety of enamelled cast iron pieces from various manufacturers, and Le Creuset does stand out from the rest. But I have not felt inclined to replace any of my existing pieces with Le Creuset. For all that Le Creuset is clearly a higher quality product, the other pieces perform perfectly well. My prime motivation in purchasing Le Creuset was the wide range of sizes available. This 3.5 quart "French Oven" is a very useful size, and hard to find elsewhere.