Chantal Onyx Tea Ball Teakettle

One more update, 4/15/2013: Now downgraded to a 1 star...sadly. I notice this is unavailable for purchase now anyway. I am writing again to Chantal and hopefully will receive a satisfactory response. Anyway, the loop handle on the lid fell off yesterday. A tea kettle that keeps falling apart is not worth this price!!! **** Update on 2/10/13: Alas, after just a few months, the little handle on the whistle snapped off of the new replacement whistle that was sent to me. Too bad, since it's an adorable tea kettle. I will have to lower my rating now to two stars, just because if I had known this would be a recurrent problem, I would have never purchased this kettle. See my previous reviews below... *** My update, as of 10/31/12, is that this product now deserves 5 stars. I love my kettle very much. When I received my original order and found the whistle defective, I emailed the manufacturer through their website (Chantal). They replied immediately and explained that Amazon had incorrect information - this kettle actually does not have a harmonica whistle as was stated in the Amazon product description. Correct information about this product can be found at the Chantal website. The company immediately sent me a replacement whistle, free of charge. This time it arrived intact and appears to be sturdy. I miss my harmonica whistle on my old Chantal kettle, but the whistle on this model is very loud, and I appreciate that since I'm hard of hearing. I like how this kettle looks, sounds, and boils water. I like that I have a kettle that is solid and not cheap. I use it at least twice a day and have had no issues of getting burned or spilling water. The whistle comes off and on very easily...there is no difficult tugging to get the whistle off, as other reveiwers have stated. I wouldn't buy any other tea kettle brand, and someday when I have extra money, maybe I will add a Chantal kettle with the harmonica whistle to my collection again. I am very happy that I didn't send the kettle back and instead just got my replacement whistle. Below is my previous review, at which time I gave the product a 3-star rating because of the broken handle on the original whistle and the fact that it was not a harmonica whistle.... <original review>>> I used a gift card to replace my classic stainless steel Chantal tea kettle, which I absolutely adored but accidentally destroyed by letting the pot run dry. Since I couldn't afford the classic design again with the amount on my gift card, I ordered the Steel Tea Ball this time. Upon opening the package, the little handle on the bell part instantly broke off, as if it wasn't even soldered on at the factory. Without the little handle loop, the spout and whistle combo looks like a phallic object, so at least I have something to laugh about. I am hoping the manufacturer will replace the whistle for me. Furthermore, the whistle does not sound like a harmonica, like my classic Chantal did. The whistle on my Tea Ball sounds like a regular, loud, high-pitched teapot whistle. Again, I am hoping my replacement whistle will have the correct sound. My dilemma was: do I return this and just spend the extra money to buy the classic model, or do I keep this and deal with the defective whistle? I decided to keep this one partly because I don't feel like hassling with the return and waiting for my new kettle to arrive. Plus, I actually like the Tea Ball kettle very much if I take out the whistle factor. The water heats up quickly, the design looks great with my kitchen decor, and since I usually just boil water for one cup of tea, the size is just right. I don't get burns or have issues with water splashing. My habit is to use pot holders for everything I handle on the stove; however, even without potholders, if I follow the safety instructions that come with the teapot, I don't get burned. One other comment I would like to make is that for some reason, I thought this was made in Germany...I can't remember where I heard or read that or maybe I'm just thinking of another brand...but this kettle had a sticker that said it was made in China. I will provide an update to this review if I get any response from the manufacturer about getting the whistle replaced.