This sauce pan is made from a 3 ply construction (3 layers) with the middle layer being aluminum, a great heat conductor. Clad CFX pans are coated with the Ceraforce Xtreme ceramic nonstick coating which is 50% longer lasting and 3x more durable than the previous line. I love that you can use metal utensils in the pans. This pan has a helper handle which you almost never see on a 4qt sauce pan.  Most importantly the pans are made without any chemicals.