Inexpensive all-clad 4-Quart saute pan or rank impostor?

Pay less attention to the dimensions and more to the core - is it the same, copper? This will have a big impact on how it stabilizes heat in the oven and how it performs on the stovetop.

It's hard to tell because the expensive one clearly states it's 3-ply aluminum core while the cheaper one just doesn't say. One of the comments says he did in fact get a 3-ply pan, in which case it would be lovely! As long as the seller allows returns it would be worth finding out.

The first pan says that it's "invection compatible," meaning that it's some sort of magnetic metal (steel, I'm guessing). The second says that it's aluminum (a very good conductor) sandwiched between two layers of stainless. The first is only slightly heavier than the second (6.5 vs. 6 pounds respectively). If it was me, I would save myself the 80 bucks and take advantage of that domed lid. 80 dollars can buy a lot of turkey thighs.

So, one weird thing is that the "brown and braise" pan isn't listed anywhere that I can find on http://www.all-clad.com/ in any of their http://www.all-clad.com/collections/. Make of that what you will.