Nickel Silver in Jewelry
© by Rena Klingenberg; all rights reserved
Nickel silver is an alloy of copper plus nickel (and sometimes also zinc).
This jewelry metal does not actually contain any silver; its name comes from its color, although it's really grayer than silver.
Nickel silver is a relatively hard, corrosion-resistant metal that's sometimes used as the base metal core for silver-plating.
Jewelry artists can find nickel silver in sheet metal and wire form.
Of course, its nickel content means this metal will likely cause allergic skin reactions in people who have a nickel allergy.
Nickel silver is also called "German silver" because it was discovered by a German chemist and was often used as a jewelry making metal in Germany.
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