nickel silver

"German silver" hair comb, made 1984

Nickel silver, maillechort, German silver, argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, or alpacca is a cupronickel (copper with nickel) alloy with the addition of zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver does not contain silver, but resembles it, which can make it attractive as a cheaper and more durable substitute. It is also well suited for plating with silver because of its very similar colour, which makes any areas where the silver plating inevitably becomes worn through with use, much less obvious.