The second metal in my series of articles about metal is nickel silver. I’ve chosen to write about nickel silver because I feel that some of the names that are used for nickel silver tend to be misleading. Nickel silver is often sold as German silver or Alpaca silver, however it contains no silver at all.
Nickel silver is an alloy of nickel and copper, and sometimes zinc. Nickel silver is a bright silver-colored metal, and it is wonderful to use in jewelry-making because it is fairly soft, it can be work-hardened into a durable piece of jewelry, and it is an inexpensive alternative to silver. Nickel silver will tarnish with time, however it doesn’t seem to tarnish as much as traditional sterling silver. Nickel silver can be cleaned much in the same way as sterling silver (see my previous article on sterling).
The biggest drawback to nickel silver is that many people have a sensitivity to nickel. In fact, nickel is the most common metal that people are sensitive/allergic to. I like to use nickel silver in making pendants and chains, but I never use it for ear wires.
So next time you see something being sold as German silver or Alpaca silver, keep in mind that it does not contain any silver, and that it may cause allergy problems for some people.
Question of the Day: Does anyone know how I can set up WP-Polls on this blog? I really haven’t had any luck installing it.
micheledodge
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Oh boy. Just bought an alpaca silver bracelet….dang.
Should have done more research.
Thanks for the tip!