Nickel silver

A naturally occurring ore composition in China was smelted into the alloy known as paktong or báitóng (白銅) ('white copper' or cupronickel).

[8] All modern, commercially important, nickel silvers (such as those standardized under ASTM B122) contain zinc and are sometimes considered a subset of brass.

[11] It became known in the West from imported wares called baitong (Mandarin) or paktong (Cantonese) (白 銅, literally "white copper"), for which the silvery metal colour was used to imitate sterling silver.

[14] In 1823, a German competition was held to perfect the production process: the goal was to develop an alloy that possessed the closest visual similarity to silver.

The manufacturer Berndorf named the trademark brand Alpacca, which became widely known in northern Europe for nickel silver.

It is used in zippers, costume jewelry, for making musical instruments (e.g., flutes, clarinets), and is preferred for the track in electric model railway layouts, as its oxide is conductive[citation needed].

In the nineteenth century, particularly after 1868, North American Plains Indian metalsmiths were able to easily acquire sheets of German silver.

Early in the twentieth century, German silver was used by automobile manufacturers before the advent of steel sheet metal.

[21] Nickel silver produces a bright and powerful sound quality; an additional benefit is that the metal is harder and more corrosion resistant than brass.

The frets of guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass, and related string instruments are typically nickel silver.