German Silver

German Silver, or Nickel Silver, is an alloy of nickel, copper, and zinc. The proportions in which these several constituents are present vary greatly with the mode of preparation and the use for which the alloy is required. For most purposes an alloy of about 5 to 6 parts copper, 2 to 2-5 parts nickel, and 2 parts zinc is employed. Owing to the very high melting points of the nickel and copper the preparation presents considerable difficulty, and is usually performed by melting the nickel and one-half the copper together, and then adding to the molten mass, under charcoal, an alloy of the zinc with the other half of the copper. When thus prepared it is of a greyish-white colour, is harder than silver, and capable of taking a high polish. It is, however, crystalline, and to get rid of this is heated, hammered, and rolled, after which it can be easily worked. Being much cheaper than silver and not tarnishing easily, it is very largely employed instead of this metal, but it has the disadvantage of being easily attacked by acids. It is also much used as a basis for electroplating, the layer of silver being usually deposited upon German-silver articles.