Silver

Nickel silver is one of the silvers in the Metalier range. The other is gunmetal silver, a titanium-like colour which is a Metalier hybrid.

Nickel Silver, which is also known as German silver, is a copper alloy and is named for its silvery appearance. Despite its name nickel silver does not contain any elemental silver.

The same is true of gunmetal silver which is one of the metal colours which Metalier applicators mix as required to our formulation.

The inclusion of these two metal colours in the Metalier range allows designers additional options in the grey range of metal which includes aluminium, dusky copper, gunmetal bronze, and iron. Gunmetal silver, in particular, achieves a high sheen with a hint of a sparkle.

Nickel silver and gunmetal silver are known for being among the least corrosive metals in the range. They will corrode but at a much slower rate than the brown and gold copper alloys. Nickel silver can be deliberately patinated to obtain special effects.

Did you know (we didn’t) that nickel silver was used by automobile manufacturers before steel sheet metal was available? It was used on the famous Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost of 1907.

Nickel silver has been used fraudulently. Counterfeiters used the metal to produce coins and medallions which purported to be silver rounds. Nickel silver fraud has also included the production of replica bullion bars. They are sold without any notice that they contain no elemental silver.

At Metalier we are quite clear that our coatings are genuine nickel silver and genuine gunmetal silver which are applied to mundane substrates to make them look like solid metal.