If you find a piece of jewellery or an old metal object for a good price that looks a lot like silver. Being an astute picker, you look for clues to identify the piece and discover that it’s marked nickel silver, German silver or alpaca. Does that mean your item is really some form of old silver? Unfortunately, the answer is no. If the dealer suggests that the item is true silver they may be mistaken or simply lying. As in all trades, however, it's up to the buyer to know the difference between truly valuable products and clever substitutes.
Jewellery items with a gray metallic finish, not quite as shiny as sterling silver, are often found marked alpacca. This type of alloy, sometimes spelt alpaca, indicates a metal that contains copper, zinc and nickel along with tin. These items are often decorated with abalone insets or other stones. While they can be nice looking, any intrinsic value is based on craftsmanship or history and not on the value of the metal itself.
Alpacca pieces are often of Mexican or South American origin. Other larger decorative objects can also be marked alpacca. This substance can sometimes be used as a base metal for silver-plated wares as well. Alpacca is also referred to as “new silver” from time to time. Like nickel silver, alpacca has no actual silver content and no scrap value.
Size : 13cm x 12cm
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Jewellery items with a gray metallic finish, not quite as shiny as sterling silver, are often found marked alpacca. This type of alloy, sometimes spelt alpaca, indicates a metal that contains copper, zinc and nickel along with tin. These items are often decorated with abalone insets or other stones. While they can be nice looking, any intrinsic value is based on craftsmanship or history and not on the value of the metal itself.
Alpacca pieces are often of Mexican or South American origin. Other larger decorative objects can also be marked alpacca. This substance can sometimes be used as a base metal for silver-plated wares as well. Alpacca is also referred to as “new silver” from time to time. Like nickel silver, alpacca has no actual silver content and no scrap value.
Size : 13cm x 12cm
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
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