Pinchbeck (alloy)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pinchbeck is a form of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc mixed in proportions so that it closely resembles gold in appearance. Invented in the 1700's by Christopher Pinchbeck, a London clockmaker. The inventor allegedly made pinchbeck jewellery clearly labelled as such. Pinchbeck jewellery was used in places like Stagecoaches where there was a risk of theft. Later dishonest jewellers passed pinchbeck off as gold and it came to mean a cheap and tawdry imitation of gold. “Where, in these pinchbeck days, can we hope to find the old agricultural virtue in all its purity?” (Anthony Trollope in Framley Parsonage)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
 |
This alloy–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
