The so-called French gold, when polished, so closely resembles genuine gold in color that it can scarcely be distinguished from it. Besides its beautiful color, it has the valuable properties of being very ductile and tenacious, so that it can easily be stamped into any desired shape; it also takes a high polish. It is frequently used for the manufacture of spoons, forks, etc., but is unsuitable for this purpose on account of the large amount of copper contained in it, rendering it injurious to health. The directions for preparing this alloy vary greatly. The products of some Paris factories show the following composition:

             I II       III

Copper.............. 90 80.5   86.21

Zinc................. 10 14.5   31.52

Tin......................      0.48

Iron......................      0.24

A special receipt for oreïde is the following:

IV

Melt 100 parts of copper and add, with constant stirring, 6 parts of magnesia, 3.6 of sal ammoniac, 1.8 of lime, and 9 of crude tartar. Stir again

thoroughly, and add 17 parts of granulated zinc, and after mixing it with the copper by vigorous stirring keep the alloy liquid for one hour. Then carefully remove the scum and pour off the alloy.

Pinchbeck

This was first manufactured in England. Its dark gold color is the best imitation of gold alloyed with copper. Being very ductile, it can easily be rolled out into thin plates, which can be given any desired shape by stamping. It does not readily oxidize, and thus fulfills all the requirements for making cheap jewelry, which is its principal use.

Copper........... 88.8   93.6

Zinc.............. 11.2     6.4

Or

Copper........... 2.1   1.28

Zinc..................      0.7

Brass............. 1.0     0.7