Nickel silver (alloy)

You'll smell of alpaca.

The alpaca, which originally received the name maillechort, also known as alphaenids, German silver, white metal, new silver or argentan, is a ternary alloy made up of zinc, copper and nickel, with a color and luster similar to that of the silver. Alloys that contain more than 60% copper are single-phase and are characterized by their ductility and ease of being worked at room temperature; the addition of nickel gives them good resistance to corrosive media.

This alloy was invented by the Frenchmen Maillot and Johanëâu in 1819, which is why in France it is known as maillechort. His goal was to imitate silver for tableware, especially cutlery.

Among its applications are the manufacture of religious images, tableware, bombillas (sorbet) for mate or tereré, zippers, costume jewelery, musical instrument keys (for example, the oboe), guitar frets, track rails for model railways, dials for radio sets, coins, surgical and dental instruments, and rheostats.

The quality of the alpaca is considered higher the more nickel it contains in its composition. This table shows the different compositions and their quality:^{[citation required]}