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, it was intended as a cheaper substitute for gold used in ornamentation. However in time it came to mean a cheap and tawdry imitation of gold.

A similar alloy is Prince's metal.

External links

• National Pollutant Inventory - Copper and compounds fact sheet

Copper alloys