Learn more about several different types of antique, vintage, and modern jewelry that simulate the color of gold: While the original alloy quite convincingly copied the bright look of gold, Pinchbeck always distinguished pieces made of this substance from the real thing with a marking. However, less scrupulous rivals developed their own gold-colored alloys, which they often tried to pass off as the genuine thing. “Pinchbeck,” unfortunately, began to acquire a secondary meaning as “cheap jewelry,” or even “counterfeit” due to these shady dealings. It was also known simply as pinch, and sometimes as false gold. Still, it remained popular and was seen as one of the best materials for costume jewelry until the mid-19th century, when it began to be supplanted by rolled gold and 9K gold along with other gilding techniques or gold and metal alloys. Similor was a similar copper-zinc alloy developed in France slightly later in time. Although it was much cheaper than actual gold, pinchbeck jewelry often showed fine workmanship. Thusly, it was used as “traveling jewelry” by the well-to-do centuries ago. Patented in England in 1817, it became a prime source for semi-precious and better-quality costume jewelry in the Victorian era. Rolled gold saw a renewed surge of popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, especially in utilitarian objects such as watches and fountain pens where durability was important but the luster of genuine gold was desired. English and American 19th-century rolled gold articles might be stamped “Gilt.” Marks such as “G.F.” “1/20 12K G.F.” or “12 Kt. Gold Filled” indicate a later, 20th-century piece. These later designations indicate that the amount of gold was 1/20th of the total weight, as mandated by law. Rolled gold plate is a more generic term that can also apply to gold-plated materials containing less than 5 percent gold.
