Editing Old Sheffield Plate (section)

== Later practice ==
Following the invention of [[Nickel silver|German silver]] (60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc), around 1820, it was found that this new material also fused well with sheet silver and provided a suitable base metal for the Sheffield process. Because of its nearly silver colour, German silver also revealed less wear, or "bleeding", when Sheffield-made articles were subject to daily use and polishing. Being much harder than copper, it was used from the mid-1830s but only for articles such as trays or cylindrical items that did not require complex shaping.

After about 1840 the Sheffield plate process was generally replaced with [[electroplating]] processes, such as that of [[George Elkington]]. Electroplating tends to produce a "brilliant" surface with a hard colour – as it consists of pure rather than sterling silver and is usually deposited more thinly. Sheffield plate continued to be used for up to a further 100 years for silver-plated articles subject to heavy wear, most commonly uniform buttons and tankards.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} During the 1840–1850 period, hybrid articles such as sugar bowls were produced, with the body being Old Sheffield Plate and complicated small parts such as the feet and handles made from electroplate. These are rare and seldom recognised. The Sheffield plating process is not often used today. During the Second World War, a process analogous to Sheffield plating was used to build [[intercooler]]s for [[Rolls-Royce Merlin]] engines to overcome problems with thermal fracturing.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=XgshBQAAQBAJ&dq=%22merlin%22+%22heat+exchanger%22+%22sheffield+plate%22&pg=PA221 Metal Plating and Patination: Cultural, technical and historical developments. 1993. p.221.]</ref>