"Pinchbeck" is a form of
brass, an
alloy of
copper and
zinc, mixed in proportions so that it closely resembles
gold in appearance. It was invented in the 18th century by
Christopher Pinchbeck, a London clockmaker. Since gold was only sold in 18-carat quality at that time, the development of pinchbeck allowed ordinary people to buy gold 'effect' jewelry on a budget. The inventor allegedly made pinchbeck jewellery clearly labelled as such. Pinchbeck jewellery was used in places like
stagecoaches where there was a risk of
theft. Later dishonest jewellers passed pinchbeck off as gold; over the years it came to mean a cheap and tawdry imitation of gold.