Alpacca silver is in fact not silver as such, but an alloy of zinc, copper, iron and nickel that closely resembles Sterling silver. The alloy may or may not contain a percentage of Sterling.

Alpacca was originally a trade name for a brand of nickel silver developed in Bavaria. It was common at the time to use names that would bring to mind the rich silver mines of South America. Nowadays Alpacca, often misspelt as Alpaca, has become a generic name for nickel silver, which is also known as German silver.

Unlike Sterling, Alpacca will not tarnish, nor will it rust or dull with age. On the contrary, it gets brighter with use and exposure to sunlight.

To clean your Alpacca jewellery, simply rub the piece gently with a cloth or soft toothbrush dipped in water to which a little washing up liquid or lemon juice has been added. Never use silver dip, as it can damage the stones.