Electroplate

Description

The electrochemical deposition of metal onto metal. Electroplating was first used commercially about 184041 in Birmingham England by George and Henry Elkington for applying thin gold and silver coatings on copper, brass and other base metals. It use accelerated with the discovery of cyanide solutions for plating silver, gold, copper, and brass. Silverplated wares were stamped with EPNS (electroplated silver nickel silver) or EPBM (electroplated metal britannia metal). By 1920s, chromium electroplating was popularly used by the automobile makers to provide a shiny, weather resistant surface to iron, steel, and later plastic. Starting in the 1930s, some jewelry settings were coated with a thin layer of rhodium, that visually looked identical to silver.

Synonyms and Related Terms

EPNS; EPBM

Authority

• R. Mayer, R. Mayer, The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, Viking Press, New York, 1981

• Ward Bucher, ed., Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996

• Michael McCann, Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979

• Tom Rowland, Noel Riley, Tom Rowland, Noel Riley, A-Z Guide to Cleaning, Conserving and Repairing Antiques, Constable and Co., Ltd., London, 1981

• Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: Encyclopdia Britannica Online [Accessed November 27, 2001].

• Website address 1, Website address 1 Comment: AMOL reCollections Glossary - http://amol.org.au/recollections/7/e/htm

• The Dictionary of Art, The Dictionary of Art, Grove's Dictionaries Inc., New York, 1996 Comment: "Electroplating" by P.T.Craddock