EVERYTHING YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT PEWTER

Pewter is an alloy of tin with small amounts of zinc, lead, and antimony, soft and white in color, quite similar to silver, not very reactive and melts at 320 ºC, so its use for ornaments is very common. Among its many advantages, it is durable and malleable, and over time it acquires an interesting patina that can be forged into any shape.

In addition, like tin, it has excellent corrosion resistance, is soft and very ductile, which is why it is considered a semi-precious metal. Its appearance is shiny, polished and similar to silver, which, like this metal, tends to blacken due to oxidation if it does not receive chemical treatment.

Its possibilities are almost endless, from tableware, decorative items, watches … all have in common a nice finish with the elegance of silver and the properties of stainless steel. Traditional parts are obtained by pouring molten alloy into moulds. The pewter is then worked by hand by embossing its surface. It is usually chemically treated to give it an aged appearance.

This is nothing new. Pewter was already used by the Romans in the construction of aqueducts, during the Middle Ages it was used for the manufacture of ornaments and was used even in the poorest churches as a substitute for silver. During the Middle Ages pewter grew in popularity, replacing wooden tableware in wealthy homes. The same happened in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries in middle and upper class homes.

However, the lead that was present in that type of pewter used to cause harm if ingested by leaching into food from the container, particularly in acidic foods, a situation that changed with the new antimony-copper alloy.

Another typical use in past centuries was to make toys. It is also widely used in tin producing countries with cheap labor such as Indonesia and Latin America, the artisans who work it are called peltreros. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce used this material to take the first photograph. Today, pewter is still a product that has an assured future in goldsmithing and has come back into fashion in recent years with infinite possibilities.