Britannia metal was used to make the solid core of the Oscar statuettes. The -pound (4 kg) statuettes were Britannia metal plated with gold. The awards have since changed to a bronze core. In his essay, "A Nice Cup of Tea", writer George Orwell asserts that "britanniaware" teapots "produce inferior tea" when compared to chinaware. Britannia metal Britannia metal (also called britannium or Britannia ware) is a specific type of pewter alloy, favoured for its silvery appearance and smooth surface. The composition by weight is typically about 92% tin, 6% antimony, and 2% copper. Britannia metal is usually spun rather than cast,
Native metal brass, bronze, pewter, German silver, osmiridium, electrum, white gold, and silver-mercury and gold-mercury amalgam. Only gold, silver, copper and the platinum metals occur in nature in large amounts. Over geological time scales, very few metals can resist natural weathering processes like oxidation, which is why generally only the less reactive metals such as gold and platinum are found as native metals. The others usually occur as isolated pockets where a natural chemical process reduces a common compound or ore of the metal, leaving the pure metal behind as small flakes or inclusions. Non-metallic elements occurring in the native state include