Speculum metal metal mixtures usually contain two parts copper to one part tin along with a small amount of arsenic, although there are other mixtures containing silver, lead, or zinc. The knowledge of making very hard white high luster metal out of bronze-type high-tin alloys may date back more than 2000 years in China although it could also be an invention of western civilizations. Such metals were used in sculpture and to make more effective mirrors than the more common yellow easily tarnishing bronze mirrors. In that era mirrors of speculum metal, or any precious metal, were rare and only owned by
Cymbal alloys Cymbal alloys Cymbals are made from four main alloys, all of them copper-based. These are: bell bronze, malleable bronze, brass, and nickel silver. Bell bronze, also known as "bell metal", is the traditional alloy used for fine cymbals, many gongs, and, as the name suggests, bells. It is normally stated to be one part tin to four parts copper, that is 20% tin, and this is still the most common formula, but there has always been some variation. Larger and smaller bells are cast with differing amounts of tin, and some bell, gong, and cymbal makers use small but significant