What does "pinchbeck" mean?

Pinchbeck: An alloy of copper and zinc, resembling gold; a yellow metal, composed of about three ounces of zinc to a pound of copper. It is much used as an imitation of gold in the manufacture of cheap jewelry.

Additional senses

  1. 2.Made of pinchbeck; sham; cheap; spurious; unreal. "A pinchbeck throne." J. A. Symonds.

Sources