Hi There,


Nickel is traditional on firearms. Nickel plating became popular
in the period shortly after the Civil War and was prized for its
ability to protect the surface from rust as well as its luster.

Chrome became popular in the 20th Century and was embraced
by the Auto Industry because it was superior to nickel in resisting
tarnishing. Chrome, by itself doesn't have the reflective luster
of nickel so, decorative chrome is a actually a very thin plating
over nickel. This made sense for automobiles because, for the
most part,they are left outside to suffer the ravages of the
environment.

Chrome is much harder than nickel and is/was used to coat in-
dustrial tooling to improve wear characteristics. Industrial type
chrome plating doesn't involved nickel and the surface is a dull
or satin finish. There were some firearms manufacturers that
did offer industrial chrome finish as an option but this was very
late in the 1980's and 1990's.

Light that reflects off the surface of nickel goes through a slight
phase shift. This gives the nickel a faint yellow hue. Chrome
also causes a phase shift but in the opposite direction. It has a
slightly bluish hue. This has been mentioned before.

I don't know if your pre-Centennal is nickel or chrome. There
are chemical tests that can determine which one you have. You
can have a spot under the grips tested so there isn't any chance
of injuring the finish where it shows.

To determine if your finish is original, you can get a Factory Letter.


Cheers!
Webb