Sterling Silver Alternative?

Today's Silver Price: $34.15/t.oz.

Recently I've come across a material called Nickel Silver, or German Silver. It is however, a misnomer, as nickel silver does not contain any silver. 

From Wikipedia:
Nickel silver, also known as German silver, Argentann, new silver, nickel brass, albata or alpacca, is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance, but it contains no elemental silver unless plated. The name "German silver" refers to its development by 19th-century German metalworkers in imitation of the Chinese alloy known as paktong. All modern, commercially important nickel silvers contain significant amounts of zinc, and are sometimes considered a subset of brass.
 

I've purchased a spool of nickel silver wire and have used it in a wire heart necklace. The metal is silver-ish in color, however it does have a slight yellowish tinge to it. It is a bit dull, definitely not as shiny as sterling silver. It is however an extremely economical alternative. The spool I bought was $27 for 200 feet of 18 gauge wire. The same amount of wire in sterling silver would be over $600. Bargain? Yes I think so!

Below is a heart link necklace that I've made from the nickel wire.  

I'd like to do some more research on this material and see if I can find out how durable it is. I'm not sure if this will tarnish, and I don't think that it can be polished. Definitely have to look into that.

One of the disadvantages to this material is that some people are allergic to nickel and would get a rash from wearing jewelry that contains nickel. I would have to be very clear when selling these pieces that they are made from nickel. 

I'm hoping to post some nickel jewelry on my Etsy page this weekend so I can see what kind of response it will get. It's still very hard for me to let go of my sterling silver obsession, but at this price I think nickel silver and I will become good friends!