Exterior wall lamp bronze casting and copper rectangular

Pars pro toto: Gunmetal from the Black Country.

The castings for the copper outdoor lights are made from gunmetal, an alloy of copper, tin and zinc originally used for gun barrels. Because gunmetal itself is resistant to steam and salt water corrosion, it is still used today, for steam and hydraulic castings, valves, gearboxes and - as at Davey - for parts of outdoor lights. Peter Bowles, owner of Davey Lighting since 2010, has them cast by a small foundry in the Black Country, the West Midlands ore and coal district - using the sand casting process, i.e. lost mold. Once the bronze is ready to be cast, the two foundrymen lift the crucible out of the furnace and remove the floating slag before pouring out the molds in turn.

The casting of this copper exterior lamp is made from Gunmetal, an alloy made from copper, tin and zinc, originally for gun barrels. As Gunmetal itself is resistant against steam and saltwater corrosion, it is still used by the English manufacturer Davey Lighting today.

The roots of Davey Lighting go back to London's West Indies ports, where the hardware and ship lighting company (then called Davey & Co) began operations in 1885. Soon its functional lights were in use on many ships. As the glory days of British seafaring faded in the 20th century, Davey used the skills he had acquired over decades to produce what were originally maritime lights for use on land - initially in industrial and commercial settings.
However, the range was soon taken up by architects and designers, which is hardly surprising, since Davey's luminaires are still distinguished today by what characterized them even in their founding days: a clear design language oriented to purpose, a robustness conveyed through the choice of materials, and a workmanship with attention to every detail that was indispensable for the original use in maritime or industrial environments. From the cast iron, to the turned or pressed metal parts, to the hand-blown glass domes, all components are made by specialized craftsmen in England. Even the textile-covered cables that equip some of the lights are made near Davey's current headquarters in the Cotswolds.