Casket Hardware Finishes and Colours
Metal finishes
Metal handles, crucifixes, fittings and ornaments are plated in gold, nickel, antique brass, antique copper and chrome. Gold plating is abbreviated GP, nickel NP, antique brass AB, antique copper AC, and chrome is chrome. Antique finishes are sometimes described as antique casket handles or antique coffin handles; those terms describe the finish, not a separate product family, and they map to this page.
Antique finishes are achieved by treating a plated surface so that it reads as aged rather than bright. They suit caskets where a traditional appearance is wanted, and they are popular for crucifixes and ornaments as well as handles. Because an antique finish is a surface treatment, its appearance depends on the treatment and on the casting beneath it, and it should be checked against a physical sample.
Chrome is a bright, hard finish, nickel is a bright silver finish, and gold is a warm yellow finish. The choice among them is a matter of the casket's overall appearance and of the market it is sold into, and the finish should be stated once, for the whole set, so that handles, corners, ornaments and fittings all match.
Plastic colours
Plastic handles and decorations are vacuum metallised and coloured gold, silver, copper or bronze, with some ABS available in antique brass or antique copper. Vacuum metallising deposits a thin metallic layer on a plastic body, giving a metallic appearance at a lower weight than a casting. The colour is in that layer, and it is the layer that must be matched.
Gold and bronze are warm colours, silver is a cool bright colour, and copper sits between them. A plastic colour that is meant to match a plated metal colour should be checked against a physical sample of both, because the two processes render colour differently on screen and, to a lesser extent, in person. A photograph is not a reliable colour reference for either process.
For repeat orders, the finish must be confirmed again. The company profile identifies consistency of colour across repeat orders as a buyer concern, and plated and metallised colours can both shift between runs. The repeat-order guide gives the wording to use, and the sample is the reference that settles any dispute about colour.
Matching a whole casket
A finished casket should read as one set: handles, corners, ornaments, fittings and crucifixes in one finish. The way to achieve that is to state the finish once, for the set, and to ask for confirmation against a physical sample, rather than ordering family by family with the finish restated each time and possibly drifting.
Where a casket mixes metal handles with plastic decoration, the match should be checked most carefully, because the two processes differ. A sample set, with one handle and one ornament in the intended finish, is the reliable check, and samples are available for most products before a bulk order.
No finish is described on this site as more durable than another, because no durability comparison is published. A buyer who needs a durability claim for a particular market should ask the sales team for the relevant test information, rather than assuming it from the finish name.
Before payment, confirm the model number, material, finish, quantity, lead time and any load-test record for your order with the sales team.