It is used in jewellery, cymbal making and many industrial applications. It is valuable for electrically-powered outdoor model railway layouts as its oxide is conductive.
Nickel-silver alloys are commonly named by listing their percentages of copper and nickel, thus "Nickel Silver 55-18" would contain 55% copper, 18% nickel, and 27% other elements, most probably entirely zinc. A two-element alloy may be named for its nickel content alone, thus NS-12 is 88% copper and 12% nickel.
See also cupronickel.