There is a perfectly acceptable altenative to brass which is less toxic, keeps its shine better and can pass for brass. It is called gold.
Yes, but gold is expensive, my friend. Have you checked the price lately?
(see
www.kitco.com, from what I see most of us are not, shall we say, "at liberty to part freely with money?")
Silver is still a much more viable option, even today being relatively inexpensive.
I don't suppose anyone has considered Precious Metal Clay? Essentially a clay that looks and molds like porcelain, it is made of ultrafine particles of silver, gold and now even copper and bronze. The matrix is a water or oil-soluble compound that burns away and around 800-900 Centigrade, the metal powder syntherizes. The result is a slightly spongy (but not to the eye), yet 100% pure silver metal (Gold is 18kt pure I think). I'm currently firing my own silver pieces for future projects.
Unfortunately the method is not cheap enough for batches, since the clay is 100%-200% more expensive than the solid metal by weight, so if everybody wants one, it might be cheaper to hire a jeweler to cast properly.
As far as toxicity of brass, I think *some* types of brass contain lead, butI've been told most alloys don't have it. It is included for ductility and softness during machining (like keys)