The bronze rather than the gold or silver (5)
I believe the answer is:
alloy
'the bronze' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for alloy that I've seen before include "Bronze, say" , "Metals fused together" , "Bronze or brass, perhaps" , "Eg brass or bronze" , "Devalue" .)