Lye should not have adversely affected any plating. It may be nickel, which in many cases was produced with a warmer, softer luster than a highly polished chromium. It may also be a finish like Griswold Du-Chro, which was left dull on purpose, with only highlights being highly polished. Electro may remove it, but at the amperages we typically use for cleaning, it may not. Although most people usually don't risk cleaning plated pieces in electro in the event it might. Another possibility is that it is made of a slightly different alloy, such as that of the CHF Ni-Resist, which was designed to be inherently more corrosion resistant than black iron. If you can supply a photo, it may help to narrow down what it is.