Discovered : by an unknown alchemist in the 15th century Origin : The name comes from the German 'weisse Masse' (white mass), which became Latinised as bisemutum. Description : A heavy, silvery, pink-tinged metal, but not used as such as it is too brittle. Basic bismuth carbonate is taken in tablet or liquid form for indigestion as ‘bismuth mixture’. Bismuth oxychloride is used in cosmetics to give a pearly effect. Image : Alchemical symbol and apparatus.