East Lancashire Cap Badge - made in India

I was just going thru some more "old stuff" at home and came across an East Lancashire cap badge that I'm curious about.

For whatever reason, it was attached to a Vietnam-era military hat, which was given to me in the 1970's by a recently returned American vet. Here's the hat (excuse the background!) even tho it seems only coincidental to the badge:


I've found many versions of the badge itself, but not ones made in India. (Most seemed to come from J.R. Gaunt, London.)

Anyway, here's the badge I have:






I've read about the Pioneer Lock Works in India, so I know some things about Aligarh, the Johnsons, and the company's history.
https://books.google.com/books?id=U9bkAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA340&lpg=PA340&dq="pioneer+lock+works"+"india"&source=bl&ots=lZzV7qRvmu&sig=B_LX-4A6Uu_JJB0sTIJZ4yYXxUc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj3787WsdfeAhXMxFkKHe4fBnYQ6AEwAHoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q="pioneer lock works" "india"&f=false

There was also a very informative bit about how the badges were made at Pioneer Lock in the 1920's:
https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66270

Does this badge look as if it were made using the old-style process mentioned there?

Can anyone further date this for me or provide any additional info?

I really appreciate any input!

Thanks so much.

 

Just thought I'd bump this a bit to see if anyone has any ideas.

Thanks!

 

The piece appears to be sand cast which has been used for at least the last 500 years and still used today for many products.

 

Thanks, Hollyblue. That's what I thought. As for the "process", it's what's described in the 2nd link I posted above:

There were no presses or machinery then and the badges were moulded in very fine sand with a little oil mixed through, in boxes called flasks. These were oval in shape about 3 inches x 4 inches. The badges were moulded in the homes of the mistris* and then delivered to the factory.