Black bronze.
It's for the very simple reason of it being my first lantern. So I like to try and make one for every playthrough as homage to that. It's also a pretty lantern colour. Hard to hate black as a colour. Though it might have be a secondary or third option now considering the changes to the og lanterns' recipe. For a first time lantern, I'm probably gonna go for whatever metal is available or whatever lantern I find in ruins until I can craft my preferred lantern.