PVD stands for Physical Vapor Deposition. It is a family of vacuum based coating processes that apply an extremely thin, very adherent film onto a surface, typically a metal like stainless steel or titanium. In jewelry, it is used to create durable gold toned, silver toned, or colored finishes that resist wear and corrosion better than many conventional plated finishes.
PVD is not a liquid plating bath. Instead, it deposits a solid coating from vapor inside a vacuum chamber.
At a high level:
1. A “source” material is turned into a vapor (by heat, an electric arc, or ion bombardment).
2. That vapor travels through a low pressure vacuum environment.
3. It condenses onto the jewelry surface, forming a uniform film that bonds strongly to the base metal.
Because the coating is formed atom by atom in a controlled environment, it tends to be dense, hard, and strongly attached.
PVD stands for Physical Vapor Deposition. It is a family of vacuum based coating processes that apply an extremely thin, very adherent film onto a surface, typically a metal like stainless steel or titanium. In jewelry, it is used to create durable gold toned, silver toned, or colored finishes that resist wear and corrosion better than many conventional plated finishes.
PVD is not a liquid plating bath. Instead, it deposits a solid coating from vapor inside a vacuum chamber.
At a high level:
1. A “source” material is turned into a vapor (by heat, an electric arc, or ion bombardment).
2. That vapor travels through a low pressure vacuum environment.
3. It condenses onto the jewelry surface, forming a uniform film that bonds strongly to the base metal.
Because the coating is formed atom by atom in a controlled environment, it tends to be dense, hard, and strongly attached.
