What Is PVD Gold? The Watchmaking Coating Behind Our Settings
Our gold and rose-gold settings are not solid gold, and we would rather say so up front. They are 316 surgical stainless steel with a gold PVD finish. PVD is the same coating process the watch industry uses to make steel cases and bracelets gold, black or rose. This is what it is, how it is done, why watchmakers trust it, and where its limits are.
What PVD means
PVD stands for physical vapour deposition. The finish is not painted, dipped or plated in a liquid. It is built up from a vapour, a few atoms at a time, inside a vacuum chamber.
The process works in four steps:
- Clean. The parts are cleaned with great care, because any oil or dust left on the surface would stop the coating bonding.
- Vacuum. The parts go into a sealed chamber and the air is pumped out. With no air in the way, atoms can travel straight from the source to the part.
- Vaporise. A solid source metal, often titanium or zirconium and sometimes gold, is turned into vapour. This is done either by bombarding it with ions (sputtering) or with an electric arc (cathodic arc).
- Deposit. The vapour condenses on the parts as a thin, dense film. When nitrogen is let into the chamber, titanium combines with it to form titanium nitride (TiN), a hard ceramic with a natural gold colour.
For its two-tone steel watches, Longines describes covering the case or bracelet first with titanium nitride, then using the same process to apply a layer of real gold. The finished film is very thin: on watches, PVD coatings typically measure from about a quarter of a micron to five microns. A human hair is around 70 microns.
Why the watch industry uses it
A watch case is worn every day, knocked against desks and door frames, and soaked in sweat, sunscreen and seawater. Watchmakers chose PVD because it copes with exactly that.
- It is hard. Titanium nitride measures around 1,800 to 2,100 on the Vickers hardness scale. The steel underneath is around 150 to 190, and annealed 18K gold around 130 to 160. A harder surface shrugs off the fine scuffs that dull softer metals.
- It is bonded, not just laid on. The film forms on the surface atom by atom, so it grips the steel far more tightly than traditional electroplating. Electroplating deposits gold from a liquid bath, and the bond is weaker.
- It protects. Longines describes its gold PVD finish as protected against corrosion caused by salt, air, perspiration and pollution.
- It does not tarnish. Neither titanium nitride nor gold reacts with the air or with sulfur the way silver and copper do, so the colour does not darken over time.
- It is a dry process. Traditional gold electroplating usually runs in cyanide baths, and the US Environmental Protection Agency lists cyanide among its 17 high-priority toxic chemicals. PVD uses no plating bath and no rinse water, so there is no contaminated water to treat.
- It puts the money where it matters. A gold-coloured steel watch costs a fraction of a solid gold one, and it is tougher in daily wear.
Longines uses PVD for its black watches and for yellow- and rose-gold cases and bracelets. Many other watchmakers use it too.
PVD compared with gold plating
| PVD | Traditional gold plating | |
|---|---|---|
| How it is applied | Vapour, in a vacuum chamber | Electric current, in a liquid bath |
| Bond to the metal | Built up atom by atom, very tight | Weaker, more prone to peel or rub off |
| Surface hardness | Very hard when a nitride base is used | As soft as the gold it is made of |
| Tarnish | Does not tarnish | Gold itself does not tarnish; once it rubs through, the base metal can |
| Chemistry | Dry, no plating bath | Usually cyanide-based baths |
What PVD cannot do
PVD is a coating, not a solid metal, and you should know what that means before you buy.
- It can wear where it rubs most. After years of heavy wear, the edges that rub hardest can wear through to the steel. On a ring, that is the palm side of the band.
- It cannot be polished. Polishing would cut through the coating, so a scratch that goes through it cannot be buffed out.
- It cannot simply be touched up. TAG Heuer, for example, tells customers that a worn gold PVD finish cannot be re-applied, and that a new case or bracelet is needed instead.
With our setting, the stone moves, not the metal. If a gold setting ever wears more than you would like, your stone simply unscrews and goes into a new setting.
Caring for a PVD finish
- Wipe it with a soft, dry cloth.
- If it needs more, use lukewarm water with a drop of mild soap, then pat it dry.
- Don't use silver polish, polishing cloths with abrasive in them, jewellery dips or ultrasonic cleaners.
- Take rings off for the gym, gardening and anything that grinds against metal.
The gemstone needs its own care. Our opal care guide and our warranty and care page cover it.
Why we chose it
Our setting borrows from watchmaking. Every stone sits in an open-faced bezel, closed at the back by an engraved plate held with two small screws, like a watch caseback. It made sense to build it the way watchmakers build their cases too: a hard, corrosion-resistant steel body, with the colour added by the same PVD process they trust. Read why we chose 316 surgical stainless steel over sterling silver and solid gold, or how the Oli&J setting method works.
Common questions
Is PVD gold real gold?
It depends on the process. The gold colour can come from titanium or zirconium nitride, from real gold deposited in the chamber, or from both together. Our gold and rose-gold settings are finished with 18K gold PVD over 316 stainless steel. They are not solid gold.
Will a PVD gold finish tarnish or turn green?
No. The coating does not tarnish, and the steel underneath does not rust. A green mark on skin comes from copper, which is found in brass, sterling silver and lower-karat golds.
Can I wear it in water?
Water will not harm the metal. After swimming in a pool or the sea, rinse it in fresh water. Check the care advice for your stone, because some gemstones prefer to stay dry.
How long does PVD last?
It depends on how hard the piece is worn. On a necklace, with little friction, it stays as it is for many years. A ring takes the most wear, and the palm side of the band is where any wear shows first.
Is it suitable for sensitive skin?
The coating covers the steel, and 316-type steel is known for releasing very little nickel. That is why it is used for watch cases and surgical implants. If you have a diagnosed nickel allergy, write to us before you buy and we will help you decide.
Ready to see it with a stone in it? Choose your stone and finish in our stone picker.
