The acronym PVD is directly related to the world of automatic and quartz watches, but few people know what it refers to.

Many watch manufacturers manufacture their parts using metals such as stainless steel or titanium. However, to achieve an aesthetic and scratch and shock resistant finish, a PVD coating is sometimes applied.

What is PVD coating?

PVD stands for Physical Vapour Deposition, which is essentially an ionic plating process in which the surface of the part is coated with a very hard metal.

PVD stands for Physical Vapour Deposition, which is essentially an ionic plating process in which the surface of the part is coated with a very hard metal.

While there are various techniques for achieving this type of coating on a watch, it primarily involves vaporising an extremely thin layer of metal (usually titanium nitride in jewellery), in an environment in which a space-like vacuum has been created. This material is aesthetically similar to gold and has a hardness similar to sapphire.

Once it is in the vapour phase, the ions of the coating material with which to cover the piece are free, which allows them to be placed, by means of a magnetic field, on the surface of the piece. In this way, they are incorporated into the metal lattice from which the watch is made or even replace the original atoms of this metal.

This creates a layer on the surface of the metal. The longer the PVD application process lasts, the thicker the layer becomes.

What is PVD coating applied to a watch for?

PVD is mainly applied to improve the aesthetic and technical properties of the piece. In other words, this thin layer applied in steam protects the watch from corrosion and wear and tear, as well as creating elegance. Nowadays it is possible to find the PVD technique applied with different metals that will give different finishes.