An electronic device such as a wristwatch may include a conductive housing. A corrosion-resistant coating may be deposited on the conductive housing. The coating may include transition layers and an uppermost alloy layer. The transition layers may include a chromium seed layer on the conductive housing and a chromium nitride layer on the chromium seed layer. The uppermost alloy layer may include TiCrCN or other alloys and may provide the coating with desired optical reflection and absorption characteristics. The transition layers may include a minimal number of coating defects, thereby eliminating potential sites at which visible defects could form when exposed to salt water. This may allow the electronic device to exhibit a desired color and to be submerged in salt water without producing undesirable visible defects on the conductive housing structures.

A method for coating substrates with a decorative layer of hard material which is guided into a vacuum coating chamber. The decorative layer of hard material is deposited by a reactive HIPIMS-process, and the energy content in the power pulses is controlled in such a manner that the deposited layer of hard material has a homogeneous colour, a high degree of smoothness and a high strength.

To provide a decorative member having a cherry blossom pink color.

A cherry blossom pink decorative member of the present invention includes a base and a decorative coating formed on the base, wherein the decorative coating is formed by layering an undercoat layer and a finishing layer from the base side, the undercoat layer is a carbonitride layer composed of a carbonitride of a metal containing Ti and at least one selected from Nb and Ta, and the finishing layer is a Au alloy layer composed of an alloy containing Au, a metal having a silver color, and Cu.

A method of making a decorative article (1) such as a jewellery piece, the article comprising a body (2) having a decorative layer (5) and an element (3) set into the body. The method comprises: providing an element that is at least partially coated with a removable layer (4), setting the element into the body, coating the element and the body with the decorative layer, and removing the removable layer and the decorative layer from the element.

A method includes: obtaining a raw steel golf shaft; and applying a colored coating directly to exterior surfaces of the raw steel golf shaft using an applicator. A golf club shaft includes: a raw steel tubular member; and a colored coating applied directly to exterior surfaces of the raw steel tubular member.

A method of applying a multi-color finish to a plumbing fixture includes depositing a first coating on the plumbing fixture; selectively applying a masking material in a graduated fashion over at least a portion of the first coating to define a gradient from a first portion of the plumbing fixture that is substantially completely covered by the masking material to a second portion of the plumbing fixture that has substantially no masking material; depositing a second coating over the masking material; and removing the masking material from the plumbing fixture such that the plumbing fixture has a surface finish including a transition region representing a gradual transition between the first coating and the second coating.

A method for regulating color of a hard coating, including the following steps: providing an amorphous alloy layer; forming an amorphous metal oxide layer on a surface of the amorphous alloy layer to stack the amorphous metal oxide layer on the amorphous alloy layer, so that the amorphous metal oxide layer and the amorphous alloy layer together form the hard coating, wherein a band gap of the amorphous metal oxide layer is in a range from 2 eV to 5 eV, and the color of the hard coating is capable of varying within the visible light spectrum depending on thickness of the amorphous metal oxide layer; and controlling the thickness of the amorphous metal oxide layer in the formation of the amorphous metal oxide layer to obtain the amorphous metal oxide layer of a predetermined color. A hard coating and a method for preparing the same are also provided.

A method of manufacturing a pigment. The method includes: providing a substrate; forming stacked multiple sets of films successively on the substrate, wherein each set of films comprises a sacrificial layer and an optical film, the sacrificial layer and the optical film are successively stacked, and the sacrificial layer is a stripping agent with compressive stress or low stress; and obtaining the pigment by stripping and crushing formed multiple sets of films.

A layer of lanthanum boride of stoichiometry LaB.sub.x where x is between 9 and 12 is deposited on substrate, for example a stainless steel watch dial, and subsequently treated with a laser, such that the portion(s) of the layer treated with the laser change colour according to the laser power. This produces multicoloured surfaces having high resistance to corrosion and abrasion. The layer of LaB.sub.x is deposited by PVD and by cathode sputtering, using a LaB.sub.6 target of purple-violet colour, such that the colour of the deposited layer differs from the colour of the target. The laser treatment at specific powers changes the stoichiometry of the layer in the treatment portions, such that the colour of these portions changes according to the stoichiometry obtained. At higher powers, the laser will remove the layer of LaB.sub.x. Thus the colour of the treated portions is determined by the material of the substrate.

An electronic device may include conductive structures having a visible-light-reflecting coating. The coating may include a seed layer, transition layers, a neutral-color base layer, and an uppermost layer that forms a single-layer interference film. The neutral-color base layer may be opaque to visible light. The interference film may include silicon and may have an absorption coefficient between 0 and 1. The interference film may include, for example, CrSiCN or CrSiC. The composition of the interference film, the thickness of the interference film, and/or the composition of the base layer may be selected to provide the coating with a desired color in the visible spectrum (e.g., at blue or purple wavelengths). The color may be relatively stable even if the thickness of the coating varies across its area.