The house
The Finish
316L steel, ion-bonded colour, and why it outlasts plating.
Ion-bonded, not plated
Most gold-coloured men’s jewellery is electroplated brass. A thin layer of colour is dropped onto the surface in a chemical bath, where it sits until friction and sweat take it off. Ours is put on a different way.
The layers
| Ion-bonded colour layer | 0.5–3 microns. Vaporised in a vacuum chamber and driven into the surface as ionised metal. |
|---|---|
| Bond layer | Sub-micron. Locks the colour to the core and stops migration. |
| 316L stainless steel core | Full thickness. Solid, not hollow, not brass. |
The process
- Polish and degrease — contamination left now shows through the finish for the life of the piece.
- Vacuum and ion etch — the surface is stripped back to clean metal at an atomic level.
- Deposition — the coating metal is vaporised, ionised and accelerated onto the steel.
- Cool and inspect — cured under vacuum, then checked under raking light.
Against standard plating
| How it is attached | Plating sits on the surface. Ours is fused into it. |
|---|---|
| Surface hardness | Plating roughly 120–200 HV. PVD roughly 1,200–2,500 HV depending on compound. |
| Base metal | Plating is usually brass, which turns skin green. Ours is 316L steel, which doesn’t react. |
| Chlorine and salt water | Plating lifts and clouds. Ours is unaffected in normal wear. |
PLACEHOLDER — these hardness figures are the accepted published ranges for PVD finishes, not a measurement of your stock. Confirm the compound, micron thickness and Vickers hardness with your supplier and replace them. An unevidenced durability claim breaches the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.