The Burgess Wood Works - An Explanation of Plating

AN EXPLANATION OF PLATING

Since plating is such an important part of writing instrument we would like to offer a brief explanation of plating in general.

GOLD PLATING. Gold plating is ultimately not durable when exposed to abrasion. There just is no "free lunch". Gold plating can be made more durable depending on the method used to plate, additives to the gold, and techniques employed. No matter what, however, is done all gold plating will wear off over time when abraded. This is simply a fact of physics. Plating other than gold can be very durable. The following is an explanation of some of the plating that can be found in the mechanisms we use.

COBALT GOLD. All cobalt gold plating is 24K "upgrade gold". Upgrade means that the parts are plated using the rack method. In the rack method small amounts of cobalt or palladium are added to the plating chemicals. This enhances the durability of the gold plating.

TITANIUM GOLD. This method produces extremely durable and the most durable plating. The process used is called PVD (particle vapor deposition). Titanium nitride matched to the color of gold is molecularly bonded to the part and then 24K gold is bonded (sputtered) on the part to achieve a color match to our other gold parts. The parts are again re-plated after this. The final result is that the parts will virtually never show wear.

18K SWISS ROSE GOLD. This is a very rare and unusual plating. Copper and gold are combined in such a way that they both plate with their atoms equally mixed together. The parts are specially treated before plating and the plating is deposited in a very thick layer. Not only does this produce a beautiful sumptuous look but is very durable. It is said that only two companies in the world are able to do this plating and that under regular careful use the plating should hold up for several years.

CHROME. This is an extremely durable plating. Under normal use this plating should hold up for many years

PLATINUM. This is a very durable hard plating. Plating is done with real platinum or rhodium and it should be expected to hold up under normal careful use for many years.

BLACK TITANIUM. This method produces the most durable plating. The black titanium process uses titanium oxide molecularly bonding called particale vapor deposition (or PVD). This plating is unbelievably hard and durable. It will last for many, many years. The black titanium plating process gives the pen a very unique and stylish look The process used is called PVD (particle vapor deposition).