JPH0586492A - External ornamental parts for timepiece - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To produce the parts which have white metallic luster and are well known as noble metals and have excellent valuable feel by plating Pt and Pt alloys via a substrate plating layer and an intermediate plating layer consisting of specific metals on the surfaces of the external ornamental parts for timepieces consisting of specific metals as blank materials. CONSTITUTION:The plating metals of Cu, Ni, Ni alloys, Pd, Pd alloys, Rh, Au, Au alloys, etc., are formed as the substrate plating layer 2 and the intermediate plating layer 3 on the surfaces of the external ornamental parts for timepieces formed of Cu, Zn, Al, Ti, or their alloys or stainless steels, etc., and thereafter, the Pt alloy layers 4 of pure Pt or >70% Pt are plated fully or partially thereon both at 1 to 20mum thickness. The external ornamental parts for timepieces which have the white metallic gloss and have excellent adhesion, corrosion resistance and wear resistance, have the high quality equal to the quality of white gold and solid Pt blank material, are well known as the noble metal and have the valuable feel, are inexpensively produced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a timepiece exterior component having a white metallic luster coated with a Pt plating layer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional surface treatment technology for exterior parts for timepieces, those having white metallic luster are Pd and P.
D alloy plating, Rh plating, silver plating, etc. were common. In addition, white gold, Pt, Ag, and the like have been used for exterior parts as solid materials that are highly known as precious metals and have a sense of value.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, Pd, Pd alloy, and Rh plating have white metallic luster and satisfy basic qualities such as corrosion resistance and abrasion resistance, but high quality and decoration. It has the disadvantage of low sense of value. This is because, although these metals are noble metals, they are generally not well known and are rarely used for decorative parts even as solid materials. Therefore, the use of Pd and Rh plating did not increase the commercial value. Further, the price of Rh is soaring and the processing cost is becoming very high.

Solid materials such as white gold and Pt are well known as precious metals and are excellent in decorative value and luxury, but their application is limited due to their high price and poor workability. It has the drawback that it will be done. Further, Ag has a drawback that its use is limited because both the solid material and the plating have a problem in corrosion resistance and discolor.

The present invention is intended to solve these problems, and its object is to have a treatment cost equivalent to that of conventional plating, have a quality equal to that of pure white gold and solid Pt materials, and be well known as a precious metal. The purpose of the present invention is to provide white metal luster exterior parts for watches, which are highly valued.

[0006]

The exterior part for a timepiece of the present invention is made of Cu, Ni, Ni alloy, Pd, Pd alloy, Rh, A.
u or Au alloy, one or several kinds of films are coated and laminated, and the whole or part of the surface of the component is Pt.
One or more plating layers are formed.

The Pt plating layer is pure Pt or an alloy layer containing 70% or more of Pt in a weight ratio, and each has a film thickness in the range of 0.1 to 20 μm.

The material is Cu, Cu alloy, Zn, Z
It is one kind selected from n alloy, Al, Al alloy, Ti, Ti alloy, and stainless steel.

[0009]

According to the above-mentioned constitution of the present invention, Pt having a white metallic luster, which is highly known as a noble metal and has a decorative value.
By plating the surface of the component, it is possible to obtain an exterior component that is not inferior to white gold or solid Pt material. Further, as a matter of course, since the amount of precious metal used is much smaller than that of the solid material, the cost can be reduced. Further, Pt plating has excellent corrosion resistance and wear resistance, and has the advantage that it has a quality equal to or higher than that of conventional white plating.

[0010]

【Example】

[Embodiment 1] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an embodiment of a timepiece exterior component according to the present invention. The Ni plating layer 2 is formed on the brass material 1 as an undercoat by electroplating.
μm was applied. Next, a Pd-Ni alloy plating layer 3 was applied as an intermediate plating layer of 4 μm, and a pure Pt plating layer 4 was applied as a finishing plating layer of 5 μm on the uppermost layer by electroplating. The exterior parts obtained as a result had a high-grade white metallic luster, and were excellent in durability without causing abrasion or discoloration in a practical portable test.

Further, the same method was used to prepare timepiece exterior parts in which the film thickness of the Pt plating layer was changed and the undercoat plating configuration was changed, and Table 1 summarizes the characteristics investigation results.

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of an embodiment of a timepiece exterior component having two Pt plating layers. N on the brass material 1 as an undercoat by electroplating
The i plating layer 2 was applied to a thickness of 2 μm. Next, a Pt—Ni alloy plating layer 5 was applied as an intermediate plating layer of 4 μm, and a pure Pt plating layer 4 was applied as a finishing plating layer of 5 μm on the uppermost layer by electroplating. The obtained exterior part for a watch is as in Example 1.
It was also excellent in durability. Also, the quality results are shown in Table 1 in the case where the composition of the undercoat plating is changed by the same method.

[Embodiment 3] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention in which titanium is used as a material. A Pd layer 7 of 0.5 μm was applied on the Ti material 6 by an ion plating method to perform a conductive treatment. Next, a pure Pt plating layer 4 as a final plating was applied to the uppermost layer by electroplating to a thickness of 5 μm. The obtained exterior part had excellent durability as in Example 1. The results of the quality test are shown in Table 1.

[Embodiment 4] FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention in which stainless steel is used as a material. Au strike plating 6 was applied onto the stainless steel material 8, and a pure Pt plating layer 4 was applied to a thickness of 5 μm as finish plating. The obtained exterior parts had a high-quality white metallic luster and satisfied the basic quality.

The abrasion resistance in the table is 500 on the reverse side of cowhide.
It was checked whether or not the base was exposed after 30,000 times of reciprocal wear under g load. ○
Indicates that the undercoat was not exposed, Δ indicates that one part was exposed, and x indicates that it was largely exposed. The corrosion resistance is the result after being immersed in a 5% NaCl solution at 40 ° C. and artificial sweat for 24 hours, ◯ indicates good, Δ indicates partial discoloration, and x indicates large discoloration.

The appearance was visually evaluated for haze, cracks, color tone and the like.

[0018]

[Table 1]

As shown in Table 1, the film thickness of Pt plating must be set to 20 μm or less because of the problems that the adhesiveness decreases as the thickness increases, and the mirror-like appearance cannot be obtained. Further, it is desirable that the thickness is 2 to 6 μm in terms of mass productivity and cost.

The underlayer and intermediate layer plating are applicable and not limited as long as corrosion resistance and adhesion can be secured.

The Pt plating can be alloyed with a metal that can be alloyed from the plating bath.
However, the content is preferably 70% or more in order to maintain the high corrosion resistance and high-grade feeling that Pt itself has. In addition, alloying may increase the stress and hardness of the coating, and it should be within the above range.

When Pt plating is performed on a titanium material, Pd is coated by a dry film forming method in this embodiment. However, a base treatment that can secure adhesion such as a method of performing electroless Ni plating after activation. If so, it is applicable.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, white gold and P are used at the same processing cost as the conventional plating.
t It is possible to obtain a timepiece exterior part having a white metal luster, which has a quality equal to that of a solid material, is highly known as a precious metal, and has a sense of value.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a coating configuration of a timepiece exterior component according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a coating structure of a timepiece exterior component of [Example 2] of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a coating structure of a timepiece exterior component of [Example 3] of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a coating structure of a timepiece exterior component of [Example 4] of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Brass Material 2 Ni Plating Layer 3 Pd-Ni Alloy Plating Layer 4 Pure Pt Plating Layer 5 Pt-Pd Alloy Plating Layer 6 Ti Material 7 Pd Layer 8 Stainless Steel Material 9 Au Strike Plating

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shigeru Sasaki 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Seiko Epson Corporation

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A Pt entirely or partially on the surface of a component made of a material obtained by coating and laminating one or several coatings among Cu, Ni, Ni alloys, Pd, Pd alloys, Rh, Au and Au alloys. An exterior part for a watch, characterized in that one or more plating layers are formed. 2. The Pt plating layer is pure Pt or an alloy layer containing 70% or more by weight of Pt and has a film thickness in the range of 0.1 to 20 μm. Exterior parts for watches described. 3. The material is Cu, Cu alloy, Zn, Zn
The exterior component for a timepiece according to claim 1, which is one kind selected from alloys, Al, Al alloys, Ti, Ti alloys, and stainless steel.