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Although in the common imagination titanium is often linked to its natural gray color, few know that this material, when properly treated, can give life to different and unique colors and chrome plating.

How is titanium colored??

One of the most effective techniques is certainly anodizing.

The anodizing of a piece of metal helps protect it from corrosion and it was first used in 1923 to protect the parts of the seaplanes that were constantly exposed to salt water; this is because anodizing also increases the wear resistance of metals.

Titanium anodizing is a completely biocompatible process and is commonly used for the colouring of orthopedic implants, dental implants, medical device components, medical instruments and, of course, it is used by jewelry companies that use this process to create real wearable artwork.

In fact, the anodizing of titanium can generate a wide range of colors without applying organic dyes or artificial coatings to the surface of the metal.

This electrolytic process slightly manipulates the native oxide layer of titanium and the final color depends on the thickness of the oxide itself (this is controlled by the anodization voltage).
The interference of the light that is reflected on the oxide layer with the light that actually travels through said layer and is reflected on the underlying metal, is what determines the final color we see.

Copper, gold, green, purple, fuchsia and yellow, blue, red are just some of the colors that can be obtained thanks to anodizing.
Another great advantage of coloring titanium through anodizing is that the final result does not change, fade or lose color over time.