The objective of this work is to conduct applied research and development to demonstrate yhat metal or ceramic coatings deposited by Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD)are equivalent or superior in peformance and are a cost-effective alternative to chrome plating in decorative applications. Chromium plating is comercially used to produce wear-resistant and decorative coatings, but the plating bath contains hexavalent chromium, which has adverse health and environmental effects. The present study describes and compares the mechanical and tribological properties of TiN,AlTiN, ZrCN coatings deposited by CAPVD (cathodic arc plasma pgysical vapor deposition), on nickel plated aluminium substrates. The properties of the above mentioned PVD coatings have been compared with the properties of conventional chromium plating.