Furniture
Introduction and Scenario
In high-end furniture, metal detailing carries the recognisability of the product: handles, profiles, feet, frames and visible components contribute to the overall reading of a piece as much as the main material itself.
In a recent project, a furniture brand commissioned Cromonichel to electroplate a collection of decorative components for a residential and contract line.
The brief covered different geometries — from small linear profiles to moulded elements — and required a consistent visual outcome across pieces, batches, and between sample and production. The finish had to dialogue with the wood essences and with the textiles selected by the brand.
Analysing the Challenge
The main difficulty came from the typological variety of the parts: every component included edges, recesses and shielded areas that affected plating deposition.
Without a carefully designed cycle, the finish would have shown unevenness between flat areas and transition zones, with tonal shifts that the eye picks up immediately on the same product, where components sit close to one another.
Added to this was a precise aesthetic constraint: the finish had to keep the same surface reading both on small prototype runs and on larger production batches.
Sample-to-production consistency, in a sector in which details are evaluated at close range, was non-negotiable.
The Cromonichel Process
Cromonichel started by analysing the drawing of each component: the geometry of every piece was studied to identify critical zones and define how the part would sit on the plating racks.
Surface preparation was calibrated to the base metals chosen by the client — brass and zamak in different versions of the collection — through degreasing and polishing carried out before deposition.
The plating cycle was defined in line with the finish brief: a uniform warm tone, with controlled reflection and measured depth. Dedicated samples were produced to align the surface reading with the references provided by the brand; once the sample was validated, the parameters were locked and transferred to production.
Quality verification was carried out batch by batch, with visual and instrumental checks on the tonal continuity, on the thickness uniformity and on the absence of micro-defects.
Where required, dedicated manual finishing was carried out on areas the automated cycle could not fully reach. The method reflects standard Cromonichel practice: every step, from preparation to finish, is documented and repeatable, ensuring the same quality in later editions of the collection.
The team worked closely with the client’s technical office throughout, adapting timings and parameters to industrialisation needs without compromising the original aesthetic reference.
Outcome and Value
The collection was delivered on schedule, with a consistent visual result across all components and across the successive batches.
The control applied at every stage of the cycle made it possible to maintain the same reading between the approved sample and series production, avoiding the inconsistencies that, on a furniture product, the end customer notices straight away.
The brand was able to industrialise its aesthetic intent without compromising on the level of detail it expected, integrating Cromonichel as a technical partner in the development of its products.
The finish wasn’t an afterthought: it became an integral part of the project, documented and repeatable.
