Well, this is truely a nice question, PVD coating accutally is a material called titanium coated over the surface, this material will harden the surface and make the material more wear resistant.

Compred with electoplating, PVD coating is a good option as it is a extremely thin coating, only a few microns thick, and the coating layer is nearly impossible to get removed, except by physical method, Otherwise if will last as long as the stainless steel and won't wear off on its own.