A wide range of protective and decorative coatings and materials used in the manufacture of jewellery and costume jewellery is considered. It is shown that the use of certain coatings and technologies of their application or formation is determined by the materials used. The classification and scheme of using decorative coatings on the surface of the main groups of materials used in the manufacture of jewellery and costume jewellery is proposed. The coatings are divided into two main groups – traditional and non-traditional. Traditional coatings include coatings, the technology of formation and decorative properties of which have recently undergone significant modernisation. The non-traditional ones include relatively new decorative coatings, which have become widely used in the manufacture of jewellery and costume jewellery in recent decades. It is noted that the development of material science and technological base of jewellery industry leads to the emergence of new interesting coatings, which allows to significantly diversify the possi-bilities of jewellery creators.