PVD is not a coating you can scratch off

Most coloured tapware under $200 is electroplated. A thin layer of metal is deposited out of a chemical bath, and it wears through first on the lever and the outlet, exactly where hands and water go.

Physical vapour deposition is a different process. The finish is fused to the brass in a vacuum chamber at around 400 degrees, and it ends up harder than the brass underneath it. It cannot flake, because it is not sitting on top of anything.

What it is not is scratch proof. A ring, a stone benchtop offcut, or a cream cleanser with grit in it will still mark it. That is the only real care instruction: nothing abrasive, ever.