The process for producing decorative coatings on metals is primarily used in the jewelry industry, in handicrafts, and in device construction according to the invention, matte, true-to-form decorative coatings with a homogenous thickness of 3 .mu.m to 30 .mu.m are provided means of an electrochemical and plasmachemical reaction using a pulse operation in aqueous electrolytes at voltage peaks of 250 V to 750 V, pulse times of 20 .mu.s to 2 ms, pulse frequencies of 35 Hz to 300 Hz, pulse currents from 20 A to 120 A, electrolyte temperatures between 318 K and 360 K, and average current densities from 0.1 A cm.sup.-2 to 1 A cm.sup.-2.