TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ELECTRONICS - Preferred Method: The ion-assisted plasma is a capacitively-coupled radio frequency (RF) plasma. The ion beam source is used to generate the ion-assisted plasma.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Component: The coating also contains nitrogen (N) or oxygen (O). It also comprises at least a second layer of diamond-like carbon containing C and H deposited using ion-assisted plasma deposition using a hydrocarbon gas. The second layer also contains N.Preferred Property: The color exhibits reflected light chromaticity coordinate values (x, y), where x is 0.25-0.5 and y is 0.25-0.45, as measured with CIE 1931 source C standard illuminant and CIE 1931 2-degree standard observer. The decorative coating is light yellow, bronze, copper-gold, burgundy, bluish-black or black. The coating has a modulus of 50-300 GPa. The colors also exhibit reflected light chromaticity values (Y) of 5-50.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Component: The hydrocarbon compound is methane, butane, acetylene and/or cyclohexane. The silane compound is silane, disilane, diethylsilane and/or tetramethylsilane (TMS). The organosilazane compound is hexamethyldisilazane (HMDSN) and/or tetramethyldisilazane (TMDSN). The organo-oxysilicon compound is hexamethyldisiloxane, tetramethyldisiloxane, ethoxy trimethylsilane and/or octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane. The precursor gases preferably comprise a mixture of tetra methylsilane and cyclohexane. EXAMPLE - A chamber was evacuated to less than 1 x 10(-3) torr, and argon (Ar) was introduced at 25 sccm and 22 x 10(-3) torr. A plasma was initiated by applying RF power to the powered electrode and a golf club and the RF was increased to 6360 W until a -625 V substrate bias was achieved. The golf club was sputter-etched in the Ar plasma for 3 minutes at 28 x 10(-3) Torr, and 400 W to maintain the -625 V bias. After 10 minutes, a first layer of Si-DLC was deposited from the tetra methylsilane (TMS)/Ar mixture to a thickness of 0.5 mm. 25 sccm cyclohexane were introduced, and the Ar and TMS flows both shut off, to initiate the deposition of DLC. A -625 V bias was maintained at 27 x 10(-3) Torr and 390 W. A top layer of DLC of thickness 2 mm was obtained by 30 minutes DLC deposition. The RF power and the cyclohexane flow were turned off and the chamber was vented. The coated golf club shafts and heads had uniformly shiny black appearance, and were highly resistant to scratching with 400 grit SiC sandpaper.