Abstract: Coated highly wear-resistant tools have an Me.sup.1.sub.1-x (.alpha..sub.2 Me.sup.2 * .alpha..sub.3 Me.sup.3 * . . . .alpha..sub.n Me.sup.n).sub.x N.sub.u C.sub.v O.sub.w coating, wherein Me.sup.1 is a metal of the chemical group IVb of the periodic system, and Me.sup.2, Me.sup.3, . . . , Me.sup.n are other metals. The values u+v+w=1 and the Me concentration changes at least once continuously over the layer thickness to .alpha..sub.2 Me.sup.2 * .alpha..sub.3 Me.sup.3, . . . .alpha..sub.n Me.sup.n. The value for x is preferably between 0.1 and 0.7, the values for v and/or w can be approximately zero or w<0.3, and the further metal Me.sup.2, Me.sup.3, . . . , Me.sup.n is another metal of the chemical group IVb of the periodic system and/or vanadium and/or preferably aluminum. In working tasks with the tools according to the invention as compared to known tools, a significantly increased service life is obtained.