If you sell jewelry in the EU, someone will eventually ask you a question you cannot answer from memory: can you prove this piece does not release nickel?
That question has ended more import conversations than price has. It arrives from a retailer's compliance desk, from a marketplace document check, or from a customer in the EU who read the packaging carefully. The useful time to have an answer is before production, not at the port.
This page is written from the buying side: what the rule says, what it does not cover, and what evidence you can actually ask a supplier for.
What the nickel release rule is actually about
EN 1811 measures nickel release from articles placed in direct and prolonged contact with skin — earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and body-piercing jewelry. EN 12472 is the method for coated articles, simulating wear to measure nickel released from the coating as it abrades intermittently.
The legal limit under EU REACH is 0.2 µg/cm² per week.
Two things follow from that wording, and both are commercial rather than technical:
- It applies to the finished article, not to the metal you sourced. A compliant alloy in an uncoated state does not make the finished piece compliant.
- Coated items are judged after simulated wear, not before. The coating is the part under test.
Why coatings are where compliance usually fails
Most coating failures are not cheap coatings. They are thickness specs that were never written down.
"Gold" and "silver" are colours, not specifications. Two pieces finished to different thicknesses look identical on the day you buy them and perform very differently in month three — because a thin coating over an abrasive, sweat-exposed surface wears through and exposes the substrate underneath.
That is why the questions worth asking are about method and measured value, not colour:
- What is the coating method — PVD, electroplating, or another process?
- What is the target thickness range, and how is it verified?
- What is the substrate, and is it specified for skin contact?
- Is the article tested as finished, coating included?
We specify a target micron range per finish and verify coating build by XRF spectroscopy or cross-section microscopy, stating the measured value on the report for your order.
Why we do not publish pass/fail numbers
You will notice we do not list a wall of "test passed" badges. That is deliberate, and it is the part of compliance most suppliers cut.
A passport-style pass/fail claim is not usable by you. A result only means something when it is tied to a specific alloy, finish, batch, and method. A report for one pendant says nothing about your other SKU, and nothing about the run you are placing now.
So we issue per-order documentation instead:
- Reports are tied to your order, your alloy, and your finish.
- Reports are issued to match your market — the test standard and format your customer expects.
- We do not publish certificate numbers publicly. Ask for them with your RFQ and the numbers will match your actual product.
A supplier who shows you a generic certificate is not protecting you. A supplier who declines to publish numbers but will issue a batch-specific report is.
The other tests buyers ask for
Salt spray (corrosion) — ASTM B117
The common accelerated corrosion method for specifying corrosion resistance. We test 316L stainless steel and PVD-coated finishes to the duration your destination market or buyer specification requires, and provide the per-order report on request.
Corrosion for organizers and packaging
Jewelry boxes and organizers are not skin-contact articles, so the compliance conversation is about materials rather than nickel release — leather, adhesives, and anything coating the interior. If you sell into a market with formaldehyde or AZO dye restrictions, ask what the interior lining is made of. That is a different standard from nickel release and worth naming explicitly.
What to ask your supplier, in writing
These seven questions separate compliant suppliers from merely confident ones. Anyone who answers all seven specifically is worth working with:
- Which standard do you test against, and for which market?
- Is the test done on the finished article, or on a base-material sample?
- Who issues the report — an accredited third-party lab, or your own test?
- Is the report tied to my batch, or is it a reference report for the design?
- What is the coating thickness spec, and how is it measured?
- What is the alloy, and is it specified for prolonged skin contact?
- Can you arrange documentation for my destination market before production?
Question 4 is the discriminator. If the answer is "we have a certificate for this design", ask for the batch-specific report.
EU vs US: the practical difference
The EU has an explicit nickel-release limit. EN 1811 applies to articles in direct and prolonged contact with skin, EN 12472 to coated articles, and REACH sets the 0.2 µg/cm²/week ceiling.
The US has no equivalent federal limit for jewelry. In California, Proposition 65 applies where a product lists a known chronic hazard, which in practice means a warning-labelling question rather than a numeric release threshold.
The consequence: an article legal in the US can still fail the EU test. If you sell into the EU, the test applies to the finished article regardless of where else you sell. The full comparison is in EU vs US compliance for imported jewelry.
How to brief us on compliance
Request compliance in the RFQ, not after production. Documentation ordered once the run has started is the delay, not the documentation.
Tell us your destination market, the product types, whether you need finished-article testing, and who should issue the report. We will confirm what can be documented for your order before you commit.
One boundary worth stating plainly: your duties and import taxes are not our test reports. If you meant customs clearance, that answer is in wholesale shipping and customs.
FAQ
Do you provide test reports with orders?
Yes, on request and per order. Documentation is tied to your specific alloy, finish, and batch — not to a generic, site-wide claim.
What is the nickel release limit?
0.2 µg/cm² per week, under EN 1811 for uncoated skin-contact articles and EN 12472 for coated articles, per EU REACH.
Can you meet EU compliance for skin-contact jewelry?
Yes. We verify nickel release per batch against the applicable REACH threshold and document the result on request for your market.
Why can't I see your certificates on the website?
Because a generic certificate is not evidence for your product. We issue batch-specific reports instead, and certificate numbers are released against your order.
Does the test cover the coating?
For coated articles, EN 12472 simulates wear and measures release from the coating. Coating thickness is measured by XRF or cross-section microscopy and stated per order.
What about jewelry boxes and organizers?
Those are not skin-contact articles, so nickel release is not the applicable test. Interior materials — and any restricted-dye or formaldehyde limits for your market — are the relevant question. Ask us about the lining.
Can you arrange CE, RoHS and FCC for packaging?
Yes, per order for your destination market.
Do you test bead strands?
Six bead-strand styles are strung rather than cast or plated, so the metal involved is the findings and clasps. Those parts carry the same nickel-release question and are assessed separately from the cord and bead materials.
What the nickel rule answers further down
The questions a buyer's customer actually puts to them, each answered on its own page.
- Does stainless steel jewelry turn your skin green? — why the colour appears and whether it clears.
- Is stainless steel jewelry hypoallergenic: the honest answer — where the word holds up and where it is marketing.
- Does stainless steel jewelry tarnish or rust? — corrosion, which is the other half of the release question.
- Is stainless steel jewelry waterproof? — water, sweat and soap, in that order, and what each does to plating.
- Custom 316L stainless steel jewelry — where 316L is the right call and where it is over-specification.
- 316L vs 304 stainless steel jewelry — the grade difference that changes the test result.
- Stainless steel vs brass vs silver — the three metals a buyer asks about, on cost and on skin reaction.
Claims you have to be able to defend
Compliance is not only nickel release. If a claim goes on a box or a listing, someone will eventually ask for the basis of it.
- Green claims on jewelry packaging: what you can actually say — the line between a statement and a misstatement.
- How to verify an eco-claim before you buy — turning a slogan into a question with an answer.
- How to answer a retailer's sustainability questionnaire — replying to the form your buyer sends, without inventing data.
Related reading
- EU vs US jewelry compliance for importers
- 316L vs 304 stainless steel jewelry
- Wholesale 316L stainless steel jewelry
- Stainless steel vs brass vs silver
- How to brief a jewelry manufacturer
- Stainless steel jewelry · Jewelry boxes & organizers
Request compliance documentation for your order →
What this means for your order
If you are still deciding, one thing decides this for you: which tests your destination market actually requires - nickel release under EN 1811 for piercing-type products, plus whatever else your market lays down. Everything else on a quote page is presentation.
Where this falls short pointless if what you want is a passing result rather than a test report you can read yourself.
What to send us your destination market and product type, and we will list what applies to you.