Why We Batch Test Against EU REACH Standards
In Australia There Is No Requirement to Tell You What's in Your Jewellery
In Australia, there's no mandatory testing for nickel, lead, or other heavy metals in the jewellery sold here. A piece can go from a factory floor straight to a market stall or an online shop without ever being tested for what it's actually made of and there's no law requiring the seller to tell you.
So jewellery gets sold with vague, inaccurate, or simply misleading information about what it contains. A lot of it moves through mass marketplace sourcing and market stalls with no real accountability behind it. Without testing, neither the seller nor the wearer actually knows what they're dealing with.
We Care About Your Health, So We Test to a Framework That Isn't Even Required Here
REACH compliance takes its name from the regulation's full title, Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. It's the European Union's overarching framework for chemical safety, administered by the European Chemicals Agency and it sets binding limits on hazardous substances across everything from cosmetics to children's toys to jewellery. Rather than rely on our suppliers' own testing, we've run an independent audit on every production batch ourselves against EU REACH compliance since July 2026, when stainless steel was introduced into the range. It's not a legal requirement in Australia and it's not a certification you can buy, it's a regulatory framework we've chosen to follow because it's among the most rigorous international benchmarks available for exactly this kind of testing. We're the first Australian jewellery brand to independently test every production run against EU REACH compliance.
What Batch Testing Actually Means
Every production batch is independently tested before it goes on sale, for heavy metal content and nickel release, to EU REACH compliance standards. This is representative sample testing across the batch and not a one-off check when a supplier relationship starts either, every batch, every time.
For vermeil and gold-plated batches, we go a step further and independently test the plating itself, to confirm the gold layer actually matches its stated micron thickness. That number isn't just a technicality, it's the difference between a piece that's genuinely built to the thickness stated and one that's simply marketed as vermeil without ever being checked and the price gap between the two and the durability can be significant.
Why We Test For Nickel, Lead and Cadmium Specifically
EU REACH compliance doesn't restrict every element found in jewellery alloys. Nickel, lead and cadmium sit under specific entries in Annex XVII, the restricted substances list because each is linked to a documented health effect. Knowing what those effects are and why the limits exist, is part of understanding what our testing actually protects you from.
Nickel (Annex XVII, Entry 27)
Nickel is the most common cause of allergic skin reactions from metal contact, affecting an estimated 10 to 20 percent of the population. For someone sensitised to it, even brief contact can bring on itching, redness and a raised rash at the point of contact, sometimes developing into dry, cracked or blistered skin with repeated exposure. It's a genuine and often uncomfortable reaction, not just a mild sensitivity. That's the reason EU REACH compliance sets a strict weekly migration limit for any item in prolonged skin contact. Stainless steel is often assumed to be nickel-free, but the alloy itself typically contains nickel, and whether it releases at a level that matters depends on the specific alloy and finish. We test nickel release on every batch against that limit, so a piece that passes is genuinely below the threshold where a reaction becomes likely.
Lead (Annex XVII, Entry 63)
Lead is classified by health authorities as toxic to the developing nervous system, which is why EU REACH compliance restricts it in jewellery to a concentration limit of 0.05% by weight. It has no legitimate place in a piece meant for everyday skin contact and can still turn up in solder, cheaper base metal alloys and some plating processes if it isn't screened for. Our batch testing exists to confirm every piece falls well within that limit, keeping any trace content far below the level where it's a health concern.
Cadmium (Annex XVII, Entry 23)
Cadmium is linked to long-term kidney and bone effects with sustained exposure, which is why EU REACH compliance restricts it in jewellery to a concentration limit of 0.01% by weight. It sometimes appears in cheaper alloys and platings as a cost-cutting substitute for the metals it's mimicking. We test every batch to confirm it falls within that limit, the same as nickel and lead.
Why It Matters
If a piece isn't something I'd put on my own daughter, I'm not putting it on anyone else's skin either. That's really the whole reason behind the testing, we'd rather know exactly what we're selling than assume it's fine because nobody's required to check.
It also means something for anyone who already knows they react to certain metals. With clear, tested information about what's actually in a piece, rather than a vague label or none at all, they can choose with real information instead of a guess.
