Last updated: October 2026
By Jack Lv, General Manager — 925 sterling silver and GRA moissanite manufacturing in Foshan since 2011
The European Union expects a REACH SVHC screening report and evidence on nickel release, and buyers often add RoHS as a screening document even though RoHS is written for electrical equipment. The United States works through California Proposition 65 and a patchwork of state nickel rules rather than one federal jewelry standard. Marketplaces and large retailers usually ask for the same core file: a laboratory test report with a verifiable reference number, a substance declaration, a factory audit document and a per-stone stone report. Every one of these documents proves something narrow, so read the reference number and the scope before you rely on it.
A test report records what a laboratory measured on a sample; a declaration is the supplier asserting conformity; a certificate is issued by a body with authority to certify. Buyers routinely accept a declaration believing they hold a certificate, which is the gap most likely to surface in a marketplace review.
The three words are used interchangeably in purchase conversations and they are not interchangeable in evidence. A test report records what a laboratory measured on a sample on a date, and it is limited to that sample. A declaration of conformity is the supplier's own statement that a product meets a defined requirement, usually supported by test data held on file. A certificate is issued by a body after an assessment, such as a factory audit, and it describes the organisation rather than the goods.
The difference matters because buyers frequently accept a declaration where they need a test report, or accept a certificate as evidence about a product. Ask for the document type you actually need, and ask which laboratory issued it and under which reference number.
One clarification that saves a lot of confusion: for jewelry, CE is not a general safety mark. Where a supplier holds a CE conformity document on jewelry, it is normally a RoHS conformity declaration, because RoHS is the directive that carries CE marking obligations in that area.
| Document type | Who issues it | What it is evidence of |
|---|---|---|
| Test report | An accredited or commercial laboratory | That specific samples were tested on a specific date against a named method and scope |
| Declaration of conformity | The supplier or manufacturer | That the supplier asserts conformity, usually backed by test data it keeps on file |
| Conformity certificate | An issuing body after assessment | That a product family met a defined scheme, within the scope the certificate lists |
| Factory audit certificate | An audit body such as Intertek | That the organisation was audited on site for a stated period |
| Per-stone report | A stone grading laboratory such as GRA | That one individual stone was examined and described |
REACH SVHC screening against the candidate list, nickel release testing for items in prolonged skin contact, and RoHS for the electrical and electronic scope where it applies. SVHC screening is a statement about the candidate list at the date of testing, so a report has a shelf life and an older report answers an older question.
REACH, Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, governs chemical substances placed on the EU market. Its candidate list of substances of very high concern is updated over time, and a supplier screening report should say how many listed substances were screened and what the results were against the reporting threshold. An SVHC report is a screening exercise: it shows that the substances on the list at the time of testing were looked for in the article tested, and it is not a statement that no hazardous substance exists anywhere in the product.
Nickel is handled differently, because the EU restricts how much nickel may be released from articles in prolonged skin contact. That restriction is about release, not content, so the evidence is a release test on the article, and for coated items the test is normally run after a wear and corrosion simulation. This is why a rhodium-plated silver ring and a bare brass ring need different presentations even when both contain nickel somewhere in the stack.
RoHS, Directive 2011/65/EU as amended by (EU) 2015/863 and (EU) 2017/2102, restricts substances in electrical and electronic equipment. Jewelry is not electrical equipment, so RoHS does not draw a safety conclusion about a ring. Importers still request it as a screening document because it tests for restricted metals, and a supplier can legitimately hold a RoHS conformity file and should state exactly which models it covers.
California Proposition 65 drives the warning and testing practice most US retail buyers ask about, and several states add their own nickel and heavy-metal rules. There is no single federal jewelry certificate, so the requirement is set by the channel you sell through rather than by the country.
There is no single federal jewelry safety certificate in the United States. The practical requirements arrive from two directions: California Proposition 65, which requires a clear warning before exposing consumers to listed chemicals above the thresholds the state sets, and a set of state-level restrictions on nickel and on other metals that vary from state to state.
Proposition 65 is enforced by private action as well as by the state, which is why retailers treat it seriously. The listed chemicals change over time, so a supplier statement should say when the assessment was made and against which version of the list. A Proposition 65 statement is not a compliance certificate and it does not clear you in other states.
Because the state rules differ, the practical approach for an importer is to write the destination states into the order and ask for evidence that covers the strictest one. Products aimed at children attract additional scrutiny and separate test categories, so state clearly at the enquiry stage whether a style is intended for children, because the document set changes.
| Market | Document normally requested | Core purpose |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | REACH SVHC screening report | Shows the listed substances were screened in the tested article |
| European Union | Nickel release test evidence | Addresses release from articles in prolonged skin contact |
| European Union | RoHS conformity document | Screening for restricted substances, requested by buyers even outside electronics |
| United States | Proposition 65 assessment or warning text | Addresses the California chemical list and warning duty |
| United States | State-level nickel statements | Addresses the patchwork of state restrictions on skin-contact items |
| United Kingdom | REACH-equivalent substance evidence | The UK operates its own chemical regime, so EU documents are not automatically sufficient |
A current test report with a report number, the issuing laboratory named, and the tested material and colour stated. Large retailers usually add a restricted-substances declaration and a packaging or labelling requirement, and they will reject a document that does not name the exact material tested.
Online marketplaces and chain retailers rarely create their own chemical rules. They pass the legal requirements down and add commercial ones, and the request usually arrives as a document checklist rather than as a technical specification.
The typical checklist contains a laboratory test report covering the substances the market restricts, a declaration from the manufacturer, evidence that the factory itself has been audited, and a stone document when the product contains a graded stone. Marketplaces with a jewelry category often ask for the report to be less than a defined age, so plan renewals rather than treating one report as permanent.
For own-brand work, retailers also ask for a signed specification sheet, packaging compliance such as labelling and warning text, and sometimes a restricted substances list of their own that goes beyond the law. Read that list before you finalise the stone and plating specification, because a retailer list can rule out a finish that is perfectly legal.
A report proves that a specific sample of a specific material was tested on a specific date; it does not prove that every subsequent batch is identical. That distinction is why a buyer should ask for the batch relationship, not just the PDF.
Over-reading a document is the most common compliance mistake in jewelry sourcing. Each of these documents answers one narrow question, and buyers who assume it answers the wider question are left without a defence when a claim arrives.
| Document | What it proves | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| REACH SVHC screening report | That the listed substances were screened in the tested sample and came back below the reporting threshold | That every substance is absent, that production matches the sample, or that the item is legal in every market |
| Nickel release evidence | That the tested article released nickel within the applicable limit under the test conditions used | That a different production lot, a different finish or a different design behaves the same way |
| RoHS conformity document | That the listed models meet the RoHS substance restrictions within the stated scope | That the item is safe for skin contact, or that CE marks jewelry as a general safety item |
| Proposition 65 assessment | That the supplier assessed the listed chemicals and stated whether a warning is required | That any other US state or federal requirement is satisfied |
| Intertek verified supplier certificate | That the factory was audited on site for the period stated on the certificate | That any individual order meets your specification |
| Per-stone grading report | That one specific stone was examined and described | Anything about the metal, the setting or the finished ring |
A report number is what makes a document checkable against the issuing laboratory's own records. Without it the document cannot be verified, and an unverifiable document is worth less than no document, because it creates the appearance of compliance.
A compliance claim without a reference number cannot be checked, and an unverifiable claim is worth very little in a dispute. When a supplier says it has REACH or RoHS, that statement carries almost no information, because it does not say which substances were screened, which models were tested, when the test was done or who issued it. Ask for the number and the scope, and the answer becomes concrete.
As a worked example of the level of detail that is actually useful, our own file contains the following. Our REACH SVHC report is reference BKC25020516BR, issued by Shenzhen BKC Testing Co., Ltd. and dated 27 February 2025, screening 247 SVHC substances with all results below 0.1 percent. Our RoHS and CE conformity certificate is reference HYC2025120053RV1 from Shenzhen HyCert Co., Ltd., dated 31 December 2025, with test report reference HYC2025120053R01, and it covers the 27 models the certificate lists. Our Intertek Verified Supplier Certificate is reference 483553466_T, valid from 31 December 2025 to 30 December 2026. GRA moissanite reports are different in kind: they are issued stone by stone and carry no shared number, which is normal for a per-stone document.
Those numbers are the point of the exercise. They let a buyer check scope, date and issuer rather than trusting a logo on a PDF. The company behind them is Foshan Nameituo Jewelry Co., Ltd., the factory trading as Nabest, which works with more than 3,000 customers across more than 200 countries and regions.
Contact the laboratory named on the report using contact details you found independently, quote the report number, and ask whether the report exists and what material it covers. That single step filters out most of the documents that circulate in this trade.
Verification takes a short email and removes most of the risk. Work through the document in a fixed order and write down the answers, because the gaps are where the risk sits.
Two points are worth extra care. First, check the scope against the goods you are buying: a report on plated brass does not cover 925 silver, and a report on one finish does not cover a different finish. Second, check the sample against production: a report is a point-in-time result, so ask how often reports are refreshed and whether the tested construction is the construction you will receive.
Ask for the report number, the issuing laboratory, the material tested and the test date, and verify the number with the laboratory. If any of those four is missing, you are holding a claim rather than a test result.
The EU expects SVHC screening and nickel release evidence, the US works through Proposition 65 and state rules, and marketplaces and retailers pass those duties down to you with a checklist attached. Each document proves something narrow: a report covers the sample that was tested, a certificate covers the factory, and a grading report covers one stone. Ask for reference numbers, check scope and dates with the issuing laboratory, and keep the file current, because compliance documentation is a maintenance process rather than a one-off purchase.
It is enough to show screening on the tested sample, and it says nothing about nickel release, which is a separate test. It also does not cover a different alloy, a different plating stack or a different model. Match the report scope to the product you are actually importing and refresh it as the candidate list changes.
No. RoHS, Directive 2011/65/EU as amended, is written for electrical and electronic equipment, so it does not certify jewelry as a general safety item. A supplier may hold a RoHS conformity document as a screening result for restricted substances on named models, and that is the accurate way to describe it.
It records that the supplier assessed the listed chemicals and stated whether a warning is required. It is not a certificate, it does not clear you in other states, and it is tied to the version of the chemical list in use at the time of assessment, so ask for the assessment date.
Take the reference number, the issuing laboratory name and the issue date, then contact that laboratory directly and ask it to confirm the reference and the scope. A report number that the laboratory cannot confirm is not evidence, whatever the file looks like.
We hold a REACH SVHC report under reference BKC25020516BR, a RoHS and CE conformity certificate under reference HYC2025120053RV1 with test report HYC2025120053R01, and an Intertek Verified Supplier Certificate under reference 483553466_T, and we will tell you which models each one covers. Stone reports from GRA are issued per stone. Tell us your destination market and channel at the enquiry stage and we will confirm which documents apply to your order.
Send your design, size and quantity — factory quote back within 24 hours. Reference: General enquiry