EU Nickel-Release Compliance Checklist | Hengdian (HD) Jewelry
If you wholesale into Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy or any other EU member state, nickel is the compliance line you cannot cross. Many importers do not set out to break the rules — they simply do not know whether their gold-plated brass pieces count as compliant. This evergreen guide explains the EU baseline, what Hengdian (HD) Jewelry does on every batch, and a five-step checklist you can run before your next shipment.
What the EU actually requires
Under REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, Annex XVII, Entry 27, articles intended to come into direct and prolonged contact with the skin must release nickel at no more than 0.2 µg/cm²/week. The same Annex applies a stricter limit of 0.5 µg/cm²/week to piercing-post items such as earring posts. This is a baseline, not a new rule — it has been in force since the original 1994 Nickel Directive — but enforcement through customs holds, marketplace takedowns and REACH inspections has tightened considerably in the past five years.
How Hengdian (HD) Jewelry handles it on every batch
| What you need to check | What Hengdian (HD) Jewelry does |
|---|---|
| Whether nickel migrates above the 0.2 µg/cm²/week threshold | Every piece is 18K gold plated at 0.1–0.3 µm over a brass substrate. The gold layer is dense and continuous, blocking nickel migration well below the EU limit. |
| Whether each batch is documented | Plating thickness and release-relevant data are recorded per batch. We share batch summaries on request when you place an order. |
| Whether the result is consistent across SKUs | All ready-to-ship and custom plating runs use the same plating line with the same parameters. Batch-to-batch variation stays inside a narrow band. |
| Whether custom orders are covered | Custom plating jobs use the same line and same parameters as core stock. There is no separate "cheap" plating path. |
| Whether piercing-site items meet the stricter limit | Earring posts are made of stainless steel as standard, keeping piercing-site migration well below the 0.5 µg/cm²/week threshold. |
A five-step checklist before you ship to the EU
- Identify which of your SKUs are skin-contact (general) versus piercing-contact (stricter). Different limits apply.
- Ask your supplier for plating parameters and any batch-level release data they can share — verbal promises are not enough for an EU customs query.
- Avoid unplated or paper-thin plated items priced far below market. They are the usual source of failures at customs.
- Keep the supplier's compliance statement on file for at least three years. EU authorities can ask retroactively.
- For Nordic markets (Denmark, Sweden, Norway), check local rules — they sometimes run stricter national limits.
Questions we hear from EU buyers
Do you label your jewelry as nickel-free?
We do not use that label. Our pieces are made of brass with an 18K gold plating layer designed to keep nickel release well under the EU 0.2 µg/cm²/week threshold. We describe what we do, not what we are not.
Will you send a certificate with every order?
We share batch plating-thickness and migration-relevant data on request when an order is placed. We do not issue a separate paid certificate for each shipment.
Does this article apply outside Europe?
This article covers EU REACH. The US (California Prop 65), Canada, Australia and other regions have different regimes — contact us before quoting for those markets.
Want batch data for an EU shipment you are planning?
Send us the SKUs and the destination country. We will return the relevant plating and release data along with a per-batch summary you can keep on file.
Request batch compliance data About our production standards