Industrial Alloys & Compliance Library

A certified batch is a discrete quantity of precious metal alloy (e.g., platinum‑rhodium, 24K gold grain, sterling silver wire) that has been sampled, tested, and documented by an accredited third‑party laboratory. Each batch must be traceable to a single melt or production run, and the assay certificate must declare fineness, impurities, and density in accordance with the Act’s hallmarking requirements. Batches that are split, re‑melted, or blended after certification lose their certified status and require re‑testing.

Trace element limits are set per alloy specification (e.g., ASTM B413‑17 for sterling silver, or internal refinery standards for platinum‑rhodium). The limits are expressed in parts per million (ppm) for elements such as lead, cadmium, mercury, and iron. Enforcement is performed via X‑ray fluorescence (XRF) screening followed by fire assay or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‑MS) for confirmation. Any batch exceeding the defined ppm threshold for a restricted element is rejected and cannot be sold as meeting the Precious Metals Marking Act standard.

Every wholesale lot includes a mill certificate (or refinery certificate) listing the lot number, net weight, fineness, trace element results, and date of analysis. For 24K gold grain lots, a chain‑of‑custody document from the LBMA‑accredited refinery is also provided, along with a certificate of authenticity from the Canadian Mint where applicable. All documents are sealed and signed by the testing laboratory and are valid only for the specific lot identified on the certificate. Photocopies or digital reproductions are not considered original documentation for regulatory audits.

Hardness (e.g., Vickers or Brinell) and tensile strength are reported as supplementary data on the mill certificate for alloys used in industrial forming or stamping, such as sterling silver wire. These measurements are not required by the Precious Metals Marking Act for fineness declaration, but they are included to support manufacturing specifications. Customers should verify that the reported mechanical properties match their intended forming process; r.e.d.k.i.j.e.w.e.l.l.e.r.y. does not guarantee performance under non‑standard heat treatments or cold‑working conditions beyond the as‑supplied state.

If a customer believes an assay result is inaccurate, they may request a re‑test by a mutually agreed third‑party laboratory within 14 calendar days of receipt. The re‑test must be performed on a sealed sample drawn from the original lot. If the re‑test confirms the original result, the customer bears the cost of re‑testing. If the re‑test reveals a deviation exceeding the allowable tolerance (typically ±0.05% for fineness), r.e.d.k.i.j.e.w.e.l.l.e.r.y. will replace the lot or issue a credit, and the cost of re‑testing is covered by us. No claims will be accepted after 30 days from delivery.

Lots that contain recycled or reclaimed precious metals are clearly labelled as such on the certificate. The fineness and trace element limits are tested and certified identically to virgin‑metal lots, but the chain‑of‑custody documentation will note the recycled content percentage. Customers who require 100% virgin material for hallmarking or export compliance must specify this at the time of order. r.e.d.k.i.j.e.w.e.l.l.e.r.y. does not certify the provenance of individual recycled grains beyond the refinery’s declaration.