Scope
GB 28480-2012 covers adornments of various materials, excluding gems. It defines children’s jewellery as jewellery for children aged 14 years and under.
Exact limit and units
| Metal or provision | Matrix | Limit | Unit | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickel release | Piercing articles during wound healing | 0.2 | microgram/cm2/week | release rate; not converted to µg/kg |
| Nickel release | Articles in prolonged skin contact | 0.5 | microgram/cm2/week | release rate; not converted to µg/kg |
| arsenic (As) | Metal adornments or metal adornment parts | 1,000 | mg/kg | total content |
| Cr(VI) | Metal adornments or metal adornment parts | 1,000 | mg/kg | total content |
| mercury (Hg) | Metal adornments or metal adornment parts | 1,000 | mg/kg | total content |
| lead (Pb) | Metal adornments or metal adornment parts | 1,000 | mg/kg | total content |
| cadmium (Cd) | Metal adornments or metal adornment parts | 100 | mg/kg | total content |
| lead (Pb) | Children’s jewellery | 300 | mg/kg | total content |
| Sb | Children’s jewellery | 60 | mg/kg | soluble element |
| arsenic (As) | Children’s jewellery | 25 | mg/kg | soluble element |
| cadmium (Cd) | Children’s jewellery | 75 | mg/kg | soluble element |
| chromium (Cr) | Children’s jewellery | 60 | mg/kg | soluble element |
| lead (Pb) | Children’s jewellery | 90 | mg/kg | soluble element |
| mercury (Hg) | Children’s jewellery | 60 | mg/kg | soluble element |
How tested
Nickel release is measured under GB/T 19719 and GB/T 28485 as applicable. Hexavalent chromium is measured under GB/T 28019, and other harmful elements are measured under GB/T 28020 or GB/T 28021.
Enforcement posture
The standard is a mandatory national standard for covered adornments in China. Products that do not meet the applicable total-content, soluble-element, and nickel-release requirements are not compliant with the standard.
History of changes
GB 28480-2012 was issued as a Chinese national standard for harmful-element limits in adornments. The local source is the 2012 edition.
How it compares
The children’s-jewellery soluble-element table aligns closely with legacy toy-migration values for Sb, arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg), while the total-content row adds separate limits for metal adornment materials. The nickel release provisions are important for compliance but use area/time units rather than mass fraction.
Sources
Update history
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