Nickel Release in Karat White Golds in Light of European Directive 2004/96/EC

摘要

Nickel containing white golds are known to cause an allergic dermatitis, and nickel sensitivity, especially when used in the piercing jewelry such as post assemblies. The European Directive 94/27/EC banned the use of post assemblies if the nickel content in the alloy exceeded 0.05% by weight. The recent Directive 2004/96/EC amends this restriction. It allows using the alloys that show the nickel release of less then 0.2 μg/cm{sup}2/week, and therefore, widens the use of nickel containing white golds. This paper presents the results of nickel release tests that the authors have carried out on 18K, 14K and 10K white golds containing various levels of nickel, and shows that some of these 18K and 14K alloys may satisfy the requirement of recent Directive for use in the piercing jewelry.