Gyrogami Blog - Precious Metals, Jewelry, Artwork

Scales of Justice

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Categories: Instruction and information; Projects and equipment; Commerce and business

Word count/read time: 445 words; 2 minutes

The scales of justice swing wildly, now more than ever. One would think that laws are absolute, unwavering, and concise but those clever lawyers and corrupt politicians find ways around them constantly (didn't they write them in the first place?). If only the written word was as certain as my jewelry scale.

Scales are something we take for granted. Every grocery store, metal recycling facility, jewelry store, shipping company, cannabis dispensary, drug dealer, butcher, and more have at least one.

They work best in certain temperature and humidity ranges. Altitude and location affect their function as well. Breezes, not being level, and damage to the load cells will cause erroneous readings. Mine won't calibrate properly unless perfectly level.

While the accuracy of even the cheapest, non-certified digital scale is a marvel, it does not pass the stringent tolerances for certification and legal trade. That's why it's $15 and not $800.

Rated by their accuracy, repeatability, and longevity, ASTM-E617-18 defines ten classes from 000, the best, to the least accurate at 7. Jewelry and precious metals - marijuana, too, if you're keeping track - require a class 2 minimum.

The most common certification comes from the National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP). Few sellers have such a scale yet they argue incessantly when their numbers are different than mine. So many people can't accept facts and truths or admit they're wrong. Some have recruited AI to write a reason or justification and told me I don't know how to weigh items. WhatEVER!

Certification lets people know it is a legit scale though it still needs to be calibrated frequently. How is it calibrated? A known mass is placed on it. Each scale has its own method using a calibrated weight specified by the manufacturer.

There are classes for calibration weights since they must be as accurate as the scale they're testing. Quality ones are usually made with non-magnetic stainless steel. If they weren't stainless or an equivalent they'd oxidize and be inaccurate.

The better ones come in a case or container for protection. It is recommended to handle them with tweezers or something that will not leave any residue. They need to be blindingly clean.

My class 2 legal-for-trade scale will weigh gemstones. One carat weighs 0.2 grams and such a diamond may sell for over $10k. Even the slightest deviation could be thousands of dollars either way. Gold is not as expensive but errors are still costly for someone.

I store my scale and calibration weights in a cushioned, military-grade, airtight, waterproof case. The weights have their own padded case inside that. Overkill? I guess it depends on whether $1000 of delicate equipment is worth protecting.

Posted by M: May 13, 2025

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