AQL (Acceptable Quality Limit)
A statistical sampling standard (ISO 2859-1) defining maximum defective units allowed — the global benchmark for jewelry quality inspection.
Last updated: July 6, 2026
Detailed Explanation
AQL is the international quality inspection sampling standard. Industry norm for jewelry: AQL 2.5 for general inspection (accepting up to 2.5% minor defect rate) plus AQL 0 for critical defects (zero tolerance for safety hazards). Sampling follows ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 Level II: for 500 pieces inspect 50, for 1,000 pieces inspect 80, for 10,000 pieces inspect 200. Defects are classified as Critical (safety hazard, AQL 0), Major (function/appearance significantly compromised, AQL 2.5), Minor (slight deviation, AQL 4.0). Third-party services (SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek) use AQL for pre-shipment inspections at 300−300−500/day.
Common Uses
Pre-shipment inspection, incoming quality control, production line quality gates.
Advantages
Statistically valid, internationally recognized, scalable to any batch size.
Limitations
Does not guarantee zero defects, relies on random sampling which may miss isolated defects.