Smart Weigh GEM20- 20g x 0.001 Grams, High Precision Digital Milligram Jewelry Scale, Reloading, Jewelry and Gems Scale, Calibration Weights and…

You get what you pay for. I’ve taken university courses that involved quantitative analysis in chemistry. With research grade scales that measure down to the 0.001 gram, there are significant differences in those scales compared to cheap versions you buy online.

In laboratory-grade scales used for research, yes, even the air currents caused by the heating system can cause fluctuations in the measurements. Measurements would flutter. This is why they are designed with a tall glass box to block out air currents, and the sliding door would need to be closed. These scales tend to be about $1000 or more. Even the laboratory bench needs to be perfectly level, and the scale itself would have 4 adjustable legs to balance the scale. If the scale itself is not level, the measurements would be off. Furthermore, from experience, even fingerprints result in measurement differences. That is how sensitive those scales are. And if liquids are being measured, the glass stopper on the flask must be on, otherwise the slight evapouration will result in a gradually declining weight measurement.

In contrast, this scale is no way as precise. One thing I DID find was that even for the same object but placed on different surfaces, the measurement would be different. This might be due to very slight inclines on the table surface vs counter top, as both are not 100% level. When the scale is not on a perfectly level surface, it is not moving perfectly up and down, and slight friction within the measuring system itself is affected. The difference I am seeing is it might weight 10.006g when the scale is placed on the table, but 10.011g when placed on the counter top. These subtle differences likely due to how level the table is, can affect measurements by +/- 0.005g or so.

There does appear to have some problems with the scale. Some degree of friction is involved. If I have nothing on the scale, pull the scale upwards first and releasing back to resting position, and it is reading 0.000g, and then I place the 10g weight on it, it might give me 10.028g. But if I start with 0.000g, put the 10g weight on it, depress it all the way such that the scale reads 0-Ld (essentially maxed out the scale), and then allow it to spring back up, it would read 10.000g. This means that depending on if you first fully depress the scale, or if you fully stretch the scale surface, and then start a measurement from there, the slight friction or spring property difference causes a variance of +/- 0.028g.

Also the two weights are slightly different. one might be 10.000g and the other might be 9.997g. I don’t know how accurate these weights are.

One of the biggest problems with this scale is the lid itself. It acts on the hinge on the back, and it is possible to lift the lid about 45 degrees or more and the friction would hold the lid up. Unfortunately, I believe that when the lid is lifted up, it is exerting some strain onto the base itself. The distortion on this is enough to change the scale reading from 0.000g to 0.016g. So there is a design flaw with the lid where the tension affects the readings. +/- 0.016 g.

If everything was kept the same and stable (and measuring with the lid always closed), the same item might vary by +/- 0.001g.

So when you combine all of the variences mentioned above, when not properly controlled, the same item might have a total variance of 0.005g, 0.028g, 0.016g, 0.001g for a total of +/-0.050g if everything happened to line up that way. (realistically, probably +/- 0.025g for the typical user). It is critical to control all of the above stated factors.

How important is +/- 0.025g? If your object was 1.000g, this is +/-2.5%. But if you are trying to measure something that is 10mg (0.010g), this is a variation of +/-25%. The smaller the weight, the larger the % variation. I can understand why many reviewers are frustrated at trying to measure something as small as a few milligrams.

Another design flaw with this is the height of the plastic cover. When the 10g weight is placed on the scale standing up, the lid is not able to close. And because, as mentioned above, of the tension in the lid transferring through the hinge and onto the scale itself produces variance in the readings as much as +/- 0.016g, and this can vary by the degree of opening, the only way to get repeatable measurements is to always have the lid closed. This means that the two standard weights can not be standing vertically but must be lay down horizontally, and it can roll side to side until it stabilizes. It also means that the objects you wish to weigh can not exceed roughly 7 mm in height. Any taller and it touches the lid. Larger objects would require the lid to be open to measure, but now we question the accuracy again due to the tension of an opened lid.

It does not appear to be sensitive enough to measure the weight of fingerprints.

Conclusion: This scale is probably best if you wanted to weigh objects near or greater than 1.0 g with an approximate accuracy of +/- 0.025g (+/- 2.5%). The heavier the object, the varience by % is smaller. (e.g. 10g +/- 0.25%). Smaller objects less than 1.0g would result in larger % errors. If you want to measure smaller items and with a greater degree of precision, you’ll need to buy laboratory grade scales.

If you control all the stated factors above, and test your own unit for variations, if every factor is controlled, variation in measurement of same object might be limited to +/- 0.002g.

Otherwise, good for general purposes such as measuring the weight of jewelry.

This is a fabulous High Precision Digital Weight Scale. I am most pleased I can push a button, weigh my measuring unit, then hit the button on the left, which subtracts the weight of the weighing tray so that the screen reads 0.000 g and then, since I need to have precisely 0.015 grams of a powder, easily get this precise amount. Then, with a large flip open cover, I can leave the weighing tray on the unit, my weighed power in the weighing tray, put down the cover to protect the powder, and have this meager dosage ready to take with my 120 mg. dosage of Armour Thyroid medication for my thyroid at 4:00 a.m. I don’t even have to find my bifocal glasses to see anything! Doing this, this way, saves me over $50 monthly.
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I couldn’t have asked for a better product to assist me. I did a lot of research to find the proper scale, and this one easily meets all my powder needs for any of my multiplicity of supplements where the dosage is 1/8th of a teaspoon or less up to 20 grams. Currently I use other teaspoons which I level off with a knife. And, once I figure out how to use a drop, a smidgen, a pinch, a dash or a tad, I will be using those measuring tools with this unit as well.

Additionally, I could use this unit because it also weighs oz, ct , ozt, dwt, gn, and utilized high precision sensors to ensure the advanced accuracy of 0.001 grams and capacity of 20 grams. The set comes with a set of tweezers, weighing tray, with a dipping area if you are working with fluids, and two 10 kg calibration weights. The unit also features a flip open cover to protect the scale’s platform besides a back lit screen for easy visibility.

In fact, since the summer of 2014 I have been having hypothyroid issues, where my dosage of Armour Thyroid has had dramatic swings, the loss of 40 lbs. over 3 months, the weight gain of 40 lbs over 2 months, and intense chronic fatigue, etc. Then, when I learned (no benefit of my MD or Pharmacy) to separate iron and magnesium by 4 hours before as well as after my thyroid pill consumption, my thyroid medication settled down to more normal numbers. But, my thyroid is still in a state of flux.

I also commenced dicing a raw beet a day to assist my thyroid as well as eating 2 Brazil Nuts daily for my selenium level. This caused my thyroid medication to be reduced to 135 mg. daily from 150 mg and may again decline as my system gets regulated with beets, Brazil Nuts, and no magnesium or iron within 4 hours either side of my thyroid medication. Yet, this dosage of 135 mg. is not a normal one and becomes 2 prescriptions, and thus costs me for 2 prescriptions. Got to love the drug companies who’ve really figured out how to ….

I refused to purchase the 0.015 mg dosage (the size of a tiny nail head). But, I’ve a goodly supply of 300 mg thyroid medications, which I was slicing into 1/2 or 150 mg which would cost me for 1 prescription and last for 2 months, thus saving me $50. My dosage used to be 90 mg. This kept my medical cost reasonable. So, I ground up the excess supply into powder. Each evening, I use my Heathrow Scientific HD 15909 Spatula with Flat End and Spoon End, 9″ Overall Length, to select a wee amount of this powder, and put it in a measuring cup on this scale. It is so easy to get precisely 0.015 grams. If I need tweezers to select a smaller amount of powder, I do that as well.

One of the greatest features of this Smart Weigh is the fact you can easily weigh the tare (weighing tray), and once you have that, that tare weight unit is known by the system. Then, push the button on the left, your scale will read 0.000. This makes it so easy for me to read precisely 0.015 grams.

I truly hope this information is of help to you.

And if any of you have thyroid issues, it doesn’t matter which thyroid medication you use, the thyroid medication will not work correctly unless you separate by 4 hours your taking of magnesium or iron, and iron is in everything except for milk products and a few candies. Even yogurt which has fruit on top has iron in it and will interfere with your medication. This period is 8 hours and not a millisecond less!

I’m so glad I made this purchase and it has a place of honor on my kitchen counter.

I bought 2 of these a few years ago (thinking the first one was defective) and have been frustrated with this scale ever since due to the fluctuation of readings. I’m pretty sure that I figured out what the problem is with the scale I received. When I press down on any of the black buttons, the scale slightly rocks forward, possibly throwing the balance off. I tried it on a lot of different surfaces in my house and had the same result.

To stop the wobble, I removed the black rubber “feet” so that the scale lies flat on the surface. However, it still wobbled even without the feet. I then placed a very small piece of “Quakehold! 88111 Museum Putty” at the four corners in place of the rubber feet. Then I pressed the scale down from the middle of the closed cover (to get even distribution) onto a small piece of flat luxury vinyl tile I had on hand. A piece of wood would probably also work as long as it is totally flat. Absolutely no more movement now! I can even move the vinyl tile piece, in which the scale is stuck on with putty, to a different location in my house and the scale is still solid with no wobbly movement.

I use a 1.5 x 2″ post-it, folded length-wide, on top of the round plate to weigh power and then pour into a gel cap. The weight of the empty post-it now measures the same each time, no matter how long the scale had been turned off, how long I had been using it, and regardless of how many times I used the tare feature. That has never happened before. Usually, after about 2-3 measurements, the weight of the empty post-it would change.

The putty I used only costs about $4 on Amazon, although any putty-type material would work. So this method might be worth a try if you have the same problem I had.

Nice packaging with easy to read instructions. I use it for powdered medication and have found it to be very accurate. Works great for my needs.

My cat is on some meds for the rest of his life and I found that the 24mg and 60mg cerenia pills are the same concentration per milligram in weight. I can buy the 60mg pills now and split them into 8ths accurately with this scale. Sometimes I just crush them all up and weigh out his dosage each night. This thing paid for itself.

It’s kind of annoying to use though because it’s not incredibly accurate… Like, I put a 10g weight on it after I turn it on to see how far off it is that day. I tend to turn it off and on again a few times to get it to say 10.000 before I start using it. Between each piece of a pill I weight, I put the weight back on it to make sure it’s still the same… It can fluctuate randomly and it’s annoying.