Specifically, the certificate is only as useful as the lot number, because without traceability it is gossip about someone else's material.
Test results from a material supplier are different from independent results in ways that matter for interpretation, even if both are accurate.
Stated carefully, the field you have least reason to trust is the one that looks most impressive, because appearance and accuracy are not correlated.
One qualification: a single result from a single vial at a single time is a point estimate with no error bar, and no amount of decimal places changes that.
The practical summary: check the lot number, ask for the method, and reserve judgement until you have both.
3Worth flagging that this changed in 2025, so older answers on the site are out of date. – triple_agonist_q 5 months ago add a comment