The UI gold seal has spots – is it used, or rusty?

Due to the Ultra Inert deactivation process, there may be slight variation in the visual appearance of the Ultra Inert treated gold seals. The surface of the Ultra Inert gold seal has a matted appearance in place of the shiny surface seen on untreated gold seals. The presence of spots or darker colored areas on the surface of the Ultra Inert gold seal are normal side effects of the deactivation process, and not due to contamination or faulty processing. These spots do not affect the performance or inertness of the seal.