Oh! Can I throw in a suggestion?
Not an alchemist, but I understand some of the mechanics of it to an acceptable degree. Alchemy is the basic 'science' of combining materials together to create even greater one's, correct? Well, perhaps combining two strong materials together to create an even stronger one and fashioning it into an item would be good enough? Filtering in things like increased malleability, while keeping the toughness and structure. Then you could just show the Judges how you made the material during the actual Judgment and display the properties of the item you made.
Again not an alchemist so I might be wrong in thinking that is possible, but it sounds right to me. Also, the Common Labs probably have Alchemy rings lying around so you should probably use those.