Planning to import or manufacture jewelry in the United States? In this guide, we cover what Amazon sellers, importers, and manufacturers should know about heavy metals and chemicals regulations, labeling requirements, and more.
More specifically, the guide covers relevant ASTM standards, California Proposition 65, CPSIA, Lacey Act, and other jewelry compliance requirements in the US.
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ASTM StandardsASTM International is an organization that develops and publishes standards for a wide range of products, materials, and systems. ASTM’s standards currently number over 12,000, and cover industries such as toys and cosmetics, and personal care.
In this section, we introduce two ASTM standards for jewelry for adults and children.
ASTM F2999 establishes test methods and requirements for specific elements and certain mechanical hazards in adult jewelry.
Product scope
ASTM F2999 applies only to adult jewelry, which is defined as jewelry for consumers older than 12 years. Children’s jewelry is addressed in ASTM F2923 (see next section).
This standard does not apply to the following products:
Requirements
ASTM F2999 restricts several substances in jewelry, including:
It also covers:
ASTM F2923 establishes test methods and requirements for specific elements and certain mechanical hazards in children’s jewelry.
Product scope
ASTM F2923 covers only jewelry that is designed and intended primarily for children of 12 years of age or younger. Children’s jewelry includes products designed and intended as an ornament (for example, shoe charms that can be placed on a bracelet) to be worn by a child.
This standard does not apply to the following:
Requirements
ASTM F2923 restricts chemicals and heavy metals such as:
The standard also provides guidelines for the following:
The Lacey Act and its 2008 amendment protect the following from being illegally trafficked:
Under the Act, it is unlawful to import the following into the United States:
The Lacey Act regulates plant products and wildlife products. Examples of such products include:
To learn more about what you need to consider when commercially importing jewelry that is made from wildlife, you can read this document.
The USDA APHIS notes that due care should be exercised when importing regulated products, but does not specify what should be done in exercising “due care”.
Regardless, due care is defined as how much care a reasonable person takes under the same or similar circumstances.
In this situation, if you are a US importer, you should exercise due care when determining the best way to verify how legitimate your supply chain of jewelry made of regulated products is. You should also take care when determining how legal any subsequent transactions are, as well as obey any laws in the US and abroad about plant protection and other conservation laws.
If you wish to import jewelry that contains plant products into the US, you are required to comply with the Lacey Act and submit a declaration for the products you are importing.
You can click here to better understand how to do so.
Children’s Jewelry: CPSIAThe Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was enacted in 2008 in the US, and implemented by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), to impose new testing and documentation requirements. It also sets acceptable levels of some chemical substances on children’s products, including children’s jewelry.
Children’s jewelry is defined as jewelry designed or intended primarily for use by children 12 and under. They include products such as:
The CPSIA requires that importers and manufacturers of children’s jewelry must ensure that their products are compliant with all applicable and substance restrictions and standards. Such standards, for example, include ASTM F2923.
Note that ASTM F2923 on children’s jewelry does not include toy jewelry, such as jewelry that is used with a doll or stuffed animal. Instead, such products must comply with ASTM F963 for children’s toy products.
You can learn more about ASTM F2923 on this page.
As mentioned, jewelry parts and materials, such as beads and chains, may contain excessive amounts of heavy metals and chemicals restricted by the CPSIA and its referenced CPSC and ASTM standards. It’s therefore important to assess the existing compliance track record when sourcing jewelry suppliers overseas.
This is best done by reviewing their existing test reports, as this indicates that the supplier has experience (and ‘compliant subcontractors’) in making jewelry that comply with the relevant standards.
The CPSC requires that importers or manufacturers hire a CPSC-approved third-party testing company to verify compliance of jewelry products intended for children with all requirements before importing and selling them.
In most cases, when you request a quotation from a CPSC-accepted testing company, the company will also help you to determine which standards are applicable to your product. This can be very helpful when importing a new product and material, as it’s not always an easy task to assess applicable standards.
List of CPSC-accepted testing companies
Click here for more CPSC-approved testing companies.
Learn more
You can read more about CPSIA and ASTM lab testing in this guide.
Importers and manufacturers of children’s jewelry products must certify, in a written Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) based on test results from a CPSC-accepted lab-testing company, that their children’s jewelry complies with applicable children’s product safety rules. The importers and manufacturers are responsible for drafting and issuing the CPC.
Content Summary
1. Product name and description
2. List of applied and mandatory ASTM and CPSC standards (e.g ASTM F963)
3. Importer’s and manufacturer’s information (name, address, e-mail, phone)
4. Contact information of the person with access to the test report (name, address, e-mail, phone)
5. Manufacturing location (city, province, country) and date (month, year)
6. Testing date (month, year) and location (city, province, country)
7. CPSC-accepted third-party lab testing company (company, contact person, address, phone, e-mail)
Learn more
This guide can help you to understand how to draft a CPC for children’s jewelry.
CPSIA requires that children’s products marketed for use by children ages 12 or younger must a tracking label. The label should be displayed on the products and their packaging and must include the following information:
Example
Label file
You must prepare the layout and contents of the tracking labels on your own and send it to the supplier, which will then print the label according to the layout. Here are a few things that are most commonly included in the label file:
FTC Guidelines Section 23 provides detailed requirements on jewelry labeling and advertising, to avoid the misrepresentation of the materials used or the manufacturing process.
In general, any misrepresentation shall be avoided as FTC claims that a particular claim might be considered deceptive according to the situation and the net impression of the product packaging, advertising, or other promotional items.
Click here to learn more about Section 23.
For precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and others, If any fineness is claimed – for instance, 18 karats, which correspond to 75% of gold, – then the company that assumes responsibility for the claim must carve its name or trademark near the karat quality mark.
FTC Guidelines, Section 23.19 defines the various kind of pearls, such as cultured pearls, imitation pearls, and others. Sections 23.20-23.23 forbids false claims about the nature of the pearls you are importing or selling. For example, you cannot claim that imitation pearls are “real pearls”, “genuine pearls”, “precious pearls” or use similar terms.
Also, although the United States adhere to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) treaty, pearls are subjected to exemption unless they come from endangered species, which is a pretty rare case given the fact that most imported pearls are cultured.
The FTC provides clear guidelines for leather products labeling. In short, the importer or manufacturers shall specify whether the product is made with real leather, imitation leather, or others. The guidelines note that it is deceptive and unfair to misrepresent any material aspect, even the composition, of a leather product.
Country of OriginA Country of Origin (COO) label is required to be permanently displayed in jewelry products in the United States. Therefore, you should ensure that your jewelry product or packaging has a permanently affixed COO label before shipment.
That said, it may not be possible to affix a label on most jewelry products. There is some flexibility when it comes to the placement of the COO label, which can also be placed on the packaging. In other words, you don’t need a big ‘Made in China’ engraving on your gold-plated bracelets.
Before beginning the mass production process, creating a COO label file and sharing it with your manufacturer is an essential step. Usually, it includes the text that should be printed on the label as a vector graphic. It helps to guarantee the correctness of the label contents. We recommend that you use either the .ai or .eps format for your COO file.
California Proposition 65California Proposition 65 restricts more than 800 chemicals and heavy metals in consumer products, including jewelry and accessories. Jewelry containing excessive (i.e., above the set limits) amounts of lead or other restricted heavy metals are illegal to sell – unless the product carries a warning label.
Here are some heavy metals and chemicals that may be found in jewelry parts:
Importers should be aware that lead is often found, to a varying extent, in jewelry parts and materials. California Proposition 65 requires that “manufacturers and importers of lead-containing jewelry must warn consumers if they will be exposed to lead in jewelry in an amount that exceeds the safe harbor level of 0.5 micrograms per day.”
The safest way to verify if your products contain an amount of restricted substance greater than the one allowed is to submit jewelry samples for third-party lab testing. Lab testing companies offer comprehensive chemicals and heavy metals testing services according to the substance list and limits set by California Proposition 65.
As such, you don’t need to keep track of the list of restricted substances and their respective limits yourself. All you need to tell the testing company is that you want to book a California Proposition 65 lab test and they’ll take care of the rest for you.
Note that most jewelry manufacturers in China and Southeast Asia are generally not able to provide pre-existing California Proposition 65 Lab test reports. This doesn’t necessarily mean that their jewelry parts and other materials are by default non-compliant. But, it makes it harder to assess if they can ensure compliance.
Click here for information about testing companies that offer California Proposition 65 lab testing services.
You can either attach a warning label to your product or packaging or verify that the jewelry products you import don’t contain any restricted substances above the limits set by the proposition, via a lab test.
If you want to know more about the applications of this regulation, this website provides information about California Proposition 65 warnings that you may have seen on consumer products.
Some jewelry parts and materials contain lead, nickel, cadmium, and other substances above the limits set by CA Prop 65. Keep in mind that far from all jewelry parts and accessories are made specifically for the US market. Importers and Amazon sellers should therefore not take CA Prop 65 compliance for granted when sourcing jewelry products and suppliers overseas.
As mentioned, only a third-party lab test can verify if a jewelry part or material is compliant.
US State Regulations for Children’s JewellerySeveral states in the US other than California have issued their regulations concerning the chemicals and heavy contents in jewelry products for children. The following table contains some examples of state regulations that affect such products:
California Health and Safety Code § 25214.1-25214.4.2 (Metal-Containing Jewelry Law) Connecticut General Statutes of Connecticut §21a-12d ‘Children’s Jewelry Containing Cadmium: Prohibition; Enforcement’, (Public Act 10-113) Maryland Environment, §6-1401 through §6-1404 ‘Cadmium in Children’s Jewelry’ Jewelry Packaging RegulationsIn addition to regulations and standards covering jewelry and accessories, the complementary packaging (e.g., jewelry boxes) is also subject to labeling and substance regulations.
Many states in the US have strict standards regarding the number of heavy metal contents used in packaging materials, such as lead, cadmium, or mercury. Therefore, it is necessary to have a government-recognized third-party lab testing company to examine the eligibility and compliance of your product packaging.
Below we list a few product companies that offer packaging materials testing services.
You may also be required to have your packaging prominently display any applicable compliance marks and/or COO labels along with other labels.
Amazon Compliance RequirementsWhether you are planning to become an Amazon premium seller or third-party seller, before listing your jewelry products on the platform, you should ensure that they have undergone all required lab tests and are compliant with all mandatory US product safety standards and regulations. At the same time, you should carefully read the selling rules on Amazon’s platform before launching your jewelry products on Amazon.
Further, keep in mind that the requirements can change over time.
Amazon is strict with the compliance rules for the products sold on its platform. You should be prepared for Amazon’s requests for required lab test reports, certificates, product photos, and invoices, which might come at any time.
Amazon may remove any product listing at its discretion. While they usually only remove individual stock-keeping units, they may opt to remove all your listings or suspend your account.
In addition to removing non-compliant jewelry products from the website, Amazon may also do the following:
Shopping for fine jewellery is such an exciting experience; a chance to ask questions, compare beautiful designs and ultimately take home the piece that has stolen your heart.
At our boutique in Salzburg and during our traveling ateliers we regularly meet men and women shopping for fine jewellery for the first time, discovering AENEA’s vibrant gemstone and diamond designs; bold and daring jewellery, and like nothing they have seen before.
Listening to their questions, we’ve put together AENEA’s ultimate 10 Questions to Ask Before You Buy Jewellery - covering precious metals, gemstones and how to care for the piece. Keep these questions in mind next time you are shopping for a special piece of jewellery…
1 Ask yourself - what do I want?
Many shoppers will begin their search for jewellery online, but visiting a jewellery store or jewellery exhibition is a must - it’s a chance to see designs up close and talk with an expert about jewellery. Before you enter a shop, ask yourself ‘What do I want?’ and think about the themes and inspirations you like in jewellery. But also prepare to be open minded and explore various styles of jewellery - you might fall in love with something very different!
2 What is the precious metal?
If you are browsing in a jewellery boutique and see a design you like, begin by asking some questions about it. One of the first should be ‘What is it made from?’, to gauge whether the piece is gold, platinum or another type of metal. In Europe, 18ct yellow, white and rose gold is often used to make fine jewellery and platinum is chosen for bridal or diamond jewellery as it’s very hardwearing.
3 What are the gemstones or diamonds?
If the piece you are looking at contains gemstones or diamonds, find out what they are. If they are blue stones they could be sapphire, topaz, aquamarine or even iolite; pink stones could be tourmaline, sapphire or kunzite. There are many types of gemstones, and they will each change the value and wearability of the piece. Diamonds also come in many variations, and a good jewellery shop will explain the quality and grade of the diamonds you are looking at, and can show you a chart to outline how diamonds are graded.
4 How does it look?
Next up, try the piece on. The jewellery shop’s team should be happy for you to try on the jewellery, which is especially important if it is a necklace, bracelet or earrings, so you can gauge how it sits, the length and whether the style suits you. Ask for their advice and to compare it with other pieces so you can judge for yourself. If it is a ring or bracelet and feels too big, ask the shop about re-sizing. They should be able to make small adjustments easily to ensure it is the perfect fit.
5 Where was the piece made?
More and more customers buying fine jewellery like to know where the piece was made - whether locally or by goldsmiths in another studio. It is always good to ask this question to better understand whether the piece has been made by hand and is unique or is part of a larger collection. In some jewellery stores you can even meet the goldsmiths, which is a great opportunity to ask about their inspirations!
6 Can you spot the Hallmarks?
Hallmarks are the little letters and symbols often present on fine jewellery that denote what it is made from (the precious metal) and who by (which jewellery store or designer). In some countries they are needed by law, and show the customer that they are buying real gold, silver or platinum. At AENEA, our jewellery will often feature hallmarks to symbolise the precious metal, along with our ‘makers stamp’, which we are happy to show to our customers.
7 Do you have certificates or provide a valuations?
A trustworthy and caring jewellery shop will be able to provide a valuation for the piece of jewellery you have purchased, so you can have it insured and wear it without concern. Jewellery made in gold or platinum should always come with a valuation, while large diamond designs may also have independent certificates that detail the grade and quality of the diamond, which can also be used for valuations. Ask your jeweller for GIA, Gem-A or IGI certificates if you are buying a diamond, as these companies are some of the world’s most well-respected for diamond grading companies.
8 How do I clean and look after it?
Another question to ask is how to care for your jewellery. As explained before by AENEA, pearls - for example - can be affected by perfumes and moisturisers, while other gemstones are hardwearing and can be worn every day. It is always good to seek advice on how to gently clean your jewellery at home, and how to store it. All good jewellery shops will wrap your jewellery in a beautiful box, and the box should be kept to store your fine jewellery and avoid it getting tangled up or scratched by other pieces in your jewellery box.
9 Can you provide after care?
When you are purchasing fine jewellery, ask the assistants at the shop about ‘after care’ for the piece. Do they offer a guarantee with the design, or could you return in a year and have the piece cleaned and checked professionally by the shop? If the piece is something you want to wear everyday, like a necklace or ring, such after care will ensure your jewellery is being professionally checked over and the stones and clasps are secure so you can keep wearing it, worry free.
10 Can I have something made to match?
Here at AENEA, each piece of fine jewellery is unique, thanks to the gemstones and diamonds we use, and the careful stages of making each vibrant design. However, matching designs can be made to complement the beauty of the piece a customer has bought. If you wish to have a matching design made, ask your jeweller if they offer a bespoke service, like AENEA’s Atelier, where you can talk you through designs, sketch ideas and choose your own gemstones and diamonds to have something made just for you.
AENEA is pleased to offer a beautiful selection of fine jewellery in our Austrian boutique and through our unique International Travelling Ateliers, where we can visit clients in person with a selection of fine jewellery for them to discuss and try on at their leisure.
Contact our experts for more information about buying fine jewellery, or about our Travelling Atelier service: atelier@aenea.com