Federal Trade Commission
Guidelines
Regarding Silver
§ 23.3 Misuse of the terms
"handmade," "hand-wrought," etc.
(a) It is unfair or deceptive to represent, directly or by implication, that any industry product is handmade or handwrought unless the entire shaping and forming of such product from raw materials and its finishing and decoration were accomplished by hand labor and manually-controlled methods which permit, and finish of each part of each individual product.
NOTE: As used herein, "raw materials" include bulk sheet, strip, wire, and similar items that have not been cut, shaped, or formed into jewelry parts, semi-finished parts, or blanks.
(b) It is unfair or deceptive to represent, directly or by implication, that any industry product is hand-forged, hand-engraved, hand-finished, or hand-polished, or has been otherwise hand-processed, unless the operation described was accomplished by hand labor and manually-controlled methods which permit the maker to control and vary the type, amount, and effect of such operation on each part of each individual product.
§ 23.5 Misuse of the word "vermeil."
(a) It is unfair or deceptive to represent, directly or by implication, that an industry product is "vermeil" if such mark or description misrepresents the product's true composition.
(b) An industry product may be described or marked as "vermeil" if it consists of a base of sterling silver coated or plated on all significant surfaces with gold, or gold alloy of not less than 10 karat fineness, that is of substantial thickness and a minimum thickness throughout equivalent to two and one half (2 1/2) microns (or approximately 100/l,000,000ths of an inch) of fine gold.
NOTE 1: It is unfair or deceptive to use the term "vermeil" to describe a product in which the sterling silver has been covered with a base metal (such as nickel) plated with gold unless there is a disclosure that the sterling silver is covered with a base metal that is plated with gold.
NOTE 2: Exemptions recognized in the assay of gold filled, gold overlay, and rolled gold plate industry products are listed in the Appendix.
FTC COMMENT (Section 23.5):
The Commission believes it is appropriate to reference a numerical thickness in the Guides when consumers have come to expect certain qualities from products described by the term and products below the standard would not have such qualities. The comments indicate that there are items sold as "vermeil" that have the qualities consumers associate with "vermeil," and that have a gold coating of less than 120 millionths of an inch. Furthermore, the definition of vermeil in the Jeweler's Dictionary is consistent with the trade established floor of 100 millionths of an inch for vermeil. Therefore, the Commission has concluded that a thickness of 100 millionths of an inch, or 2.5 microns, of fine gold is an appropriate thickness "floor" for vermeil.
Because there may be items currently sold as "vermeil" that do not comport with the generally accepted meaning (i.e., gold or silver), the Commission has added a general provision stating that it would be unfair or deceptive to describe an article as "vermeil" if it misrepresents the product's true composition. The Commission has also added a section, 23.5(b), which provides guidance on when a product may be described as "vermeil" "if it consists of a base of sterling silver, coated or plated on all significant surfaces, with gold or gold alloy of not less than 10 karat fineness, which is of substantial thickness and a minimum thickness throughout which is equivalent to two and one half (2 1/2) microns (or approximately 1000/l,000,000ths of an inch) of fine gold."
The Commission has added a Note which states that such a product should not be described as vermeil unless there is a disclosure that the sterling silver is covered with a base metal, which is gold-plated.
§ 23.6 Misrepresentation as to silver content.
(a) It is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent that an industry product contains silver, or to misrepresent an industry product as having a silver content, plating, electroplating, or coating.
(b) It is unfair or deceptive to mark, describe, or otherwise represent all or part of an industry product as "silver," "solid silver," "sterling silver," "sterling," or the abbreviation "ster." unless it is at least 925/1,000ths pure silver.
FTC COMMENT (Section 23.6(b):
Because consumers are likely to believe this term stands for "sterling," the Commission has added the abbreviation "ster." to this section.
The Commission has determined that the former Guides unnecessarily inhibited the use in advertising of phrases such as "sterling silver plated" or "coin silver plated." Thus, the Commission has deleted that section and has added a note referring to the requirement of the National Stamping Act.
(c) It is unfair or deceptive to mark, describe, or otherwise represent all or part of an industry product as "coin" or "coin sliver" unless it is at least 900/l,000ths pure silver.
(d) It is unfair or deceptive to mark, describe, or otherwise represent all or part of an industry product as being plated or coated with silver unless all significant surfaces of the product or part contain a plating or coating of silver that is of substantial thickness.
(e) The provisions of this section relating to markings and descriptions of industry products and parts thereof are subject to the applicable tolerances of the National Stamping Act or any amendment thereof.
NOTE 1: The National Stamping Act provides that silverplated articles shall not "be stamped, branded, engraved or imprinted with the word 'sterling' or the word 'coin,' either alone or in Conjunction with other words or marks." 15 U.S.C. 297 (a).
NOTE 2: Exemptions recognized in the assay of silver industry products are listed in the Appendix.
APPENDIX
Exemptions recognized in the assay for quality gold alloy, gold filled, gold overlay, rolled gold plate, silver, and platinum industry products.
(a) Exemptions recognized in the industry and not to be considered in any assay for quality of a karat gold industry product include springs, posts, and separable backs of lapel buttons, posts and nuts for attaching interchangeable ornaments, metallic parts completely and permanently encased in a nonmetallic covering, field pieces and bezels for lockets, and wire pegs or rivets used for applying mountings and other ornaments, which mountings or ornaments shall be of the quality marked.
NOTE: Exemptions recognized in the industry and not to be considered in any assay for quality of a karat gold optical product include: the hinge assembly (barrel or other special types such as are customarily used in plastic frames); washers, bushings, and nuts of screw assemblies; dowels; springs for spring shoe straps; metal parts permanently encased in a non-metallic covering; and for oxfords, coil and joint springs.
(b) Exemptions recognized in the industry and not to be considered in any assay for quality of a gold filled, gold overlay and rolled gold plate industry product, other than watch cases, include joints, catches, screws, pin stems, pins of scarf pins, hat pins, etc., field pieces and bezels for lockets, posts and separate backs of lapel buttons, bracelet and necklace snap tongues, springs, and metallic parts completely and permanently encased in a nonmetallic covering.
NOTE: Exemptions recognized in the industry and not to be considered in any assay for quality of a gold filled, gold overlay and rolled gold plate optical product include: screws; the hinge assembly (barrel or other special types such as are customarily used in plastic frames); washers, bushings, tubes and nuts of screw assemblies; dowels; pad inserts; springs for spring shoe straps, cores and/or inner windings of comfort cable temples; metal parts permanently encased in a non-metallic covering; and for oxfords, the handle and catch.
(c) Exemptions recognized in the industry and not to be considered in any assay for quality of a silver industry product include screws, rivets, springs, spring pins for wrist watch straps; posts and separable backs of lapel buttons; wire pegs, posts, and nuts used for applying mountings or other ornaments, which mountings or ornaments shall be of the quality marked; pin stems (e.g., of badges, brooches, emblem pins, hat pins, and scarf pins, etc.); levers for belt buckles; blades and skeletons of pocket knives; field pieces and bezels for lockets; bracelet and necklace snap tongues; any other joints, catches, or screws; and metallic parts completely and permanently encased in a nonmetallic covering.
(d) Exemptions recognized in the industry and not to be considered in any assay for quality of an industry product of silver in combination with gold include joints, catches, screws, pin stems, pins of scarf pins, hat pins, etc., posts and separable backs of lapel buttons, springs, and metallic parts completely and permanently encased in a nonmetallic covering.
(e) Exemptions recognized in the industry and not to be considered in any assay for quality of a platinum industry product include springs, winding bars, sleeves, crown cores, mechanical joint pins, screws, rivets, dust bands, detachable movement rims, hat-pin stems, and bracelet and necklace snap tongues. In addition, the following exemptions are recognized for products marked in accordance with section 23.8(b)(5) of these Guides (i.e., products that are less than 500 parts per thousand platinum): pin tongues, joints, catches, lapel button backs and the posts to which they are attached, scarf-pin stems, hat pin sockets, shirt-stud backs, vest-button backs, and ear-screw backs, provided such parts are made of the same quality platinum as is used in the balance of the article.
The Commission has expanded the list of exemptions for silver items to include all exemptions listed for gold-filled items.
The Commission has determined that "metallic parts completely encased in nonmetallic covering" should be added to the list of exemptions for gold alloy jewelry. Bracelet and necklace snap tongues are already an exemption for articles made of platinum, and the Commission has added this to the list of exemptions for rolled gold plate jewelry (and to the list of exemptions for silver items).
The mechanical parts of lockets are added to the lists of exemptions for silver and gold alloy jewelry. Adding these to the list of exemptions for silver is logical because silver is relatively soft. Gold alloy, however, is relatively hard. Nevertheless, because trade practice has interpreted this exemption as applying to gold lockets for some time, it is unlikely that consumers would believe that the field pieces and bezels of a locket advertised as 14 karat gold were 14 karat gold. Therefore, the Commission has added these exemptions to the list of exemptions of silver and gold alloy products.
The Commission has included this list of exemptions for optical products in the Guides.
§ 23.9 Additional guidance for the use of quality marks.
As used in these guides, the term "quality mark" means any letter, figure, numeral, symbol, sign, word, or term, or any combination thereof, that has been stamped, embossed, inscribed, or otherwise placed on any industry product and which indicates suggests that any such product is composed throughout of any precious metal or any precious metal alloy or has a surface or surfaces on which there has been plated or deposited any precious metal or precious metal alloy. Included are the words "gold," "karat," "carat," "silver," "sterling," "vermeil," "platinum," iridium," "palladium," "ruthenium," "rhodium," or "osmium," or any abbreviations thereof, whether used alone or in conjunction with the words "filled," "plated," "overlay," or "electroplated," or any abbreviations thereof. Quality markings include those in which the words or terms "gold," "karat," "silver," "vermeil," "platinum" (or platinum group metals), or their abbreviations are included, either separately or as suffixes, prefixes, or syllables.
(a) Deception as to applicability of marks. (1) If a quality mark on an industry product is applicable to only part of the product, the part of the product to which it is applicable (or inapplicable) should be disclosed when, absent such disclosure, the location of the mark misrepresents the product or part's true composition.
(2) If a quality mark is applicable to only part of an industry product, but not another part which is of similar surface appearance, each quality mark should be closely accompanied by an identification of the part or parts to which the mark is applicable.
(b) Deception by reason of difference in the size of letters or words in a marking or markings. It is unfair or deceptive to place a quality mark on a product in which the words or letters appear in greater size than other words or letters of the mark, or when different markings placed on the product have different applications and are in different sizes, when the net impression of any such marking would be misleading as to the metallic composition of all or part of the product. (An example of improper marking would be the marking of a gold electroplated product with the word "electroplate" in small type and the word "gold" in larger type, with the result that purchasers and prospective purchasers of the product might only observe the word "gold.")
NOTE 1: Legibility of markings. If a quality mark is engraved or stamped on an industry product, or is printed on a tag or label attached to the product, the quality mark should be of sufficient size type as to be legible to persons of normal vision, should be so placed as likely to be observed by purchasers, and should be so attached as to remain thereon until consumer purchase.
NOTE 2: Disclosure of identity of manufacturers, processors, or distributors. The National Stamping Act provides that any person, firm, corporation, or association, being a manufacturer or dealer subject to section 294 of the Act, who applies or causes to be applied a quality mark, or imports any article bearing a quality mark "which indicates or purports to indicate that such article is made in whole or in part of gold or silver or of an alloy of either metal" shall apply to the article the trademark or name of such person. 15 U.S.C. 297.
FTC COMMENT (Section 23.9):
The National Stamping Act indicates that quality marks can be applied by means of tags or labels, regardless of whether engraving would damage the product. The Commission has therefore modified this Note to clarify the fact that if a quality mark is used, it may be either engraved on the product or placed on a tag or label.
The Commission has changed this Note to reference the requirements for identification contained in the National Stamping Act.