The president of Precious Metals Commission Michael Allchin will present a special report at the 2012 CIBJO Congress in Vicenza when it meets a full plate awaiting the Precious Metals Commission, and the range of subjects covers a broad spectrum of activity in the precious metals industry.
Subjects that will be touched upon include international conventions on hallmarking, chain of custody issues through the distribution pipeline, amendments to precious metals legislation in various countries, a high level, of prices in the marketplace at present regulations concerning the use of toxic metals in jewellery, and precious metals fineness in CIBJO member countries. Also will be discussed the Precious Metals Commission’s work program for 2012, and more specifically the mixed metals amendment to the Precious Metals Blue Book.
USA: DODD-FRANK ACT Conflict Minerals Regulations
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States has announced that it intends issuing the final rules in June 2012.
The largest impact in the jewellery industry will pertain to gold, although there will also be impact on the tungsten jewellery sector. Suppliers of gold to publicly traded jewellery companies that file with the SEC will have to provide information both to their customers and on their web sites about the source of the gold supplied.
If the gold is from the conflict region (The Democratic Republic of the Congo and nine surrounding countries), then the supplier of that gold must be in a position to assure that this gold was not used to finance conflict.
Responsible Jewellery Council
From 2010 to 2011, the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) developed a voluntary standard for chain-of-custody (CoC) certification for businesses interested in responsible, conflict-free sourcing and assurance in the jewellery supply chain.
The RJC launched its chain-of-custody certification applicable to gold and platinum (group metals (platinum, palladium and rhodium) in early March 2012 and RJC expects the first certifications against the standard in the second quarter of 2012. This CoC standard will assist companies in the gold jewellery supply chain meet the requirements established by the United States’ Dodd-Frank legislation regarding the avoidance of conflict gold.
Fairtrade & Fairmined Gold
Since the first certified metal became available from artisanal and small-scale miners on Valentine’s Day 2011, product has become available in North America and in other European nations including the Netherlands and Scandinavia.
There are now over 50 jewellers selling certified products ranging from wedding jewellery to high end bespoke pieces and interest from the industry remains positive. This has resulted in U.S. $124,000 in Fairtrade premiums being received by certified mining organisations, which they democratically determine the use of for social, economic and environmental development projects in their communities.
In 2012 the partnership (Fairtrade and Alliance for Responsible Mining) aim to bring three more Latin America mining organisations to certification bringing the total to six mines, as well as extending our work into Africa and also in Asia, thanks to a £800,000 grant from Comic Relief. Fairtrade’s aim is to bring 100 kg of certified gold to end consumers in Europe, North America and the Pacific, which we hope will generate over £300,000 in Fairtrade premiums.
AMENDMENTS TO PRECIOUS METAL LAWS/LEGISLATION/REGULATIONS
USA
The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it will be revising the Jewellery Guides for the Jewellery Industry. This process is required by law every 10 years and has not been done since 1996. There are several areas that impact precious metals that will be addressed going forward. The main concern is to achieve standards for the alternative metals that are entering the fine jewellery space, and ensure standards that protect consumers from deception. This process will commence in around June 2012 and continue through the year.
South Africa
During the period 2009 to 2011, South Africa went through a consultative process through its standards generating body the SABS (South African Bureau of Standards) to amend its local standards for alloys of precious metal and the marking thereof. Central to the process has been the reference to the CIBJO Precious Metals Blue Book, used to guide the local manufacturers in terms of international standards.
The creation of the local SANS29 standard (South African National Standard) for precious metal alloys and markings now incorporates the metal alloy standards for Platinum and Palladium, and significant additions were made in terms of the standards for Gold alloys and their markings.
Alloy standards and markings introduced include: 900 and 850 for Platinum; 950, 900 and 850 for Palladium and the additional standards for Gold includes 835, 800, 416, 333 and 209.
It is important to note that Silver has been deregulated as a precious metal in South African law, but the alloy standards still mirror that of the Blue Book namely 999, 925, 835 and 800.
A new introduction to the marking system for Gold, previously limited to a “carat” mark, now also allows for the marking to reflect the metal’s fineness in parts per thousand. This makes it possible to stamp an item with either, for example, the 18ct or 750 mark. South Africa believes this will contribute positively to facilitate trade between countries and will reduce the burden on export orientated companies to carry a dual system for markings.
The 5ct standard, or 209 Gold (not included as alloy standard in the CIBJO Blue Book), has been and remains a contentious issue locally and internationally. The 5ct standard was therefore introduced to ensure that the consumer has a legal reference point.
One of the key markings brought in through the new SANS29 is a country of origin mark for South Africa. All locally manufactured products destined for the local market will soon have to carry a stamp of an oval with the letters ZA.
Japan
Legally recognised standards of precious metal fineness:
*Revised on 1 April 2012
LEAD, CADMIUM & NICKEL etc
Regulatory changes in the European Union
In respect to restricted substances and related jewellery testing requirements, the most widely implemented assurance system for precious metal jewellery articles is “hallmarking” carried out by an independent third party e.g. Assay Office.
The General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) - 2001/95/CE
The GPSD Directive is based on the Precautionary Principle and it makes it compulsory to provide user and consumers with information on all the risks inherent to the product that are incompatible with the general duty of care. The GPSD applies in the absence of more specific EC standards relating to products safety in its finished state.
Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) Regulations [(EC)1907/2006]
The European REACH regulation has an impact on the chemicals used by jewellery manufacturers, especially any substances used that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or reproductive toxins or are very persistent in the environment.
A list of “Substances of Very High Concern” has been published and the use of any such materials at more than 0.1% must be notified to the authorities. A content below 0.1% is exempt from this notification, except in specifically mentioned cases (e.g. Cadmium: 0.01%). It should be noted that the requirements of REACH apply to overall chemical use and not on a product by product basis.
Section 23 of annex XVII restricts the concentration of cadmium to 0.01% by weight of the metal parts of jewellery articles and hair accessories.
Section 27 of Annex XVII imposes restrictions on the use of nickel in jewellery and fashion accessories. It also states that the approved testing methods (e.g. EN1811) to be used in order to demonstrate compliance.
Section 63 of Annex XVII: After much discussion and consultation the European Commission has completed draft amendments regarding lead and its compounds, will restrict the concentration of lead to 0.05 % by weight.
Cadmium regulation in the USA
The cadmium regulation situation in USA is still not very clear, there is no uniformity between different states.
On July 1, Illinois joined Minnesota in restricting the use of cadmium in children's jewellery. It mirrors Minnesota's limit on the toxic metal: 75 parts per million (ppm) in any surface coating or accessible substrate of jewellery. Both also require the same testing: Companies must immerse a jewellery sample in a solution that simulates digestive acid, then measure the amount of cadmium that can leach out or "migrate" over a two-hour period.
However, the two laws differ on how they define children's jewellery." Illinois says any jewellery intended for children age 12 and under would fall into that category, whereas Minnesota sets the age range as 6 and under.
To date, three other states have passed similar cadmium legislation - California (effective January, 2012), Maryland (effective July 2012), and Connecticut (effective July 2014) − with varying limits, testing requirements, and age ranges. Six other states have laws pending.
Veronica Novoselova, Rough&Polished correspondent in Italy
