Lead in Jewelry
Posted by Leah on Dec 11, 2007
A new law is going into effect very soon in California to protect consumers from lead poisoning in jewelry. Many base metal and plated or painted products contain lead, so to be safe, when purchasing jewelry *ask* what it is made of and if any materials contain lead. Once the new law goes into effect, jewelry containing lead will have to be labeled as such & have a warning about the effects of lead.
Silver, copper, and gold do not contain lead. Some metals that may contain lead are silver plated, gold plated, and pewter.
Pearls and gemstones do not contain lead.
Most glass beads do not contain lead, but many crystal beads such as Swarovski crystal, are made with lead. Unlike plated metal, however, the lead in Swarovski crystal is not ingestible, according to this notice on the Rings and Things website about lead in jewelry products. In other words, it appears that Swarovski crystal is safe despite being made with lead, because it is impossible to ingest the lead. I recommend reading the entire article on the Rings and Things site about lead - it is very informative.
When purchasing jewelry or other gifts this holiday season, use common sense, and never put something in your mouth if you think it might contain lead - and don’t give jewelry to young children if any of the materials could contain lead.
Great article and worth keeping this in mind for people searching for jewellery findings.
As a supplier of beads and findings we have a lot of problems with this; particularly, in the UK, with Nickel. Although it’s not totally illegal to sell items with nickel in them (Ridiculous, as it causes problems to a lot of people) there are laws in the US and the UK about the amount contained. Lead is obviously a no-no, but some of the foreign countries (India, China et al) that supply the findings don’t have the same laws. Simply asking isn’t always enough, and we’ve been caught out in the past with supplies that were unsellable.
Thanks - I agree, it can be tricky to figure out if something has lead in it when it’s made in a country that has different regulations. I will probably stop using base metal completely just because I don’t want to risk it.
Yes, this is an important issue that needs to be kept in mind. Especially true of wholesale jewelry, in this case a rejected order could mean being stranded anywhere from a 1,000 pieces to 10,000 pieces. Though wholesale silver or gold jewelry manufacturers should be safe, take nothing for granted. With high gold prices and low margins, really don’t need any more troubles.
Hi. I was wondering where you found that copper was lead free. I have been searching for that info. Rings N Things puts it in Class 2 which means it can be used if it is less then 1.5% lead. I would be thrilled if all copper was lead free.
Thanks.
Copper is an element, so any wire that is solid copper should not contain lead or any other metal other than copper. Does that make sense? If a metal is advertised as copper plated or copper colored, that’s different, but solid copper shouldn’t contain anything except copper.