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All That Glitters...

How to Buy Jewelry

uying jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you’re considering

a gift of jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time

to learn the terms used in the industry. Here’s some information to help you

get the best quality jewelry for your money, whether you’re shopping in a traditional

brick and mortar store or online.

Gold

The word gold, used by itself, means all gold or 24 karat (24K) gold. Because 24K

gold is soft, it’s usually mixed with other metals to increase its hardness and durability.

If a piece of jewelry is not 24 karat gold, the karat quality should accompany any claim

that the item is gold.

The karat quality marking tells you what proportion of gold is mixed with the other

metals. Fourteen karat (14K) jewelry contains 14 parts of gold, mixed in throughout

with 10 parts of base metal. The higher the karat rating, the higher the proportion of

gold in the piece of jewelry.

Most jewelry is marked with its karat quality, although marking is not required by

law. Near the karat quality mark, you should see the name or the U.S. registered

trademark of the company that will stand behind the mark. The trademark may be in the

form of a name, symbol or initials. If you don’t see a trademark accompanying a

quality mark on a piece of jewelry, look for another piece.

Solid gold refers to an item made of any karat gold, if the inside of the item is not

hollow. The proportion of gold in the piece of jewelry still is determined by the karat

mark.

Jewelry can be plated with gold in a variety of ways. Gold plate refers to items that

are either mechanically plated, electroplated, or plated by any other means with gold to

a base metal. Eventually, gold plating wears away, but how soon will depend on how

often the item is worn and how thick the plating is.

Gold-filled, gold overlay and rolled gold plate are terms used to describe jewelry

that has a layer of at least 10 karat gold mechanically bonded to a base metal. If the

jewelry is marked with one of these terms, the term or abbreviation should follow the

karat quality of the gold used (for example, 14K Gold Overlay or 12K RGP). If the

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Facts for Consumers

layer of karat gold is less than 1/20th of the total

weight of the item, any marking must state the

actual percentage of karat gold, such as 1/40 14K

Gold Overlay.

Gold electroplate describes jewelry that has a

layer (at least .175 microns thick) of a minimum

of 10 karat gold deposited on a base metal by an

electrolytic process. The terms gold flashed or

gold washed describe products that have an

extremely thin electroplating of gold (less than

.175 microns thick). This will wear away more

quickly than gold plate, gold-filled or gold electroplate.

Platinum, Silver and

Other Metals

Platinum is a precious metal that costs more than

gold. It usually is mixed with other similar

metals, known as the platinum group metals:

iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium and

osmium.

Different markings are used on platinum

jewelry as compared with gold jewelry, based on

the amount of pure platinum in the piece. The

quality markings for platinum are based on parts

per thousand. For example, the marking 900

Platinum means that 900 parts out of 1000 are

pure platinum, or in other words, the item is 90%

platinum and 10% other metals. The abbreviations for platinum — Plat. or Pt. — also can be

used in marking jewelry.

Items that contain at least 950 parts per thousand pure platinum can be marked simply platinum. Items that have at least 850 parts per

thousand pure platinum can be marked with the

amount of pure platinum and the word platinum

or an abbreviation (for example, 950 platinum,

900 Plat. or 850 Pt.). Jewelry that contains less

than 850 parts per thousand pure platinum, but

has a total of 950 parts per thousand of platinum

group metals (of which at least 500 parts is pure

platinum), may be marked with both the amount

of pure platinum and the amount of the other

platinum group metals in the piece. For example,

the marking 600 Plat. 350 Irid. means that the

item has 600 parts per thousand (60%) platinum,

and 350 parts per thousand (35%) iridium,

totaling 950 parts per thousand of platinum group

metals, and 50 parts per thousand (5%) other

metals.

The words silver or sterling silver describe a

product that contains 92.5% silver. Silver products sometimes may be marked 925 which means

that 925 parts per thousand are pure silver. Some

jewelry may be described as silverplate: a layer of

silver is bonded to a base metal. The mark coin

silver is used for compounds that contain 90%

silver. According to the law, quality-marked

silver also must bear the name or a U.S. registered trademark of the company or person that

will stand behind the mark.

Vermeil (ver-may), a special type of gold

plated product, consists of a base of sterling silver

that is coated or plated with gold.

Pewter items may be described and marked as

such if they contain at least 90% tin.

Gemstones

Natural gemstones are found in nature. Laboratory-created stones, as the name implies, are

made in a laboratory. These stones, which also

are referred to as laboratory-grown, [name of

manufacturer]-created, or synthetic, have essentially the same chemical, physical and visual

properties as natural gemstones. Laboratorycreated stones do not have the rarity of naturally

colored stones and they are less expensive than

naturally mined stones. By contrast, imitation

stones look like natural stones in appearance

only, and may be glass, plastic, or less costly

stones. Laboratory-created and imitation stones

should be clearly identified as such.

Gemstones may be measured by weight, size,

or both. The basic unit for weighing gemstones is

the carat, which is equal to one-fifth (1/5th) of a

gram. Carats are divided into 100 units, called

points. For example, a half-carat gemstone would

weigh .50 carats or 50 points. When gemstones

are measured by dimensions, the size is expressed

in millimeters (for example, 7x5 millimeters).

Gemstone treatments or enhancements refer

to the way some gems are treated to improve their

appearance or durability, or even change their

color. Many gemstones are treated in some way.
Facts for Consumers

The effects of some treatments may lessen or

change over time and some treated stones may

require special care. Some enhancements also

affect the value of a stone, when measured against

a comparable untreated stone.

Jewelers should tell you whether the gemstone

you’re considering has been treated when: the

treatment is not permanent; the treated stone

requires special care; or the treatment significantly affects the value of the gemstone.

Some common treatments that you may be told

about and their effects include:

• Heating can lighten, darken or change the

color of some gems, or improve a gemstone’s

clarity.

• Irradiation can add more color to colored

diamonds, certain other gemstones and pearls.

• Impregnating some gems with colorless oils,

wax or resins makes a variety of imperfections less visible and can improve the gemstones’ clarity and appearance.

• Fracture filling hides cracks or fractures in

gems by injecting colorless plastic or glass

into the cracks and improves the gemstones’

appearance and durability.

• Diffusion treatment adds color to the surface

of colorless gems; the center of the stone

remains colorless.

• Dyeing adds color and improves color uniformity in some gemstones and pearls.

• Bleaching lightens and whitens some gems,

including jade and pearls.

Diamonds

A diamond’s value is based on four criteria:

color, cut, clarity, and carat. The clarity and

color of a diamond usually are graded. However,

scales are not uniform: a clarity grade of “slightly

included” may represent a different grade on one

grading system versus another, depending on the

terms used in the scale. Make sure you know how

a particular scale and grade represent the color or

clarity of the diamond you’re considering. A

diamond can be described as “flawless” only if it

has no visible surface or internal imperfections

when viewed under 10-power magnification by a

skilled diamond grader.

As with other gems, diamond weight usually

is stated in carats. Diamond weight may be

described in decimal or fractional parts of a carat.

If the weight is given in decimal parts of a carat,

the figure should be accurate to the last decimal

place. For example, “.30 carat” could represent a

diamond that weighs between .295 - .304 carat.

Some retailers describe diamond weight in fractions and use the fraction to represent a range of

weights. For example, a diamond described as 1⁄2

carat could weigh between .47 - .54 carat. If

diamond weight is stated as fractional parts of a

carat, the retailer should disclose two things: that

the weight is not exact, and the reasonable range

of weight for each fraction or the weight tolerance

being used.

Some diamonds may be treated to improve

their appearance in similar ways as other gemstones. Since these treatments improve the clarity

of the diamond, some jewelers refer to them as

clarity enhancement. One type of treatment —

fracture filling — conceals cracks in diamonds

by filling them with a foreign substance. This

filling may not be permanent and jewelers should

tell you if the diamond you’re considering has

been fracture-filled.

Another treatment — lasering — involves the

use of a laser beam to improve the appearance of

diamonds that have black inclusions or spots. A

laser beam is aimed at the inclusion. Acid is then

forced through a tiny tunnel made by the laser

beam to remove the inclusion. Lasering is permanent and a laser-drilled stone does not require

special care.

While a laser-drilled diamond may appear as

beautiful as a comparable untreated stone, it may

not be as valuable. That’s because an untreated

stone of the same quality is rarer and therefore

more valuable. Jewelers should tell you whether

the diamond you’re considering has been laserdrilled.

Imitation diamonds, such as cubic zirconia,

resemble diamonds in appearance but are much

less costly. Certain laboratory-created gemstones,

such as lab-created moissanite, also resemble

diamonds and may not be adequately detected by

the instruments originally used to identify cubic

zirconia. Ask your jeweler if he has the current

testing equipment to distinguish between diamonds and other lab-created stones.
April 2001

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Facts for Consumers

Pearls

Natural or real pearls are made by oysters and

other mollusks. Cultured pearls also are grown

by mollusks, but with human intervention; that is,

an irritant introduced into the shells causes a pearl

to grow. Imitation pearls are man-made with

glass, plastic, or organic materials.

Because natural pearls are very rare, most

pearls used in jewelry are either cultured or

imitation pearls. Cultured pearls, because they are

made by oysters or mollusks, usually are more

expensive than imitation pearls. A cultured pearl’s

value is largely based on its size, usually stated in

millimeters, and the quality of its nacre coating,

which gives it luster. Jewelers should tell you if

the pearls are cultured or imitation.

Some black, bronze, gold, purple, blue and

orange pearls, whether natural or cultured, occur

that way in nature; some, however, are dyed

through various processes. Jewelers should tell

you whether the colored pearls are naturally

colored, dyed or irradiated.

A Jewelry Shopper’s Checklist

When you’re in the market for a piece

of jewelry for yourself or someone

you love, shop around. Compare

quality, price, and service. If you’re

not familiar with any jewelers in your

area, ask family members, friends, and

co-workers for recommendations. You also should:

• Ask for the store’s refund and return policy

before you buy.

• Check for the appropriate markings on metal

jewelry.

• Ask whether the pearls are natural, cultured,

or imitation.

• Ask whether a gemstone is natural,

laboratory-created, or imitation.

• Ask whether the gemstone has been treated. Is

the change permanent? Is special care required?

• Make sure the jeweler writes on the sales

receipt any information you relied on when

making your purchase, such as the gem’s

weight or size. Some jewelers also may

supply a grading report from a gemological

laboratory.

In addition, these tips apply when you’re

shopping for jewelry online:

• Shop with companies you know or do some

homework before buying to make sure a

company is legitimate before doing business

with it.

• Get the details about the product, as well as

the merchant’s refund and return policies,

before you buy.

• Look for an address to write to or a phone

number to call if you have a question, a

problem or need help.

For More Information

If you have a problem with the jewelry you

purchased, first try to resolve it with the jeweler.

If you are dissatisfied with the response, contact

your local Better Business Bureau or local consumer protection agency. You also may contact

the Jewelers Vigilance Committee’s Alternative

Dispute Resolution Service. This program assists

consumers and businesses in resolving disputes

about jewelry. The Jewelers Vigilance Committee

(JVC) is an independent, non-profit organization

formed to advance ethical practices in the jewelry

industry. You may contact the JVC by mail:

25 West 45th Street, Suite 400, New York, NY

10036-4902, or by phone: 212-997-2002.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent

fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices

in the marketplace and to provide information to

help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file

a complaint or to get free information on consumer

issues, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-

4357), or use the complaint form at www.ftc.gov.

The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity

theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available

to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement

agencies in the U.S. and abroad.