FTC FACTS for Consumers

FOR THE CONSUMER 1-877-FTC-HELP

ftc.gov FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

All That Glitters... 

How to Buy Jewelry

B uying jewelry can be fun and exciting ... and it can be expensive. 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 so you can get the 

best quality and value, regardless of whether you’re shopping in a traditional 

brick-and-mortar store, by catalog or online. 

Gold

When used by itself, the word gold 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, a symbol or initials. If you want to buy gold jewelry and you 

don’t see a trademark accompanying a quality mark on a piece, don’t buy it.

Solid gold refers to an item made of any karat gold where the inside of the item is 
Facts for Consumers

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 mechanically plated, electroplated 

or plated with gold to a base metal some 

other way. Eventually, gold plating wears 

away, but how soon depends on how often 

the item is worn and how thick the 

plating is.

Gold-filled, gold overlay and rolled gold 

plate describe jewelry that has a layer of 

at least 10 karat gold mechanically bonded 

to a base metal. If the item 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 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, for example, 

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

Platinum usually is mixed with similar 

metals or non-precious base metals. The 

value of a platinum piece of jewelry often 

depends on the percentage of platinum it 

contains: the higher the percentage of pure 

platinum, the higher the value. No platinum jewelry is 100 percent pure platinum. 

Traditionally, platinum jewelry contained 

85 to 95 percent pure platinum alloyed 

with other precious platinum group metals 

that include iridium, palladium, ruthenium, 

rhodium and osmium. In recent years, 

some platinum pieces have been alloyed 

with a larger percentage of non-precious 

base metals like copper and cobalt

Ask your jeweler about the attributes of 

any piece of platinum jewelry you’re considering buying to give you an idea of the 

piece’s quality and value for the cost. Find 

out if the item is hypoallergenic, durable, 

lustrous, dense, scratch and tarnish resistant, if it can be resized or repaired and 

if it retains the precious metal over time. 

Marketers should tell you if a platinum/

base metal alloy item does not have these 

attributes.

Marketers describe or mark platinum in 

terms of the percentage of pure platinum in the piece. If an item is marked 

or described as platinum without any 

qualification, it has at least 95 percent 

pure platinum.

Pieces that are 85 percent platinum (850 

parts per thousand) contain 15 percent 

other metals, either precious platinum 

group metals and/or base metals. Look 

for the amount of pure platinum and the 

word “platinum” or an abbreviation for 

the word. For instance, 850Plat. means an 

item is 85 percent pure platinum.

 For items containing between 50 and 

85 percent (850 parts per thousand) pure 

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Facts for Consumers

platinum combined with other platinum 

group metals, marketers should state the 

amount of pure platinum and the amount of 

other platinum group metals. For example, 

800 Pt. 200 Pd. means an item is 80 percent pure platinum, 20 percent palladium. 

Platinum jewelry alloyed with 15 to 50 

percent non-precious or base metals also 

may bear a “platinum” label. These platinum/base metal alloys contain from 50 to 

85 percent (850 parts per thousand) pure 

platinum but the total of pure platinum and 

other platinum group metals is less than 

95 percent of the item. For these pieces, 

marketers should state the amounts of pure 

platinum and other metals in the piece 

using the full name of each metal and the 

percentage of each metal in the piece: 

No abbreviations or “parts per thousand” 

should be used in advertising. For example, 75% Platinum 25% Copper means the 

piece has 75 percent pure platinum and 25 

percent copper.

Any item that’s less than 50 percent (500 

parts per thousand) pure platinum should 

not be marked or labeled as “platinum.”

Silver and Other Metals

The words ‘silver’ or ‘sterling silver’ describe a product that contains 92.5 percent 

silver. Silver products sometimes may be 

marked 925, which means that 925 parts 

per thousand are pure silver. Some jewelry 

described as ‘silverplate’ has a layer of 

silver bonded to a base metal. ‘Coin silver’ 

is used for compounds that contain 90 percent silver. According to the law, qualitymarked silver also must bear the name or a 

U.S. registered trademark of the company 

or person that will stand behind the mark.

Vermeil, 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 

percent tin. 

Gemstones

There are natural gemstones, and there 

are laboratory-created stones. Laboratorycreated stones, which also are referred 

to as laboratory-grown, [name of 

manufacturer]-created or synthetic, have 

the same chemical, physical and visual 

properties as natural gemstones, but they 

aren’t as rare and often, are less expensive. By contrast, imitation stones look like 

natural stones, but 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 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. The effects of 

some treatments may lessen or change over 

time and some treated stones may require 

special care. Some enhancements also 

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Facts for Consumers

affect the value of a stone when measured 

against a comparable untreated stone.

A jeweler should tell you whether the gemstone you’re looking at has been treated if 

the treatment isn’t permanent; the treated 

stone requires special care; or the treatment significantly affects the value of the 

gemstone. Some common treatments and 

their effects include: 

Heating, which can lighten, darken or 

change the color of some gems, or 

improve a gemstone’s clarity. 

Irradiation, which can add color to 

colored diamonds, certain other gemstones and pearls. 

Impregnating some gems with colorless oils, wax or resins, which hides a 

variety of imperfections to improve the 

gemstones’ clarity and appearance. 

Fracture filling, which hides cracks in 

gems through an injection of colorless 

plastic or glass into cracks to improve the gemstones’ appearance and 

durability. 

Diffusion treatment, which adds color 

to the surface of colorless gems; the 

center of the stone remains colorless. 

Dyeing, which adds color and improves 

color uniformity in some gemstones 

and pearls. 

Bleaching, which 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, but scales are not uniform. 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.

Diamond weight usually is stated in carats and 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 and .304 carat. Some retailers describe diamond weight in fractions, 

using the fraction to represent a range of 

weights: A diamond described as 1/2 carat 

could weigh between .47 and .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, like other gemstones, 

may be treated to improve their appearance. Since these treatments improve the 

clarity of the diamond, some jewelers 

refer to them as clarity enhancement. 

Fracture filling, for example, 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.

Lasering is a treatment that 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 forced through 

the tiny tunnel made by the laser beam 

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Facts for Consumers

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. Jewelers should tell you 

whether the diamond you’re considering 

has been laser-drilled.

Imitation diamonds, such as cubic zirconia, resemble diamonds in appearance but 

cost much less. Certain laboratory-created 

gemstones like moissanite 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 lab-created 

stones. 

Pearls

Natural pearls are made by oysters and 

other mollusks. Cultured pearls also are 

grown by mollusks, but with human intervention: an irritant introduced into the 

shells causes a pearl to grow. Imitation 

pearls are man-made with glass, plastic or 

organic materials.

Natural pearls are very rare, so most 

pearls used in jewelry either are cultured 

or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls usually 

are more expensive than imitation pearls. 

A cultured pearl’s value generally is 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 

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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.

For More Information

If you have a problem with the jewelry 

you purchased, try to resolve it with the 

jeweler first. If you’re not satisfied, contact your local Better Business Bureau, 

local consumer protection agency or 

the Jewelers Vigilance Committee’s 

Alternative Dispute Resolution Service. 

This program helps consumers and businesses resolve disputes about jewelry. 

The Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) 

is an independent, non-profit organization formed to advance ethical practices 

in the jewelry industry. Reach them by 

mail at 25 West 45th Street, Suite 1406, 

New York, NY 10036-4902 or by phone: 

212-997-2002.

The FTC works 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 get 

free information on consumer issues, visit 

ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP 

(1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261.

Watch a video, How to File a Complaint,

at ftc.gov/video to learn more. The FTC 

enters consumer complaints into the 

Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by 

hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
Facts for Consumers

1-877-FTC-HELP FOR THE CONSUMER

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ftc.gov

February 2011

Federal Trade Commission

Bureau of Consumer Protection

Division of Consumer and Business Education

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 reputable brickand-mortar jewelers in your area, ask family members, friends or co-workers for recommendations. At the store: 

 Ask about the 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, whether the change is permanent and 

whether special care is required. 

 Make sure your sales receipt includes any information you relied on when making 

your purchase, like the gem’s weight or size. Some jewelers may give you a grading report from a gemological laboratory. 

If you are planning to shop for jewelry online: 

 Shop with companies you know or do some homework before you buy to make 

sure a company is legitimate. You might check a reputation by entering the outlet’s name and the word ‘complaints’ before giving them your business.

 Get the details about the product, as well as the merchant’s refund and return policies, before you buy. 

 Look for a street address to write to or a phone number to call if you have a question, a problem or need help. Call the number to test. You may want to know if 

the seller is in another country.