lab SERVICES

Retailers and manufacturers are faced with the challenge of offering competitively priced fine and fashion jewelry that meet all federal regulations regarding metal content and stamping, material identification and treatment disclosures, and which are free of hazardous toxins or known allergens.

In today's marketplace, where the majority of the commercial quality products are manufactured overseas in an environment with increasing material and labor costs combined with lax regulations and spotty quality control, the resulting products are created in an environment where cutting corners and substituting cheaper materials in place of those represented is on the rise.

The Challenge

Meeting consumers' expectations while facing these manufacturing challenges has introduced a number of serious challenges into the jewelry supply chain:

• under-karated metals and irregular alloys
• base metal jewelry with false precious metal hallmarks
• new plating materials that contain harmful elements
• platings that mask underlying hazardous metals
• items labeled hypoallergenic with known allergens
• diamonds that fail to meet stated minimums with respect to quality and carat weight
• incorrect gem identification
• undisclosed gemstone treatments

Manufacturers, suppliers and retailers are required to comply with Federal Trade Commission regulations regarding use of the word ‘gold’, 'silver', 'vermeil', etc. to describe products and with the National Gold and Silver Stamping Act. Misuse of these terms and marks could result in substantial fines.

The Solution

In response to the needs of retailers and manufacturers, our quality assurance precious metal and gemstone testing for fine and fashion jewelry include both specialized services to meet specific needs and testing services to assess if your products meet required governmental regulations and industry standards.

Instituting a system of testing fine and fashion jewelry offers retailers and manufacturers the best means to eliminate fraud and ensure their products are properly marked and compliant with required regulations.

This solution is designed to help retailers safeguard their precious metal and gemstone assets and preserve the authenticity of their jewelry supply chain.

Read about GCAL's screening services for undisclosed lab grown diamond detection