Lead In Jewelry

The California Department of Public Health maintains a list of accredited laboratories at http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/labs/Pages/ELAP.aspx. You can contact a lab near you and request cost information for conducting EPA Methods 3050B or 3051 to verify compliance with the Lead-Containing Jewelry Law. Since lead limits vary depending on the type of jewelry component, each component type must be tested and analyzed separately. For children’s jewelry, any glass or crystal decorative components beyond one gram must be <0.02% (200 ppm) lead by weight with no intentionally added lead. The price of testing may vary depending on how many jewelry components and the complexity of the components you have tested; laboratories can give you pricing information.

Although the law does not specifically require a person to conduct compliance testing, the only way to know for certain if an item is in compliance with the law is to have it analyzed by a laboratory using the methods specified in the law (EPA Methods 3050B or 3051).  DTSC highly encourages businesses to obtain certificates of compliance and other detailed information about the composition of materials purchased from jewelry component suppliers.  The law specifies various factors that will be considered when assessing penalties for violations including whether good faith measures were taken to comply with the law and the time these measures were taken.

Currently, the law does not make a distinction between new and vintage jewelry. However, EPA Methods 3050B and 3051 are destructive testing methods, therefore, jewelry cannot be salvaged after testing is conducted using these methods. DTSC acknowledges that it is not feasible to test one-of-a-kind vintage jewelry items using these destructive test methods. Since these older jewelry items were made prior to any awareness about the harmful properties of lead and they were produced on virtually a “one-of-a-kind” basis, DTSC is currently focusing its limited enforcement resources on primarily new and mass-produced jewelry.

However, as mentioned in the previous question, the only way to know for certain if an item is in compliance with the law is to have it analyzed by a laboratory using the methods specified in the law (EPA Methods 3050B or 3051).  Some laboratories may be able to screen your jewelry without destroying it by using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers.  XRF screening results can provide you with an estimate of the amount of lead and other constituents in your jewelry.  However, since XRF results are only estimates, they may not necessarily agree with laboratory results using EPA Methods 3050B or 3051.

Vintage jewelry, like all jewelry --regardless of its lead content--should be stored in areas away from children.  Children should also be monitored to ensure they do not put jewelry in their mouths.

Copper and bronze would fall under Class 2 materials for adult jewelry.  For purposes of complying with the law, requirements referring to metal include metal alloys, so the percentage of lead allowed in adult jewelry would depend on whether the copper or bronze is electroplated or unplated.  Metallic materials used in children's jewelry must be either a Class 1 material or <0.06% lead by weight. 

DTSC strongly encourages you to check with your suppliers and obtain certificates of compliance and other detailed information about the composition of the materials you purchase from them. 

The law does not further specify or give examples of what is meant by “decorated hair accessories”.  However, at this time, DTSC is focusing its enforcement efforts on hair accessories that are decorated with colored coatings and added decorations and/or shaped in a decorative manner (e.g., hearts, bows).

The requirements under the Lead-Containing Jewelry Law are completely separate from “Proposition 65” warning requirements.  Complying with the Proposition 65 warning requirements does not relieve you of complying with the requirements in the Lead-Containing Jewelry Law.  The Lead-Containing Jewelry Law places limitations on the amount of lead that can be present in jewelry, but does not specify any warning requirements.  You may still be responsible for warning requirements under Proposition 65 if you sell jewelry containing lead and/or other chemicals listed under Proposition 65.  To find out if your business must comply with the warning requirements under Proposition 65, please visit the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s Proposition 65 Web page at http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65.html.

The law defines body piercing jewelry as “any part of jewelry that is manufactured or sold for placement in a new piercing or a mucous membrane, but does not include any part of that jewelry that is not placed within a new piercing or a mucous membrane”. Beginning March 1, 2008, a person shall not manufacture, ship, sell, or offer for sale body piercing jewelry—the part of the jewelry that is placed directly within the new piercing or mucous membrane—for retail sale in California unless the body piercing jewelry is made up entirely of one or more of the following materials:

·      Surgical implant stainless steel

·      Surgical implant grade of titanium

·      Niobium (Nb)

·      Solid 14 karat or higher white or yellow nickel-free gold

·      Solid platinum

·      A dense low-porosity plastic, including, but not limited to, Tygon or Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), if the plastic contains no intentionally added lead.

DTSC will be focusing its enforcement resources on whether the materials used for new piercings or mucous membranes contain detectable levels of lead.

Jewelry that is not placed directly within a new piercing or mucous membrane, such as a bead on a belly button ring, must meet the requirements specified for other “jewelry”. Therefore, for adult jewelry, any components of the body piercing jewelry not placed within a new piercing or mucous membrane must be made entirely from a Class 1, Class 2, or Class 3 material, or any combination of these three classes of materials. Any jewelry made for children ages six and under that is not placed directly within a new piercing or mucous membrane, such as any component attached to a starter earring stud that does not go directly through the piercing, must meet the requirements for “children's jewelry,” as defined by the law.

 Glass and crystal decorative components used in adult jewelry are considered Class 1 materials.  There are no lead limits for Class 1 materials used for adult jewelry. Therefore, the use of leaded crystal, including Swarovski crystal, may be used in adult jewelry. 

The use of crystal or glass decorative components in children’s jewelry is limited to a total of 1 gram. However, the law specifies that glass or crystal decorative components that contain less than 0.02% (200 ppm) lead by weight and have no intentionally added lead are not part of the 1 gram calculation. In other words, the use of Swarovski crystal (or any other crystal 0.02% (200 ppm) or higher in lead) in children's jewelry is limited to 1 gram total. Crystal or glass components containing less than 0.02% (200 ppm) lead by weight with no intentionally added lead may be used in children's jewelry without any weight limitations.

 Yes, the law applies to anyone who manufactures, ships, sells, or offers for sale jewelry for retail sale in California, including online establishments.