Jewellery, both made of precious and non-precious metals, are subject to various regulations, substances restrictions, labelling, and testing requirements in the United Kingdom. For example, jewellery may contain excessive amounts of lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals.
In this guide, we take a closer look at General Product Safety Regulations 2005, REACH, the Hallmarking Act 1973, and other compliance requirements for jewellery sold in UK.
Note: This article does not cover requirements for Northern Ireland, which is generally aligned with EU product safety requirements.
Content Overview
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The General Product Safety Regulations 2005
The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 establish safety requirements for consumer products, including jewellery.
Producers – such as manufacturers and brands – should:
a. Ensure that their jewellery is safe for consumers to use
b. Provide consumers with instructions and warnings that are specific to jewellery
c. Affix permanent traceability information onto the product or its packaging
Referenced standards
If referenced standards for your product exist under The General Product Safety Regulations 2005, you should comply with those standards to satisfy the regulatory requirements. However, we could not find any referenced standards for jewellery.
In cases like this, where referenced standards for your product do not exist, you can use other standards to ensure your product complies with the requirements. We list some examples of such standards in the next section.
Documentation
This section lists the documentation requirements from the regulations.
| Title | Description |
| Instructions | Instructions for the product’s use and disposal should accompany the product. Note that some standards may set requirements for the provision of instructions. |
| Register of complaints | If necessary, you should retain a register of complaints regarding the safety of the product – for instance, if you receive safety complaints about the product from consumers. |
| Test report | The regulations state that you should, where reasonable, conduct sample testing to prove product safety.
If your product passes testing, you should receive a report that indicates your product has complied with the regulatory requirements. |
Labelling requirements
This section lists the labelling requirements established by the regulations.
| Title | Description |
| Traceability information | You should provide the following information on the product or its packaging:
|
| Warnings | You should also provide product-specific warnings with your jewellery, if necessary. |
Standards for jewellery
The BSI Group website lists standards relevant to jewellery. Here are some examples:
BS ISO 21261-3 – Jewellery and precious metals – Responsible precious metals – Part 3: Requirements for recycled gold
BS ISO 10713 – Jewellery and precious metals – Gold alloy coatings
BS ISO 19919 – Jewellery and precious metals — Determination of silver — ICP-OES method using an internal standard element
Most of the standards that we could find concern the determination of certain precious metals (e.g. gold, palladium).
However, we could not find safety standards specific to jewellery. That being said, standards intended for other products can still be applied in part. For example, you could use the following toy standards to determine the mechanical and chemical safety of children’s jewellery, or even adult jewellery:
BS EN 71-1 – Safety of toys – Part 1: Mechanical and physical properties
BS EN 71-3 – Safety of toys – Migration of certain elements
Hallmarking Act 1973
The Hallmarking Act 1973 establishes requirements for determining the content of precious metals in jewellery, and for marking products containing precious metals.
A hallmark is a mandatory collection of marks applied by an Assay Office to certify the purity of precious metals above a certain weight. It is important because it allows buyers to have confidence in the claims made by the sellers, concerning the content of precious metals.
Covered materials
The Hallmarking Act 1973 applies to jewellery containing at least one of the following precious metals:
a. Gold, weighing a minimum of 1 gram
b. Silver, weighing a minimum of 7.78 grams
c. Platinum, weighing a minimum of 0.5 grams
d. Palladium, weighing a minimum of 1 gram
Marking requirements
UK hallmark
The UK hallmark needs to contain the following three compulsory marks:
a. The sponsor’s mark – which specifies who submitted the product for hallmarking
b. The metal fineness mark – which specifies the content of the precious metal in the product, in parts per thousand (e.g. the fineness mark for 9-carat gold is 375, meaning 375 parts gold per 1000)
c. The Assay office town mark – which specifies the location where the product was hallmarked
The UK hallmark may, additionally, contain the following two optional marks:
a. The date letter – which specifies the date on which the article was hallmarked
b. The traditional fineness symbol – which depicts the metal in the product
Convention mark
The UK is a signatory of the International Convention on Hallmarking. As such, products that include a mark from any member countries, can be sold in the UK without the need for a UK hallmark.
Assays Office
Assay Offices are responsible for:
a. Subjecting the product to independent testing
b. Verifying that the product matches its description
c. Ensuring and verifying that the product complies with standards of metal purity or fineness
The UK’s guidance page for hallmarking lists the following four Assay Offices:
- Birmingham Assay Office
- Edinburgh Assay Office
- London Assay Office
- Sheffield Assay Office
REACH Regulation (EC) 1907/2006
The REACH Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 sets substance restrictions for consumer products, including jewellery. The REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008 establish requirements for enforcing the REACH Regulation (EC) 1907/2006.
This UK version of the regulation is based on the EU REACH Regulation, but there may be some differences between the two versions in terms of restricted substances and the exact limits.
Restricted Substances (Annex XVII)
Annex XVII lists substances that may be restricted in all articles, or only in certain product categories, such as jewellery. Here are some examples of substances restricted in jewellery:
a. Cadmium – restricted to 0.01% by weight in items such as:
- Metal components
- Metal parts of jewellery (including imitation jewellery)
- Bracelets
- Necklaces
- Rings
- Piercings
b. Lead – restricted to 0.05% by weight in jewellery
c. Nickel – prohibited in jewellery if the rate of release into the skin exceeds 0.5 μg/cm2 per week (or 0.2 μg/cm2 per week, for parts that are inserted under the skin)
Note that some substances – such as some phthalates – are restricted in articles in general. Therefore, such restrictions also apply to jewellery.
UK REACH Candidate List
The UK REACH Candidate List comprises substances of very high concern (SVHCs), that is substances that are deemed dangerous for human health and the environment. You need to notify the Health and Safety Executive if your jewellery contains more than 0.1% of a substance on this list.
Here are some examples of listed substances that may be present in jewellery components:
- Some phthalates – May be found in plastic components
- Chromium IV – May be found in the protective coating of jewellery
Recalls and compliance risks
Jewellery may pose hazards as, for example, it may contain substances that could leach into the environment and human body, harming one’s health. Excessive exposure to certain substances could result in increased chances of getting cancer, for instance.
The UK’s Product Safety Alerts, Reports and Recalls page features many examples of jewellery recalled for violating the requirements of the REACH Regulation (EC) 1907/2006. Here are some examples:
a. Themed jewellery set – recalled for excess cadmium
b. Cord bracelet – recalled for excess cadmium, lead, and nickel
c. Beaded bracelet – recalled for excess lead
d. Belly bar (belly button piercing) – recalled for excess nickel
Lab Testing
You should get your jewellery tested to prove compliance with relevant regulations and standards. For example, for jewellery it is especially important to ensure that the products do not contain restricted substances above the permitted limits.
If your product passes testing, the laboratory should provide you with a test report proving compliance with the requirements.
Jewellery lab testing companies
This section lists some companies that claim to test jewellery against the requirements of UK regulations, such as REACH Regulation (EC) 1907/2006:
- Intertek
- TÜV SÜD
- SGS
Additional Requirements
This section lists additional regulations that may affect jewellery.
| Regulation | Description |
| The Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 | These regulations cover toys and children’s products with “play value”. This could also include jewellery that has some play features, such as jewellery design kits for children.
These regulations set requirements such as:
|
| Textile Labelling and Fibre Composition Regulation (EU) 1007/2011 | This regulation sets labelling requirements for products that contain textiles. We could not find any exemption for jewellery. Generally, products that contain at least 80% by weight of textiles should comply with this regulation’s labelling requirements regarding fibre content.
Additionally, textile products that are made with non-textile parts of animal origin – such as leather – should bear the phrase “Contains non-textile parts of animal origin” on either the labelling or marking. The Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012 set requirements for enforcing the Textile Labelling and Fibre Composition Regulation (EU) 1007/2011 |
| Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 | This regulation sets restrictions on POPs and products containing POPs. For example, plastic components of jewellery may contain listed POPs, such as Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
You should test your product to make sure that it does not contain restricted POPs above the limits. The Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulations 2007 sets requirements for enforcing the Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation (EU) 2019/1021. |
