Investigation finds hazardous metals in some jewellery advertised as sterling silver

Technology · First reported 3 Nov, 01:49 · Updated 02:31

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Fikkar Bonggi · CC BY-SA 4.0

A BBC investigation tested 25 pieces of jewellery advertised as sterling silver on online marketplaces. Experts found illegal cadmium levels in eight items, and only two met the standard for sterling silver; a separate necklace tested for the investigation contained nickel. (e5be8639-830b-4406-9393-c695466a33fc; 76f9ba0f-61e2-4d94-9b15-e3482c72a003)

Experts tested 25 pieces of jewellery bought from Amazon, eBay, Temu, Etsy and OnBuy; eight had illegal levels of cadmium, and only two could be classified as sterling silver.
A necklace bought on Etsy and advertised as handmade sterling silver was found to contain nickel; the wearer reported neck irritation.
Amazon, eBay, Temu and OnBuy said they had removed jewellery identified by the investigation; Etsy did not respond to the BBC.

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Key facts

Items tested: 25 pieces of jewellery (76f9ba0f-61e2-4d94-9b15-e3482c72a003; e5be8639-830b-4406-9393-c695466a33fc)
Items with illegal cadmium levels: 8 (76f9ba0f-61e2-4d94-9b15-e3482c72a003; e5be8639-830b-4406-9393-c695466a33fc)
Items classified as sterling silver: 2 (76f9ba0f-61e2-4d94-9b15-e3482c72a003; e5be8639-830b-4406-9393-c695466a33fc)
Stated legal cadmium limit: 0.01 per cent (76f9ba0f-61e2-4d94-9b15-e3482c72a003)
Marketplaces named in the investigation: Amazon, eBay, Temu, Etsy and OnBuy (76f9ba0f-61e2-4d94-9b15-e3482c72a003; e5be8639-830b-4406-9393-c695466a33fc)