[Jewelry making - Article 00674] - [Orchid] FTC Jewelry guide, misleading and deceptive practices

[Lee Einer]

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    Hi, all- Whilst drinking my morning coffee, I reviewed the FTC
    Jewelry Guides, with the comments as posted in the Federal Register.
    I highly recommend reviewing the Guide comments for two reasons;
    first, they provide an explanation of the background, the industry
    input considered, and the rationale for specific rules published in
    the body of the guide. Thus, they provide context. Second, I know
    that some on this list feel that the FTC rules are arbitrary,
    capricious, bureaucratic governmental gobbledygoo, but a read of the
    comments will demonstrate that the current rules were developed
    based on a proposal from the JVC, with extensive input from trade
    organizations such as AGTA and the GIA, as well as input from those
    individual businesses which cared to comment on the proposal. The
    intent of the Guides is to protect both consumers and honest
    businesses. 

    You can read the rule with comments here- 

    http://www.gemscape.com/html/ftcguide.htm 

    All that being said, I am pretty much at wit's end with all of the
    marketing I am seeing that is misleading and deceptive according to
    the guide. One practice which is ubiquitous is the selling of
    strung, mass-produced gemstone and silver beads as "handmade." or
    even "handmade by the artist." My assumption is that this is most
    often done in good faith by beaders who are proud of their work
    (justifiably, I am not bashing, here) but unaware of the legal
    meaning of the term, and who want to identify the fact that they
    created the finished product in question. Still, AFAIK, if the item
    in question is wholly or partially composed of gemstones,  precious
    metal, or an alloy or imitation thereof, then the restrictions of
    the Guides apply. Therefore, it is misleading and deceptive for the
    finished product to be sold as "handmade" if the finished piece is
    composed of pre-formed pieces rather than being hand-fashioned from
    raw materials such as sheet, wire or ingot. 

    Why do I care? Because I start with slabs and chunks of stone, and
    metal sheet and wire. I cut and grind, saw and hammer, heat and
    quench. And I have a fair amount of time invested in my finished
    pieces. My work is truly handmade, and that label, accurately
    applied, has a market value. That value is diluted when it is
    misapplied to products which are not handmade. Thus, it is not only
    the consumer but myself and all others who make and sell handmade
    work who suffer injury when the term is applied in a misleading or
    deceptive fashion.  So when I find myself selling at the same show
    with someone who describes their work as handmade, but who's
    involvement with the finished piece is limited to the aesthetic
    decision of which beads and findings to string, and the subsequent
    assemblage of those beads and findings on a strand of tigertail, I
    feel that their competition is unfair. Accurate verbiage, such as
    "designed and assembled by" would be welcomed. 

    Then on another level entirely are the delibarate and outright
    liars, those who knowingly sell lab-created stones not as imitation
    or synthetic but as "genuine," and those who sell purchased,
    mass-produced items as their own handmade work. 

    They are everywhere. 

    So what is to be done? Obviously, the FTC is not adequately staffed
    to go from show to show and storefront to storefront to enforce
    compliance; they depend on the consumer, and on us, to file
    complaints when the rules are not being followed. But the consumer
    is generally unaware of the legalities, and we are generally not
    taking the responsibility to ensure that these misleading and
    deceptive practices are addressed. 

    If we don't take action against widespread, misleading and deceptive
    practices in our industry, we have it coming when the industry is
    depicted as dishonest and unethical. What is the right thing for us
    to do? 

Lee Einer
Dos Manos Jewelry
http://www.dosmanosjewelry.com


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