[Jewelry making - Article 00857] - Re: [Orchid] FTC guidelines

[Rick Hamilton]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

    I'd be curious as to which way roller patterned wire would be
    viewed. Seamless tubing might also be out, but hand drawn tubing
    would be fine. I'd also assume that castings made from hand carved
    wax originals would also be fine, but not the reproductions made from
    molds. If you control the process directly it is fine, if the machine
    does it without your direct control, it is not hand made. 

    My understanding of this is that using any kind of production cast
    or die struck parts or findings would negate the handmade label. In
    order to qualify as handmade, in a jewelry item, the cutting or
    forming tools are hand directed, and all the parts are cut and formed
    by hand labor. All of the findings and bezels, heads and other parts
    would all have to be hand formed. A powered hand piece would be fine,
    an engraving machine or hydraulic press or mass finishing would be a
    no no. A kick press might be fine. A piece that was formed with hand
    controlled tools, but not necessarily hand powered tools should be
    fine. I would guess that parts made on a spinning lathe would also
    qualify a piece as hand made since all the forming is done with hand
    pressure. 

    Certainly a lot of the jewelry on Etsy would not qualify as
    handmade. 

    From the FTC: 

    "(a) It is unfair or deceptive to represent, directly or by
    implication, that any industry product is hand-made or hand-wrought
    unless the entire shaping and forming of such product from raw
    materials and its finishing and decoration were accomplished by hand
    labor and manually-controlled methods which permit the maker to
    control and vary the construction, shape, design, and finish of each
    part of each individual product. 

    Note to paragraph(a): As used herein, "raw materials" include bulk
    sheet, strip, wire, and similar items that have NOT been cut, shaped,
    or formed into jewelry parts, semi-finished parts, or blanks. 

    (b) It is unfair or deceptive to represent, directly or by
    implication, that any industry product is hand-forged, hand-engraved,
    hand-finished, or hand-polished, or has been otherwise hand-
processed,
    unless the operation described was accomplished by hand labor and
    manually-controlled methods which permit the maker to control and
    vary the type, amount, and effect of such operation on each part of
    each individual product."

Rick Hamilton
____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________