Jewelry Making

So everyone knows about the dangers of lead in children’s toys and other items being talked about in the news lately. Well, if you make jewelry for a living or as a hobby you might not have thought about the possibility that your jewelry might also contain certain amounts of lead.

It’s used sometimes in base metals in order to make them more pliable and to give base metal a heavier feel. It’s also cheaper than other metals like zinc, and may also be used as a stabilizer in plastic.

I don’t think ethical jewelry makers (especially the ones making hand-made, one of a kind jewelry) are going to be using any of those materials on purpose. But in any case, it’s probably a good idea to keep tabs on what materials you’re using and where you’re buying them from. Also, if you live in California, there’s actually a newer law called the Lead-Containing Jewelry Law) that was enacted to limit lead in jewelry - especially children’s jewerly and body piercing jewelry.

We actually found out about the law because our yearly Board of Equalization tax package included a little insert that talked about it. The website for the California Dept of Toxic Substances Control has more information about the dangers of lead and what materials can or cannot be used in jewelry made for sale.

It’s probably a good idea to check and see where your raw materials for jewelry are coming from - if you buy from a store or wholesaler, they might be able to tell you whether or not their materials are imported or not and whether or not they are known to have significant amounts of lead in them. However, as the DTSC says, it can be difficult to confirm that claims of “lead-free” jewelry materials and items are actually true - so just be careful.

Source: California Dept of Toxic Substances Control