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BusinessQuiet 8d · day 8

BBC investigation finds fake sterling silver jewellery on Amazon, Temu laced with carcinogenic cadmium

Lab analysis of 25 items from online marketplaces revealed 8 exceeded legal cadmium limits; only 2 qualified as genuine sterling silver.

newest coverage 7d agosummary written 8d ago8 pieces11 likes & upvotes NewswiresMastodonGoogle News

What to know

  • Eight of 25 jewellery items tested contained illegal cadmium levels (up to 10%), a carcinogen linked to lung cancer; only two qualified as genuine sterling silver.
  • Cheap items from Amazon (3), Temu (3), OnBuy (1) and Etsy (1) exceeded cadmium limits; nickel contamination caused skin irritation in a customer who bought from Etsy.
  • Amazon, eBay, Temu and OnBuy removed the identified items and said misleading listings were prohibited; Etsy did not respond; selling fake sterling silver violates the Hallmarking Act.
  • The products—some priced at £1.55–£1.99—looked legitimate with 925 hallmarks but posed ingestion and inhalation risks to consumers.

“I remember looking at it as I took it off and thinking the colour on this doesn't look right.”

Meranda, Customer · BBC News ↗

Meranda CustomerSophie Langley Lead analyst, Sheffield Assay OfficeRob Chilcott Retired professor of toxicologyAmazon Online marketplaceTemu Online marketplaceBBC Watchdog Consumer investigation programme

BBC investigation finds fake sterling silver jewellery on Amazon, Temu laced with carcinogenic cadmium
bbc.co.uk

How it unfolded 0 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump

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Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6Nov 7Nov 8Nov 9yesterdaynow · 5:43 AM ET
  1. background

    Amazon, eBay, Temu and OnBuy remove jewellery; Etsy silent — Amazon, eBay, Temu and OnBuy stated that misleading listings were prohibited and that they had removed the jewellery identified by Watchdog. Amazon issued recall notices for unsafe products. Etsy did not respond to the BBC. Temu said it arranged testing of similar products to identify risks.

  2. background

    Customer Meranda reports skin irritation from Etsy necklace — After wearing a necklace advertised as handmade sterling silver for a few days, Meranda's neck became irritated. Testing revealed the necklace contained nickel at concentrations up to 11% in parts of the chain, exceeding legal limits for the toxic metal.

  3. background

    BBC Watchdog tests 25 items of cheap jewellery from major marketplaces — Laboratory analysis by the Sheffield Assay Office examined jewellery purchased from Amazon, eBay, Temu, Etsy and OnBuy. Eight items contained illegal levels of cadmium exceeding the 0.01% legal limit, with some reaching 10% concentration. Only two pieces qualified as genuine sterling silver.