We don’t think much about buying costume jewelry. It’s fun and easy to wear. It also sits on your skin, which is an organ, for hours at a time. And if your children are wearing costume children, they could be mindlessly sticking it in their mouths. Hence why it’s so disturbing to think so much lead (and cadmium–another dangerous component of cheap jewelry) is freely and easily passing through the marketplace.

LOS ANGELES — California is cracking down on more than a dozen businesses accused of selling and distributing costume jewelry containing dangerous levels of lead despite repeated warnings.

State investigators uncovered hundreds of lead-laced trinkets marketed to children and adults, including some pieces contaminated with lead levels more than 1,000 times the legal state limit.

The state was expected to file a lawsuit Tuesday against 16 companies – retailers, wholesalers, suppliers and distributors – doing business in Los Angeles and elsewhere. The companies are accused of violating lead standards and engaging in deceptive practices by falsely advertising tainted jewelry as lead-free.

For the past three years, inspectors at the state Department of Toxic Substances Control conducted spot checks at stores and factories, zapping necklaces, earrings, hair clips and tiaras with hand-held X-ray devices to check for lead. Items with high lead content were then shipped to a laboratory for detailed analysis. Jewelry items containing the toxic metal were mostly inexpensive.

Brian Johnson, deputy director of enforcement, said these were not isolated cases.

“You can walk into most any fashion jewelry business in the LA jewelry district and find similar violations,” Johnson said.

It’s against the law to make, ship or sell jewelry that contains dangerous levels of lead. Children’s jewelry cannot contain lead content exceeding the legal state limit of 600 parts per million. For adults, the limit is 60,000 parts per million.

Read more.

Perhaps you’ve seen the Om symbol around or know firsthand what it signifies. For those who don’t know:

What Does “Aum” Mean??

Aum (or OM) is a mantra, or vibration, that is traditionally chanted at the beginning and end of yoga sessions. It is made up of three Sanskrit letters, aa, au and ma which, when combined together, make the sound Aum or Om. It is believed to be the basic sound of the world and to contain all other sounds. It is said to be the sound of the universe. What does that mean?

Somehow the ancient yogis knew what scientists today are telling us–that the entire universe is moving. Nothing is ever solid or still. Everything that exists pulsates, creating a rhythmic vibration that the ancient yogis acknowledged with the sound of Aum. We may not always be aware of this sound in our daily lives, but we can hear it in the rustling of the autumn leaves, the waves on the shore, the inside of a seashell.

Chanting Aum allows us to recognize our experience as a reflection of how the whole universe moves–the setting sun, the rising moon, the ebb and flow of the tides, the beating of our hearts. As we chant Aum, it takes us for a ride on this universal movement, through our breath, our awareness, and our physical energy, and we begin to sense a bigger connection that is both uplifting and soothing.

The Aum symbol design can be seen as a symbolic representation of the various psychological compartments of the psyche; an inner dimensional map of the various compartments of human consciousness and the relationship each has to the divine within.

The long lower curve represents the dreaming state.

The upper curve stands for the waking state.

The curve which emanates from the center represents deep sleep, beyond dreams.

The crescent stands for the veil of material illusion.

The dot is the transcendental self.

Source: SacredFunk.com

Style 5563 High Polished OM Pendant With Bezel Set Diamond High polished “OM” pendant with a bezel set round brilliant diamond on an 18″ cable chain, approx. 5/8″ tall. Trade Up Our Guarantee

Hi Joe,
I couldn’t be more pleased with my ring! It is the nicest piece of jewelry I have ever owned!

Thanks again!
O.G.

We often get many questions re: the various degrees of gold in jewelry. (Take a moment to look at our extensive selection of gold jewelry.) Before you purchase any gold, know the various terms first.

Pure gold: When 100 percent of the metal is gold, it’s called 24-carat gold, or 24k. That’s the stuff worth almost $1,100 per ounce. But don’t expect jewelry to be pure gold because that metal is too soft for a durable design. Virtually all gold gets mixed with other metals — such as palladium, nickel, copper, silver, zinc, silicon and boron — to increase its hardness. Mixing, however, dilutes the gold’s value.

Solid gold: In the United States, a metal doesn’t have to be pure gold to be called solid gold. Metals containing as little as 41.7 percent gold — also known at 10-carat gold — legally can be called solid gold.

14-carat gold: This is what most fine jewelry is made from, a mixture of 14 parts of gold and 10 parts of a base metal. Thus, a 14k-gold bracelet is just 58.3 percent gold. Some very fine jewelry is 18k gold (75 percent gold) and some is just 10k gold (41.7 percent gold). Many “class rings,” for example, are 10k because that tends to be a stronger alloy and less expensive than rings made with a higher percentage of gold. U.S. jewelry that is 10k or higher usually will be marked with its carat quality, though marking is not required by law. Near the carat quality mark may be a U.S. registered trademark of the company that will stand behind the mark. The trademark may be in the form of a name, symbol or initials.

Gold-filled, gold overlay and and rolled gold plate: These are terms used to describe jewelry that has a layer of at least 10k gold mechanically bonded to a base metal. Jewelry marked gold- filled, gold overlay or rolled gold plate should include the karat quality of the gold used. Example: 14k gold overlay, 12k RGP or 1/20 12k GF. If the layer of gold is less than 1/20th of the total weight of the jewelry, any marking must state the actual percentage of carat gold, such as 1/40th 14k gold overlay.

Gold-plated: Jewelry can be thinly plated with gold in various ways, including mechanically plated or electroplated. Gold-plated jewelry has significantly less gold than gold-filled, gold overlay or rolled gold jewelry. Eventually, gold plating wears away, and how long that takes depends on the plate thickness. Gold electroplate has a layer at least 0.175 microns thick of 10k or more gold. Gold-flashed or gold-washed jewelry has an extremely thin plating of gold less than 0.175 microns thick.

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2010/01/01/991880_p2/seller-beware-as-gold-buyers-can.html#storylink=cpy

Style FS1629 18kt White Gold Diamond Leaf Designed Band 18kt White gold band with .08ct t.w. diamond leaf design, (readily available in ring size 6, please call to order other sizes). Metal: 18kt White Gold Stone Size: .8ct t.w. Ring Size: 6 Trade Up Our Guarantee

“As a designer and a collector of fine jewelry, I have always wanted to offer the same quality of craftsmanship in jewelry as we offer with the Atelier Versace fashion collection,” explained Donatella Versace in a release. “Each individual ring from the collection is a work of art.”