The U.S. State of California's Governor has signed SB 647 into law to amend the lead and cadmium requirements for both adult and children jewellery (Sections 25214.1, 25214.2, 25214.3.1 and 25214.4 of the Health and Safety Code). The major changes are summarized as follows:

Changes to jewellery requirements

1.From 1 January 2020,

a) The definition for children shall be changed from persons of “6 years of age and younger” to “under 15 years of age”.

b) Children's jewellery intended for persons under 15 years old shall become as follows:

Note: A component is inaccessible if it is not physically exposed by reason of a sealed covering or casing and does not become physically exposed through reasonably foreseeable use and abuse of the product, including swallowing, mouthing, breaking, or other children's activities, and the aging of the product. For purposes of this regulation, paint, coatings, or electroplating do not render substrate material inaccessible to a child.

c) Children's jewellery shall be tested according to EPA reference methods 3050B,3051Aor 3052. However,

i) For lead content, test methods permissible to demonstrate compliance with the federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-314) can also be used.

ii) For soluble cadmium in surface coating, the same test method used to demonstrate compliance with Section 2056b, Title 15 of the United States Code (i.e. ASTM F963) shall be used.

2.From 1 June 2020, jewellery other than children's jewellery shall be made entirely from one or more than one of the following materials (amended items are highlighted in blue):

a) Stainless or surgical steel b) Karat gold

c) Sterling silver

d) Platinum, palladium, iridium, ruthenium, rhodium, or osmium

e) Natural or cultured pearls

f) Glass, ceramic, or crystal decorative components, including cat's eye, cubic zirconia, including cubic zirconium or CZ, rhinestones, and cloisonné

g) A gemstone that is cut and polished for ornamental purposes, excluding aragonite, bayldonite, boleite, cerussite, crocoite, ekanite, linarite, mimetite, phosgenite, samarskite, vanadinite, and wulfenite

h) Elastic, fabric, ribbon, rope, or string that does not contain intentionally added lead

i) All natural decorative material, including amber, bone, coral, feathers, fur, horn, leather, shell, or wood, that is in its natural state and is not treated in a way that adds lead

j) Adhesive

k) Electroplated metal containing less than 0.05 % (500 ppm) lead by weight

l) Unplated metal not otherwise listed containing less than 0.05 % (500 ppm) lead by weight

m) Plastic or rubber, including acrylic, polystyrene, plastic beads and stones, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) containing less than 0.02 % (200 ppm) lead by weight

n) A dye or surface coating containing less than 0.05 % (500 ppm) lead by weight

o) Any other material that contains less than 0.05 % (500 ppm) lead by weight

Additional certification requirements

Same as the current practice, a certification shall be prepared by the manufacturer or supplier to attest that the jewellery does not contain a level of lead or cadmium exceeding the prescribed limits. The certificate shall be either provided to a person who sells or offers for sale of the jewellery or displayed prominently on the shipping container or on the packaging of the jewellery.

From 1 January 2020, the certificate shall include additional details as follows:

a) Identity of the product covered by the certificate with sufficiently detailed description

b) Each separate rule or standard for which the product is certified

c) Name, full mailing address and telephone number of the manufacturer or supplier

d) Contact information for the person maintaining records of the test results, including the name, full mailing address, email address and telephone number

e) Date of manufacture, at least the month and year

f) Manufacture location, including at least the city or administrative region, state, if applicable, and country where the product was manufactured or finally assembled

g) Testing date and location

h) Any third-party laboratory that performed the testing, including the name, full mailing address and telephone number