BBC tests find excess cadmium in jewellery sold as sterling silver online

BBC Watchdog bought five pieces each from Amazon, eBay, Temu, Etsy and OnBuy, all advertised as 925 or sterling silver. The Sheffield Assay Office analysed the jewellery and found that only two of the 25 pieces could be classified as sterling silver, the BBC reported. Sterling silver must contain at least 92.5% silver.

Three of the items exceeding the cadmium limit came from Amazon, three from Temu, and one each from OnBuy and Etsy. The small selection is not described as representative of jewellery sold across the platforms.

Some pieces contained up to 10% cadmium, according to the BBC. Trading standards guidance for England, Scotland and Wales puts the limit for cadmium in metal jewellery and its components at 0.01% by weight. Cadmium is toxic and can cause cancer when inhaled or ingested; its presence in jewellery does not establish how much a wearer has absorbed or their individual risk.

The assay office also examined a separate necklace bought on Etsy by a customer called Meranda, who told the BBC her neck became irritated after she wore it. Preliminary testing found a nickel concentration of up to 11% in one part of its chain, the BBC reported.

That concentration does not in itself establish a breach of the nickel rules. For jewellery in direct and prolonged contact with skin, the relevant limit concerns the rate at which nickel is released, rather than its concentration in the metal. The BBC did not report a release-rate measurement for the necklace. Meranda received a full refund after speaking to Watchdog.

Amazon, eBay, Temu and OnBuy told the BBC they had removed the jewellery identified by Watchdog. Amazon issued recall notices for products found to be unsafe, while OnBuy said it had offered affected customers refunds and initiated a recall of its cadmium-containing product. Amazon and eBay advised concerned customers to contact them; Temu said it had arranged testing of similar products. Etsy did not respond to the BBC.

Separately, the European Commission recently accepted a Temu plan to improve its detection of illegal listings, giving the company four months to investigate how such products continue to appear on its platform.