With five weeks to go to the opening of the 2013 CIBJO Congress in Tel Aviv on May 7, the second of the CIBJO commissions' Special Reports has been released.
Prepared by the CIBJO Precious Metals Commission, headed by Michael Allchin, the report reviews legislative changes affecting jewelry, watches and related articles within the European Union and the European Free Trade Area.
In particular, the report outlines the General Product Safety Directive, which is meant to ensure that consumer products do not create risks to health and safety, which applies in the absence of more specific EC standards relating to the product-safety of articles in their finished state.
The report also discusses the expansion of REACH, which is a European Union Regulation concerning the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals, and especially any substances that contain carcinogenic, mutagenic or reproductive toxins. Article 67 restricts the use of items relevant to importers and retailers of watches and jewelry, including nickel, cadmium, azo dyes, chromium VI and, from October 2013, lead.
Also featured is EU RoHS Directive, also known as RoHS 2, which restricts of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment