How to buy jewelry online to avoid various traps?

Special Guest

Hu Xuenian

Master of Geology and Mineralogy at Central South University, Senior Engineer of Guangdi Jewelry, National Registered Jewelry and Jade Quality Inspector, National Registered Jewelry and Jade Appraisers.

Xu Zhi

Director of the Laboratory of Guangdong Jewelry and Precious Metal Testing Center

With the improvement of consumption levels, jewelry has gradually become a hot spot for consumption, especially the jewellery consumption that has risen on the Internet in recent years, which has made many people obsessed. According to the preliminary statistics of China Fortune Association, the sales of China's jewelry industry terminal market in 2016 remained above 500 billion yuan, still one of the largest and most important jewelry markets in the world. However, on March 3, the results of the special supervision and inspection of the quality of precious metals in Guangdong Province in 2016 released by the official website of the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision were not optimistic. This time, 200 batches of jewellery precious metal products produced by 87 enterprises in 11 cities (regions) including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan and Jiangmen showed that the unqualified product discovery rate was 12.5%. The results of the quality inspection of jewellery, jade and precious metal jewelry in the circulation field announced by the Guangxi Administration for Industry and Commerce in 2016 showed that 60% of the jewelry was unqualified.

On the day of International Consumer Rights Day, the number of samples collected by Guangdi Jewelry Free Testing was close to 400. According to statistics, the unqualified rate of Baoyushi was 39%. The main problems are mostly artificially optimized, artificial gemstone imitation natural gemstone, the actual material of gemstone is different from the varieties that consumers are told when purchasing. It is understood that about 60% of these unqualified and even fake and shoddy jewellery are purchased at the time of travel, about 8% are purchased by online shopping micro-business, and about 30% are obtained by ancestral or small stalls. In response to the jewellery consumption boom, Guangdong jewellery experts put forward their own views, especially reminding consumers how to pay attention to the consumption trap.

A: The micro-business platform picture and physical goods are not on the board

Reporter: Wei Shang is an online sales model that has emerged in recent years. Now, when buying jewelry on the micro-business platform, what problems are easy to encounter?

Hu Xuenian: The problem is mainly concentrated on imitation of big brands, especially imitation of international big names, which is infringement of intellectual property rights, selling fake goods and goods are not right. Among them, the problem of the wrong board is the most serious, and the physical object is too big for the picture. The size and color of the micro-business photos may be completely different from the real ones. Some jewels will be shot under a magnifying glass. Maybe the picture looks bigger, and the actual hand is only as big as the fingernail. The color of the picture is very beautiful, and it may be black and yellow. Some jewels are flawed, such as spots or cracks, but they are not visible in the photo. There are also differences in the level, this is mainly the diamond, the level shown in the business photos, after buying to take the formal third-party agency testing, may be lower one or even several levels. Looking at the price of photos and objects, it may be more than 10 times.

In addition to using pictures to mislead consumers, the text may also exaggerate. Many agents do not know how to do it. They intentionally or unintentionally promote the crafts to collections in the text.

In addition, there are some inconspicuous testing organizations, and the certificates provided for jewelry products are also released. Some irresponsible "field army"-type testing agencies can raise the level of jewelry certification.

There is such a case this year. There is a well-known insurance group in Central China, which has purchased thousands of pieces of jewelry for customers who come to the lectures. The gifts are all with certificates. Many people who received the gift went to a third party to check and found that the certificate was fake. Seven or eighty people came to us in the background to complain in one week. Originally the jewelry was fake and the certificate was fake. Last year, Shenzhen also seized a den, specializing in fake jewelry certificates, and made tens of thousands of copies.

Oil green and green jade Buddha contrast (left: micro-business map, right: physical map)

B: Micro-commercial jewelry lacks supervision

Reporter: Why are there problems in selling micro-commercial jewelry?

Xu Zhi: Compared with Weishang, the e-commerce platform will be more standardized. Because the e-commerce platform has introduced some industry norms, and will invite third-party testing organizations to conduct random inspections, Weishang currently lacks supervision in this area.

In fact, this is also caused by the sales model of Weishang. Many of the micro-businesses are individual behaviors, or even if they are registered companies, they may not be fixed places, and there is a lack of supervision in business operations.

In fact, whether it is e-commerce or micro-business, the biggest problem is in the inspection process. The online shopping model is to pay the money first, and then receive the goods. If there is a problem with the goods, how to solve the problem is a problem. Unlike in a physical store, it is a priori inspection. After repeated inspections, there is no problem to buy it. This is a problem that e-commerce has not solved, especially high-value goods such as jewelry.

The problem of the wrong board does exist, not to mention after-sales. Jewelry also involves regular maintenance and maintenance. Micro-business is affected by various aspects such as geography, and this is often not possible. Even in physical stores, many consumers do not understand after-sales service.

There is still a problem of layer-by-layer agency in Weishang. There are no special regulatory agencies and systems, no relevant licenses, no formal bills, no after-sales service, such as maintenance, refurbishment and maintenance. If you want to return the goods, there may be problems in any part, layer returns, layer-by-layer refunds, long and cumbersome.

C: There are many disputes over jewelry consumption

Reporter: Which jewellery products are sold more on Weishang, and what are the main problems detected by your jewelry inspection stations?

Hu Xuenian: Jewelry for online trading is concentrated in the middle and low grades, and the price is mostly below 10,000 yuan. If it is tens of thousands, it generally does not choose to go online. After all, you have to pay in full, you can't ship it, you haven't seen the real thing, and there is no third-party supervision channel. Consumers are not at ease.

Xu Zhi: As far as the testing station is concerned, there will be complaints from various channels of various types of jewelry. Some jewellery is fake, some are flawed in quality, and some are consumers who do not think they can get the return, and the merchant does not accept it. At present, there are no adequate methods or methods for supervision, inspection and testing in all aspects to fully clarify these disputes.

The biggest problem with colored stones and jade is cracks. For example, Ruby has recently complained that the value of ruby ​​is more than 10,000 yuan. Consumers have found that the crack is obvious, which is more than the photo, but the seller does not recognize it, so there is a dispute.

In the case of precious metals, it is prone to deception, mainly to promote the sale of gold-plated products into pure gold and deceive the elderly with low prices.

If the inlay process is used, there are more problems with falling stones. Some are improperly worn by consumers, others are because they don't know how to maintain, and because the inlaying process is not good, these problems of falling diamonds are mainly concentrated in the middle and low-end products.

There are 200,000 fans of our public number, and there are dozens of questions about the quality of jewelry online every day. Many problems are concentrated on the sale of electricity. According to the "Consumer Protection Law", there is no reason to return the protection for 7 days, and it does not include customized goods. Not only consumers, but also many businesses come to ask for help, both sides have their own difficulties.

Consumer case

Shoddy artificial fraud

In the past two years, after the WeChat friends circle sold facial masks and sold health products, they began to brush up and sell jewelry. The more common sales are the “special amber” that identifies the “clearance of the book” or the “second-generation beeswax”, but these are actually fake parisons such as plastic and rosin. Remanufactured amber (natural amber scrap heat bonding), like other imitations, is not a natural gemstone and is an artificial decorative material.

Experts point out that bakelite and celluloid, even acrylic, are often used to counterfeit amber, but their specific gravity is too heavy, sinking in saturated brine, and true amber will rise. There is a kind of plastic called polystyrene, its specific gravity and refractive index are quite close to true amber. The above method can't distinguish the true and false, but it will rub or use a reddish needle when there is no loose fragrance, but it will emit a touch of light. The stench. If these small pieces are slowly heated, the bakelite emits a strong electric carbonate smell, and the celluloid gives a camphor smell.

Counterfeit certificate sales confusion

The reporter once saw a set of Rooster zodiac commemorating the hundred dollar bills on the Taobao platform, claiming to contain 0.05 grams of gold. The purchase of gold notes also comes with red envelopes, greeting cards and related certificates. This kind of gold banknote is surprisingly cheap: only 1.5 yuan. The reporter told the GTC of the true and false verification of the gold coins, GTC staff pointed out that with the recent gold price of 280 yuan / gram, the cost of 0.05 grams of raw materials must be 14 yuan, but even the cost of packaging and various types of premiums only sold 1.5 Yuan, it is very suspicious. In particular, the product description also includes the "certificate" of the testing organization, but in fact, the conventional testing fee for precious metals is generally more than 100 yuan. For such low-priced products, the merchant also comes with this "certificate", which is likely to be counterfeit printing. of.

GTC staff pointed out that such goods as gold coins are often bought in large quantities as gifts to customers, but if you know that it is a fake, you will inevitably have the meaning of deception.

Copying new products with copper and gold

In recent years, the price of jade raw materials has been rising, resulting in a decline in the profit of “golden jade” (the jade is the bottom, the product with slotted gold foil), and because the gold texture is soft, the gold foil on the surface is very easy to be scratched. , so caused more quality complaints and returns. In this context, in the Hualin Jade Street Market in Guangzhou, a product called “Golden Jingjing” came into being in early 2013. The outer shell of this product is glass (known as "crystal" by the merchant), which is stamped into various patterns with gold foil and pressed into the inner groove with the organic glue.

This process better protects the gold foil, and there is no possibility that the gold like gold inlay is easily worn on the surface. Moreover, the outer casing is glass, which can be mass-produced according to requirements, ensuring the same quality as the same specifications, so for a while, it has been selling well in e-commerce, TV shopping and physical stores.

The emergence of new products has also led to follow-up or even fraud. The GTC Jewelry Testing Center has discovered a number of "bright copper" products that are very similar in appearance to this "Golden Gold" product, according to the Quantex Fluorescence Spectrometer. Tested, the metal elements of this batch of products are mainly Cu and Zn, rather than the “thousands of gold” claimed by the merchant.

How to maintain jewelry?

Maintenance tips

Xu Zhi pointed out that many consumers did not know how to maintain jewelry, which caused the discoloration, deformation and diamond loss of jewelry. So, how should jewelry be maintained?

gold:

Gold is soft and easy to deform, so don't pull necklaces and other accessories to avoid deformation. When not wearing for a long time, apply the velvet bag and put it in the jewelry box to avoid rubbing and damage with other jewelry.

Chemicals such as detergents and disinfectants will change the color of gold. Therefore, gold jewelry should be removed before cleaning and swimming, so as to avoid chemical changes in the surface.

Pure gold jewelry should avoid direct contact with perfumes, hair gels and other cosmetics. In the case of cosmetics containing mercury and lead, it will produce chemical reactions, which will easily lead to white spots on the surface of the gold ornaments. At this time, you can restore the original color by baking it under the alcohol lamp for a while. If you can't solve it, you can get a gold jewelry store for professional jewelry care.

After wearing, the gold ornaments often lose their luster due to the stains and dust. At this time, just put the gold ornaments in a neutral detergent and soak them in warm water and wash them, then remove them and dry them.

Silver jewelry:

If the silver bracelet is not worn for a long time, it needs to be sealed and stored. It can be packed in a plastic bag to isolate the air from oxidation.

Silver bracelets should try to avoid water or other irritating liquids. They can be worn while bathing, but be sure to avoid contact with liquids such as hair cleaners, perm, sulphur soap, etc. Silver bracelets can cause damage to the surface if they come into contact with these cleaning agents.

For bright silver bracelets, we can wash them with professional silver wash water.

pearl:

To maintain a bright color, pearls must be protected from acid or alkali chemicals such as acid-alkaline soaps, shower gels, perfumes, qualitative sprays, vinegar, lemon juice or other chemical solutions. Before the kitchen, the pearl should be taken off, and the surface of the pearl has fine pores. The adsorption of oil and soot may cause yellowing.

Pearl necklaces should not be washed directly with water or soaked for a long time. When bathing, soaking in hot springs, swimming, you should remember to take off the beautiful pearls.

Ordinary regular merchants will provide professional pearl wiping cloth, the surface is delicate and soft, will not hurt the pearl, and has strong adsorption, so do not use facial tissue or other rough fabric, because some paper rub will wear the pearl .

amber:

Natural amber jewelry is afraid of high temperatures. Do not leave it in the sun for a long time or on the side of the stove. It is too dry and cracks. Try to avoid strong fluctuations in temperature.

Amber has a strong water absorption and should not be soaked in water for too long. If you sweat a lot in summer, try to dry it with a flannel after wearing it.

Try not to contact alcohol, gasoline, kerosene, and organic solutions such as nail polish, perfume, hair gel, and insecticide containing alcohol. It is best to remove the amber jewelry when spraying perfume and hair spray.

Traveling less, buying jewelry, shopping for jewelry, be cautious

Consumption reminder

According to the results of the quality inspection of jewellery and jade and precious metal jewelry products in circulation in 2016, the Guangxi Industry and Commerce Bureau showed that a total of 60 batches were sampled and 38 batches were unqualified, with a pass rate of only 37%.

This time, the jewellery and precious metal jewelry products including non-inlaid jewellery and jade, inlaid jewellery and jade (including diamond jewelry) and precious metal jewelry were sampled and sold by 18 merchants from Guigang City, Yulin City, Pingle County and Gongcheng County. 60 batches of samples.

The main reason for the unqualified jewellery and jade jewelry is that the logo, the name and the actual object do not match. The merchant does not indicate the material name, does not indicate that the jewellery and jade are manually treated or synthesized, and the purity of the precious metal bracket is lower than the value indicated by the merchant. According to relevant professionals in the inspection agency, these factors will affect consumers' purchasing judgments and easily lead to consumer disputes.

To this end, the relevant business administration departments and Guangjie jewelry experts also reminded consumers of the purchase of jewelry: citizens do not buy jewelry and jade when traveling, try to base on local consumption; online shopping or WeChat channels to buy valuable goods such as jewelry and jade Be cautious, try to buy jewelry in regular shopping malls and brand franchise stores, try to avoid buying jewelry products from private hands, abroad and online; pay attention to the regular ticket, the content of the ticket should be consistent with the jewelry logo, preferably the quality, material Such key information as listed, such as buying jewelry in the travel jewelry store, must require the merchant to indicate the real name of the jade stone on the invoice, the name of the metal material used, the color, the price of the jewelry, etc., and ask for the relevant identification certificate.

Don't trust the business's verbal commitment, ask the merchant for an authoritative jewelry identification certificate. The qualification certification of the jewelry identification certificate includes three forms: CMA measurement certification, CAL authorization, and CNAS laboratory approval. Among them, CMA certification is the measurement certification of the appraisal institution by the state according to the “Metrics Law”, which must be possessed in all jewelry appraisal certificates. The jewelry appraisal certificate should also indicate the contact information of the appraisal agency so that the consumer can check the authenticity of the certificate.

In addition, don't try to buy cheap goods with a lot of discounts and discounts.