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Federal regulations · Through 2026-08-25

16 CFR 23.2: Misuse of the terms “handmade,” “hand-polished,” etc.

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Where this section sits in the code
  1. Title 16—Commercial Practices
  2. CHAPTER I—FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
  3. SUBCHAPTER B—GUIDES AND TRADE PRACTICE RULES
  4. PART 23—GUIDES FOR THE JEWELRY, PRECIOUS METALS, AND PEWTER INDUSTRIES

(a) It is unfair or deceptive to represent, directly or by implication, that any industry product is handmade or hand-wrought unless the entire shaping and forming of such product from raw materials and its finishing and decoration were accomplished by hand labor and manually-controlled methods which permit the maker to control and vary the construction, shape, design, and finish of each part of each individual product.

Note to Paragraph (a):

As used herein, “raw materials” include bulk sheet, strip, wire, precious metal clays, ingots, casting grain, and similar items that have not been cut, shaped, or formed into jewelry parts, semi-finished parts, or blanks.

(b) It is unfair or deceptive to represent, directly or by implication, that any industry product is hand-forged, hand-engraved, hand-finished, or hand-polished, or has been otherwise hand-processed, unless the operation described was accomplished by hand labor and manually-controlled methods which permit the maker to control and vary the type, amount, and effect of such operation on each part of each individual product.

Collected 2026-08-27T02:24:29Z. Source file · JSON

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