Diamonds, Gemstones and Loose Beads

• The word "diamond" can be used without qualification (standing alone or by itself) in jewelry listings only to describe a natural mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon, crystallized in the isometric system with

  • A hardness of 10

  • Specific gravity of approximately 3.52

  • A refractive index of 2.42

• When listing a laboratory-grown stone that has the same mineral composition as a naturally mined diamond, the word "diamond", whenever it appears (in the item title and description), may only be used if the word is immediately preceded or followed by any one of the following eight terms, spelled out in its entirety and in equal visibility:

  • "created"

  • "lab-created"

  • "man-made"

  • "synthetic"

  • "manufactured"

  • "laboratory-grown"

  • "laboratory-created"

  • "[manufacturer-name]-created."

• When listing loose diamonds and diamond jewelry, sellers must select the proper category or Item Specifics value matching the diamond’s characteristics:

  • Only naturally mined unenhanced diamonds may be listed within a Natural Diamond category or by adopting the Natural Diamond Item Specifics value.

  • Naturally mined diamonds that have been enhanced (i.e. “clarity-enhanced” to reduce flaws) may be listed within an Enhanced Natural Diamond category or by adopting the Enhanced Natural Diamond Item Specifics value.

  • Laboratory-grown stones that have the same mineral composition as a naturally mined diamond may only be listed in the “Synthetic (Lab-grown)” sub-category.

• Listings for a Cubic Zirconium stone may use the word "diamond" in the item title or description only if the word is immediately preceded or followed by the words "simulated" or "imitation", spelled out in full. Sellers must also include (in the item description in equal visibility to any other terms) the words "Cubic Zirconia" or "CZ." These items may only be listed under the Cubic Zirconia or Other categories, not in the Diamond categories.

• To list any imitation diamond stone that does not fall into one of the descriptions above, sellers may use the word "diamond" in the item title or description only if the word is immediately preceded or followed by the words "simulated" or "imitation", spelled out in full. Sellers must also include in the item description in equal visibility to any other wording the composition of the item. Examples include "plastic," "glass," "Moissanite," "rhinestone," "Strontium Titanate," "quartz," and so on. These items may only be listed in categories especially designated for them (like Moissanite or CZ, Diamond Simulants, etc.) or in Other categories, not in the Diamond categories.

• The names of other stones or gems, such as "opal", "ruby", "pearl", etc. must be qualified if the mineral composition of the item differs from the natural mineral. Additionally, when listing such items, sellers may use the stone name or "pearl" in the item title or description only if the stone name or "pearl" is immediately preceded or followed by the words "simulated" or "imitation", spelled out in full. Sellers must also include in the item description in equal visibility to any other wording the composition of the item, for example, "plastic," "glass," "quartz," etc. These items may only be listed in categories especially designated for them (like Pearl, Imitation) or in Other categories, not in the Opal, Ruby, Pearl, etc. categories.

  • Sellers must also clearly disclose gemstone treatment in their item description if:

    (a) The treatment is not permanent. The seller must disclose that the gemstone has been treated and that the treatment is or may not be permanent;

    (b) The treatment creates special care requirements for the gemstone. The seller must disclose that the gemstone has been treated and has special care requirements. It is also recommended that the seller disclose the special care requirements to the purchaser;

    (c) The treatment has a significant effect on the stone’s value. The seller must disclose that the gemstone has been treated.

• Sellers of loose beads, who use a gemstone name to describe the bead’s color, are required to further qualify the item by using at least one of the following in the item title: the word “bead”, the name of the material (“crystal” or “glass”, etc.) or the word “color”.

• If sellers do not know an item's composition, eBay strongly recommends that they learn this information before listing the item in order to avoid misleading potential buyers. Items without this information should be listed in the Other category or categories designated for those materials, but never in the category for the natural diamonds, gemstones or pearls.

Gold

• The terms "gold-plated," "gold-filled," "gold-electroplated," "gold overlay," and "rolled-gold" may be used as long as the alloy used for the plating is greater than or equal to 10kt gold. Sellers must spell out the qualifier - such as "plated" -- throughout the body of the description wherever the word "gold" is used.

• The term "gold vermeil" may be used as long as the item consists of a base of sterling silver coated or plated on all significant surfaces with gold, or a gold alloy of at least 10kt fineness, and substantial thickness and minimum thickness throughout equivalent to two and one half (2 ½) microns (or approximately 100/1,000,000ths of an inch) of fine gold. Sellers must spell out the qualifier "vermeil" throughout the body of the description wherever the word "gold" is used.

• Sellers are permitted to describe an item that is gold or silver in color as “gold-tone” or “silver-tone” in the item title (with or without hyphen is permitted) and throughout the description. Sellers may not use the word “golden”.

• Items that are not solid gold cannot be listed in categories for solid gold, but should be listed in the "Gold, Plate/Fill" categories (effective Jan 4, 2005).

• Sellers are required to use industry-standard abbreviations in the item title, such as "gf", "gp", or "gep," when listing these items.

Jewelry Made With Niihau Shells

The advertisement and sale of jewelry made from the rare shells harvested on the small island of Niihau in Hawaii are strictly regulated by Hawaii law.  Members wishing to represent an item of jewelry with the descriptive term "Niihau," (or any variant such as "Ni'ihau" or "Niihaun") in their listing must certify that it was made in Hawaii with 100% actual Niihau shells.  Sellers may represent that a piece "contains" Niihau shells if the piece consists of at least 80% Niihau shells and was made in Hawaii, and the seller states in the listing the actual percentage of shells, by count, that are Niihau shells—that is, harvested from the island of Niihau, its waters, or its beaches.  Sellers must comply with Hawaii law when listing any items using the term "Niihau" or any derivation of that term to describe it, specifically Hawaii Revised Statute § 486-118.5 .

Fashion Jewelry and Fine Jewelry categories

Items may be listed in Fine Jewelry if:

• The setting is solid precious metal: gold of 10 karat and higher fineness, silver of 925 parts per 1000 pure silver and above and platinum group metals of 850 parts per thousand pure platinum and above; not plated, not filled.

• The stone is a mined stone, naturally formed pearl or cultured pearl. Stone treatment must be disclosed if it meets one of the FTC criteria listed above.

To improve the shopping experience on eBay, eBay has developed more specific policies for selling jewelry on eBay's US site. These policies are designed to ensure buyers have a clear understanding of what they purchase by requiring sellers to include important information about the jewelry item in the item title and description.