Tibetan Silver - A Buyer’s Advisory
Recent metallurgical testing of seven items labeled as Tibetan Silver indicate that not only do these articles frequently contain no silver whatsoever, but that high levels of lead and other dangerous metals such as arsenic, can be present.
Genuine Tibetan jewelry—an artistic expression of Tibet’s Buddhist tradition—is usually made of an alloy of silver and copper and sometimes with the addition of gold, nickel or brass ornamentation. Tibet’s artisans begin with high silver content alloys, which they shape by hand. True sterling silver Tibetan jewelry is typically hammered or chiseled, resulting in an appearance that some describe as “rustic” or “ethnic.”
Because of their beauty, it’s no surprise that jewelry items sold as “Tibetan Silver” have appeared for sale in increasing numbers in trade publications and on the Internet. The description appears especially popular online, but the products offered under this designation run the gamut of what appear to be authentic silverworks done in a vintage Tibetan style, to poorly made contemporary castings of dubious origin. The activities of design pirates should be of concern to buyers for several reasons, including potential health hazards and the inadvertent encouragement and support of criminal activity. As the buyer, not only are you being cheated into paying for items that may be grossly misrepresented either in terms of materials used or geographic authenticity, but so are the artists who make their livelihood by creating original designs only to have them stolen by copycats.
Protecting Your Health
Genuine Tibetan silver is often made from Sterling silver, which typically consists of 92.5 percent silver. Any metal can make up the remaining 7.5 percent non-silver portion, though copper is the most common one. Unlike Sterling silver, which is used in jewelry because of its combination of beauty and durability, a great deal of what is marketed as “Tibetan Silver” doesn’t match the quality of Sterling. The actual silver content of “Tibetan Silver” can be as low as 1 or 2 percent and/or the core material may actually be a tin and antimony alloy, which allows iit to be sold for much cheaper than the real thing.
In fact, as part of a larger investigation into items offered for sale on eBay that infringed on copyrighted designs, TierraCast, Inc., a California-based manufacturer of original design lead-free pewter beads, findings and components, retained Metallurgical Laboratories, Inc. of Concord, California to test seven items purchased from six different eBay and Etsy sellers in April of 2007. (It should be noted that all seven of these items were clearly cast components, singled out for examination and testing primarily because of copyright infringement issues. Though a wide range of other jewelry and ornamental items are also advertised as Tibetan silver, no attempt was made to determine the actual metal content of those items.) All of the test items bore indications of overseas manufacture; only two were shipped directly from China, the others where shipped from the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States.
No silver was found in any of the tested items being marketed as Tibetan silver. Instead, in six samples, nickel, copper and zinc were the dominant metals identified by XRF (X-ray fluorescence) analysis on the areas of exposed core material of these pieces. The seventh item, shipped from Hong Kong, contained 1.3 % arsenic, a powerful poison and carcinogen and, an alarmingly high 54% lead content. Copies of certified test results are available upon request from TierraCast, Inc.
Adults exposed to lead can suffer increased blood pressure, fertility problems, nerve disorders, muscle and joint pain, irritability, and memory loss. Children are even more susceptible to the effects of lead exposure and even very low levels of exposure can result in learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder and behavioral problems, stunted growth, hearing impairment and kidney damage. Higher levels of exposure can cause permanent mental trauma, a vegetative or comatose state and even death. Children under the age of six are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of lead because their brains and central nervous system are still being formed. A recent tragedy in Minnesota highlights this point.
Following the death of a four-year-old there in March of 2006, lead content in “white metal” and “pewter” has been the target of recent recalls of millions of small cast items by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). The child died as the result of lead poisoning from swallowing a small metal “charm” that was distributed as part of a purchase giveaway by Reebok. Produced by a contractor in China, the bracelets were later determined to be 99 percent lead. According to research by New York state Pathologist Ward Stone as much as 95 percent of children's jewelry is made of lead. Stone was compelled to undertake his own investigation after discovering that jewelry owned by his own child was high in lead content. Findings like these have caused the State of California to set standards that will take effect in September of 2007 for levels of lead in children's and adult jewelry, body piercing jewelry and metal and non-metallic jewelry components, including pewter. Although all pewter contains trace amounts of lead, the term "lead free pewter" is used to describe pewter that meets the stringent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standard.
Pewter is defined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the American pewter Guild as a “metal alloy product of which the composition shall not be less than 90% Grade A tin, with the remainder composed of metals appropriate for use in pewter.” tin is refined from ore that contains other metals, including lead. Despite chemical processing to remove the lead, trace amounts remain. TierraCast uses Britannia, a tin alloy that exceeds both the FDA standards for pewter in contact with food and CSPC policy for children's jewelry. The casting alloy is routinely tested for lead content, yielding results ranging from as low as 30 parts per million (PPM) to a high of 450 ppm, with average ranging below 200 ppm. These levels are well below the FDA’s standard of 500 PPM deemed safe for pewter used for culinary purposes.
The Downside of Counterfeit Chic
While a general warning about the authenticity and potential health hazards of so-called Tibetan silver is warranted, there’s yet another consideration. Much like the last decade’s debate over the use of musical sampling, in which artists openly utilized portions of other artists' recordings, design thieves often brazenly take designs that have been created by others for their own use. Some do so without realizing that they have done anything wrong. Others make attempts to alter the designs just enough so they don’t believe they have committed a criminal act. In either case, copyright law protects the value of creative work. When someone steals a pattern under any circumstances, it's just like stealing directly from the designer. While most people would never consider shoplifting from a store or buying merchandise that they know was stolen, they must be informed that the same principles are at work here. TierraCast either creates all of its master patterns in house from original designs or purchases/licenses original designs from other designers. Stealing the work of an artisan, craftsperson or designer is the same as walking out of department store with a necklace hidden in your pocket.