Advisory opinion letter to Mr. Newman

ADVISORY OPINIONS AND REQUESTS THEREPOR 1209 lIn

A New Gold Alloy Retailing for Much Less Than 14K They said it cou!drd be Jom'. but here it is ' The A, H. Pond Company now offers ST ARFIRE Wedding Rings in a brand new gold idJoy for up to 40% less than thf'ir 14K counlerpdfts. A remark'1bJc new rnanufacturin process combines 14K gold ilnJ sterling silver in approximateJy elJual parts. Ring'\made of this beautiful marriage of two precious mf't,lls look and fed like 14K. Customers who might otherwise be forced to settle fbf Jesser quality can now get solid, fuJl-weighted..rings at substanti,ll savings Alloy 1/2 14K +1/2 Sterling- patent pending 480, 890

PRODUCED BY K('-p ake

85 F.T.

Staff Letter of Respo,,,e

Oct: 11 1974 Dear Mr. Newman:

This is in response to John J. Ghingher, III, Esquie s letter of Sept. , 1974, requesting a furher staff opinion on behalf of his client Metals and ,I ewels, Inc. In my letter to him of Sept. 9, EJ74, I rendered an informal staff opinion to the effect that labelling of his client' product "Alloy 1/2 14K + 1/2 Ster." would not violate any of the laws administered by the Commission.

It is my understanding that Metals and Jewels, Inc. hW; granted to B. . Hirsch, Inc. the right to produce articles of jewelr composed of an

alloy of one-half 14 karat gold and one-half sterling silver. B. F. Hirsch Inc., now proposes to use the quality mak "112 14K - 1/2 Ster." Ths mark would be displayed in type of sufJcient size as to be legible to persons of normal vision and will be inscribed in a place likely to be observed by prospective purchasers. The word "alloy" would be dropped from the description because it would not be feasible to inscribe such a long phrase on most jewelry items. As long as the above conwtions are met, I do not believe that the new proposed description would violate any-of the laws administered hy tbe Commission. I do not think that the term "alloy" would add anything to the proposed disclosure. Please understand that the foregoing does not constitute an advisory opinion of the Commssion. If you have any

questions, please call me at (202) 96-5089.
Very truly your
/s/ Barry R. Rubin
Attorney
cc: John ,J. Ghingher, III, Esquie
Weinberg and Green
10 Light Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Second Supplement",l Letter of Request
Sept. , 1974
Dear Mr. Rubin:

Recently you were kind enough to provide us with an informal staf opinion with respect to the marking of articles of jewelry composed of an alloy of one-half 14 karat gold and one-half sterling silver. We had requested, on behalf of the above client, an opinion that the making of ADVISORY OPINIONS AND REQUESTS THEREFOR 1211

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this alloy with the quality mark "Alloy 1/2 14K + 1/2 Ster" would not violate any rule or regulation of the Commssion applicable to the jewelry industry. By your letter of Sept. 9, ) 974, you rendered an informal staff opinion to this effect.

Since that time, our client bas granted to B. F. Hirch, Inc. the right to produce the alloy for sale to manufacturers of jewelry. Hirsch has advised us that it is highly impractical for a manufacturer of jewelr to employ such a lengthy marking. Because of the small size of aricles of jewelry, the marking that we had requested would impose severe restrictions upon the design possibilities for such articles and would therefore greatly restrict the marketability ofthe alloy. or the above reasons, we request that you render a second informal staff opinion that use of the quality mark "1/2 14K - 1/2 Ster." will not violate any of the laws administered by the Commission. This quality mark will be displayed in type of sufficient size as to be legible to persons of normal vision and will be inscribed in a place likely to be observed by prospective purcha.,ers. The mark is not currently being used and the use of the quality mark is not the subject of a pending investigation or other proceeding by the Commission or any other governental agency.

In support of my request I refer you to the "Background" and Discussion" sections of the letter dated Aug. 30, 1974 wherein Howard B. Miller and I submitted the originalrequest on behalf of this client. I have enclosed a copy of that letter for your convenience. I would greatly appreciate your addressing your opinion to Mr. Robert Newman, Vice President, B. F. Hirsch, Inc., 100 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N. , with a copy to me. If you have any questions or if I can provide any assistance, please do not hesitate to call me at 29:3-1807 on the District of Columbia exchange. Thank you once again for your very kind cooperation in this matter. Sincerely yours /s/ John J. Ghingher, III