CBJ Industry Regulations 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was established primarily to prevent trade in diamonds that fund which activity?
- Tax evasion by mining corporations
- Rebel movements seeking to undermine legitimate governments (Correct answer)
- Counterfeit gemstone distribution
- Unregulated child labor in gem cutting
Correct answer: Rebel movements seeking to undermine legitimate governments
The KPCS was created in 2003 to stop the flow of rough diamonds used by rebel forces to finance wars against legitimate governments.
Question 2: Which US environmental regulation most directly affects a bench jeweler's disposal of spent electroplating solutions containing heavy metals?
- Clean Air Act
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (Correct answer)
- Safe Drinking Water Act
- National Environmental Policy Act
Correct answer: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
RCRA governs the generation, transport, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, including heavy-metal-laden electroplating effluents.
Question 3: According to FTC Guides for the Jewelry Industry, a gemstone that has been fracture-filled with lead glass must be described as:
- Enhanced ruby
- Clarity-improved ruby
- Lead glass-filled ruby (Correct answer)
- Treated natural ruby
Correct answer: Lead glass-filled ruby
The FTC requires full disclosure of the filling material; simply saying 'treated' or 'clarity-improved' does not adequately inform consumers about lead glass filling.
Question 4: OSHA's Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for airborne gold soldering flux fumes is best controlled through which engineering control in a bench jewelry shop?
- Personal respirator alone
- Local exhaust ventilation at the work surface (Correct answer)
- General dilution ventilation for the whole room
- Wet mopping of bench surfaces
Correct answer: Local exhaust ventilation at the work surface
Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) captures contaminants at the source before they enter the worker's breathing zone, making it the preferred engineering control.
Question 5: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a jewelry retail store that is newly constructed must have display cases at a maximum height of approximately how many inches for wheelchair accessibility?
- 34 inches (Correct answer)
- 36 inches
- 40 inches
- 48 inches
Correct answer: 34 inches
ADA guidelines require that work surfaces and display counters accessible to customers in wheelchairs be no higher than 34 inches.
Question 6: Which precious metal marking is specifically regulated by the Hobby Protection Act rather than the National Stamping Act?
- Sterling silver antique reproductions (Correct answer)
- Gold-filled findings
- Platinum alloy stampings
- Rolled gold plate items
Correct answer: Sterling silver antique reproductions
The Hobby Protection Act requires imitation antiques and collectibles—including silver reproductions—to be marked with the year of manufacture to prevent fraud.
Question 7: A jeweler in California sells a ring with a rhodium-plated white gold shank. Under California's Proposition 65, which substance would most likely require a consumer warning on this product?
- Rhodium
- Nickel released from the white gold alloy (Correct answer)
- Palladium in the white gold alloy
- Platinum group metal dust
Correct answer: Nickel released from the white gold alloy
Nickel is listed under Prop 65 as a chemical known to cause cancer; white gold alloys commonly contain nickel, which can be released through wear.
CBJ Industry Regulations 3
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was established primarily to prevent trade in diamonds that fund which activity?