Guangdong Province Ms. Wang recently purchased a necklace marked as containing 18K gold from a jewelry store on the Tmall platform. Ms. Wang found that the clasp of the necklace was discolored, and upon inspection, it was found that the gold content of the clasp was zero. This news became a hot topic on March 23.
According to a report by “Xinwang·Xinwei News” on March 21, Ms. Wang revealed to the media that in February this year, she bought three pearl necklaces from the Tmall store “Fansi Light Jewelry Flagship Store,” with the product name indicating that it contained 18K gold. Before placing the order, Ms. Wang confirmed with customer service that the clasp of the necklace was made of 18K gold.
After receiving the necklace, Ms. Wang noticed the words “Au750” on the clasp but found that the clasp had discolored. She suspected that the clasp was not made of 18K gold, so she inquired with the merchant, who reassured her that it was “impossible to be fake.”
To dispel her doubts, Ms. Wang paid 500 yuan to have the necklace sent to the Gem Testing and Inspection Center of China Inspection Jewelry Testing Branch in Shenzhen Shuibei International Branch for testing. The test results showed that after 6 measurements, the average copper content of the clasp exceeded 90%, followed by silver and zinc, while the gold content in all 6 measurements was 0. Ms. Wang provided the test results to the merchant.
The customer service of the online store did not respond to inquiries from “Xinwei News” regarding whether the clasp of the necklace was made of 18K gold, and the Tmall platform did not reply to the feedback from “Xinwei News.”
Recently, the merchant covered the 500 yuan testing fee for Ms. Wang and replaced the clasp with a new 18K gold one. The same product purchased by Ms. Wang has been taken off the shelves.
In response to this, Lawyer Shi Shihui from Beijing Long’an (Qingdao) Law Firm stated that the material of the clasp was not as promised by the merchant to be 18K gold. The actual material did not match the promised one, constituting a breach of contract by the merchant. Therefore, Ms. Wang can claim a refund, request a return, and demand that the merchant bear any other losses caused by this.
According to standards, 18K gold in jewelry refers to gold accounting for 18 parts out of 24, or 75%, with the remaining 25% being other metals, labeled as Au750, 18K.