Diamonds, Gemstones and Loose Beads

• The word "diamond" can be used without qualification (standing alone or by itself) in jewellery 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."

• 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 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 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.

To improve the shopping experience on eBay, eBay has developed more specific policies for selling jewellery on eBay.in. 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.