COMMISSION DENIES PETITION REGARDING USE OF TERM 'CULTURED' TO DESCRIBE LABORATORY-CREATED GEMSTONES

The Federal Trade Commission issued the following press release:

Commission denial of petition from jewelry industry trade associations - The Commission has denied a petition submitted by the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) and 10 other jewelry industry trade associations requesting that the FTC amend the Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries (Guides), 16 C.F.R. Part 23. As detailed in the petition, the trade groups sought an amendment to the Guides stating that it is deceptive or unfair to use the term "cultured" to describe laboratory-created gemstones, even when the man-made gemstones possess essentially the same optical, chemical, and physical properties of natural, mined gemstones. According to the petitioners, using "cultured" to …