Holy void: Russians complain massively about the sale of hollow jewelry
In Russia, there have been widespread complaints about the sale of hollow gold jewelry: empty, not filled with solid alloy. Because of this, the products are easily deformed and deteriorate. Against the background of decreasing sales of jewelry and rising prices, manufacturers are trying to reduce the cost of the product. The sale of hollow jewelry is not against the law, but shops sometimes deliberately mislead consumers. People may not even realize that they have been sold a "dummy." How to check the jewelry before buying and which parameters to pay attention to is in the Izvestia article.
Why do Russians complain about the sale of hollow jewelry
Russians actively complain about the sale of hollow jewelry. Customers often do not know that there is no solid alloy inside the product.
Both hollow jewelry and solid jewelry can be purchased in jewelry chains. At the same time, the former are much inferior in strength and durability, explained Vyacheslav Frolov, founder of the Frolof Jewelry brand. Many consumers are unaware of this.
— Hollow products have a high risk of deformation if you drop the jewelry or put a lot of pressure on it. A dent will appear, which is almost impossible to fix. Also, hollow jewelry in most cases cannot be repaired," he said.
In complaints about such purchases, customers often indicate: They did not know that they had been sold a hollow piece of jewelry. Anastasia from Rostov told Izvestia about this case — the wedding ring bent a week after purchase, although it was expensive (over 40 thousand rubles). In her opinion, the jewelry was empty inside, and scratches and dents quickly appeared on it.
There are similar complaints on social media. For example, one of the customers wrote that she bought wedding rings, went to reduce them a month before the wedding, and they turned out to be empty inside. Another complained that the rings had dents very quickly.
Lawyers point out that there are two cases: when the consumer himself has not carefully studied the information about the product, and when stores deliberately mislead customers.
If there is no direct statement in the product description or on the price tag that the product is "solid", "solid" or "filled with alloy", and the buyer simply did not understand the characteristics, did not save the receipt, did not look at the label or photo, this is more often a matter of consumer oversight, said lawyer and human rights activist Ekaterina Alexandrovich. When the seller explicitly states that the decoration is solid, it is already a clear discrepancy with the stated characteristics, she added.
— In this case, the store is obliged to take the goods back and refund the money, replace the product, eliminate the defects free of charge, reduce the price, compensate for losses, pay for the examination and compensate for moral damage, — Ekaterina Alexandrovich explained.
One of these cases concerned the Sokolov network. According to media reports, hundreds of customers complained about the problem. One of them purchased wedding rings from the brand, but it turned out that they were hollow inside, while the brand claimed otherwise in correspondence. Sokolov then admitted that the products really did not meet the quality standard, and the costs were compensated.
Nowadays, almost everything that is sold in stores, including precious stones, is of very poor quality, according to jeweler Mikhail Myagkov. According to him, the products have been reduced in price to the maximum. And marketing tries to mask this fact by any means possible. Hence the misleading, he says.
Sales of gold jewelry in Russia decreased by 10% in the first half of the year, Izvestia previously reported based on statistics from the World Gold Council. The number of products sold in the first half of the year was the lowest since 2022. Against this background, it is more profitable for chains to sell hollow jewelry, the cost of which is much cheaper. At the same time, they can be expensive to implement, hiding this fact.
If you take two rings that look the same, but one is hollow and the other is solid, then the difference in their weight may differ by two to three times. Accordingly, the price should be two to three times higher, said Vyacheslav Frolov from Frolof Jewelry. Izvestia sent a request to Rospotrebnadzor about whether there were more complaints about low-quality jewelry.
How to check a piece of jewelry
It is possible to confirm the authenticity and legality of the origin of jewelry through the state system for controlling the turnover of precious metals, precious stones and products made from them (GIIS DMDK), the Ministry of Finance reminded Izvestia. By scanning the QR code on the tag, the consumer can find out the weight of the jewelry and conclude whether it is hollow, they added. At the same time, there are no legal restrictions on the sale of such products (provided that the manufacturer reflects reliable data in the GIIS DMDK), the Ministry of Finance concluded.
It is important to pay attention to the weight of the product, Vyacheslav Frolov also noted. According to him, the hollow decoration will be very light, almost weightless. You also need to make a visual inspection. The hollow has either a seam or technological holes. You can also ask the seller directly.
For example, the average weight of a 585-proof women's wedding ring is 3-4 g. If it is significantly lighter, then this is a reason to think about it and check the quality.
If there was a forgery, lawyers advise collecting all the evidence (receipt, warranty card, packaging, tags, certificates). You can also present photos of the product and defects, screenshots or printouts of the product page from the website or advertising, correspondence or recordings of a conversation with the seller, said lawyer Ekaterina Alexandrovich.
— Do not throw away the product and do not try to "fix" it yourself. Order an independent commodity or jewelry examination from an accredited laboratory. The expert's opinion is a key document in the dispute," she noted.
The lawyer also advised sending a written complaint to the store (preferably by registered mail with a notification or against signature) demanding a refund or elimination of deficiencies, as well as reimbursement of examination costs and moral damage. If the seller refused or ignored the claim, then you can file a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor or the court.
As Izvestia previously reported, experts estimate that every fifth piece of jewelry on store shelves may turn out to be fake. The current volume of counterfeit goods in the Russian Federation is 15-20% of the total market (56 billion rubles). To solve this problem, the authorities want to tighten the rules for the sale of jewelry. In particular, stores will be required to post a printed "consumer memo" on how to check jewelry.
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