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Changes to federal law on lead limits will impact manufacturers of children's jewelry crafted of base metals, while jewelry crafted of precious metals is exempt for the time being.

New York--Starting next month, retailers and manufacturers who handle certain types of children's jewelry will have to be sure they are in line with new federal mandates regarding allowable amounts of lead in children's products.

Under the federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), the general limit on lead content in children's products, including certain types of jewelry, falls to 300 parts per million (ppm), or 0.03 percent, beginning Aug. 14, according to information provided by Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America (MJSA).

This law pre-empts all state laws, except in California, which dictates that all jewelry, not just children's jewelry, meets state lead content limits.

The law impacts manufacturers that deal in jewelry intended for children 12 and under and crafted of base metals, such as lead, copper, stainless steel, nickel, tin or brass, according to MJSA.

Peggy Jo Donahue, acting MJSA spokesperson, said for now, children's jewelry crafted of precious metals and/or precious or semi-precious stones are exempt from the new lead requirements mandated by the CPSIA. But those that make fine jewelry for children are not entirely off the hook just yet.

Donahue said MJSA and other jewelry groups have asked for these materials to be permanently exempt, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has yet to vote on the issue.

"Right now, the precious-metal manufacturers and importers have a temporary exemption that the commission has granted until they make a final decision," she said.

MJSA, along with other industry organizations, also had asked the CPSC to exempt children's jewelry crafted of crystal and glass beads, including rhinestones and cubic zirconia, but the CPSC rejected that request on July 17, Donahue said.

The CPSIA mandates that jewelry designers and manufacturers must certify through third-party testing at a CPSC-accredited lab that their products meet these standards, according to MJSA. Any children's jewelry without certificates of compliance cannot be imported or distributed in the United States.

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