Heavy Metal is a Rock ‘n Roll Genre, Not a Jewelry Ingredient

Heavy Metal is a Rock ‘n Roll Genre, Not a Jewelry Ingredient

Chanteur Designs promises that all of our jewelry is 100% lead, nickel, and cadmium safe.  It has been tested and approved by Mutual Cornell, a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) accredited lab.  We use only gold plating on our jewelry, as it’s most gentle on your child’s sensitive skin. All of our products are crafted to be top quality!

 

 

Why Be Concerned?

Lead is often used in jewelry to make it heavier (perception of quality) and also brightens colors and hides the use of plastic.  Many states regulate lead in your jewelry to prevent you from harm. Lead is a toxic metal and does not break down in the environment.  It is very dangerous to people because it accumulates in our bodies.  High levels of lead have often been found in jewelry, unfortunately, most often in inexpensive children’s jewelry.  

Exposure to lead can lead to a number of health problems, including:

• Behavioral problems
• Learning disabilities
• Joint and muscle weakness
• Anemia
• Organ failure and even
• Death

Children 6 years old and under are especially at risk because their bodies are growing quickly and they have a tendency to place jewelry in their mouths.  At Chanteur Designs, you will never find lead in our jewelry and it has the weight, bright colors and high quality on which you can depend. We work hard to make sure to only sell hypoallergenic kids earrings.

 

Nickel for your thoughts…

About ten percent of the population has a nickel allergy, the most common metal allergy.  The result is skin irritation and itching.  According to Dr. Audrey Kunin, board-certified dermatologist and president of DERMAdoctor, Inc., a skincare brand specializing in non-irritant treatments, habitual nickel exposure increases the risk of developing the allergy, which can start at any age.

Chanteur’s 925 sterling silver provides extra protection for your child’s ear; helping avoid any reaction your child may have and, of course, is nickel free!

Cadmium – BADmium…

Cadmium is a carcinogen. Exposure can also damage the lungs and kidneys and weaken bones.  Similar to nickel and lead, children are especially vulnerable to cadmium because they are growing at a a fast rate they are more susceptible to absorbing the cadmium and of course, no one should swallow any jewelry (at all!), especially if it’s made with cadmium!

In 2010, a high profile study tested children’s jewelry made in China and sold throughout the U.S., finding that some did, in fact, contain up to 90% cadmium.  Also, in 2010, several public interest groups have called for a ban on cadmium in kids earrings and asked for health and safety data for cadmium in products, similar to that required for lead.

In 2012, California responded by amending its Lead-Containing Jewelry Law to include cadmium, and renamed it the Metal-Containing Jewelry Law. Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington have also set strict limits on cadmium in children’s jewelry.

Why take a chance?

Chanteur Designs guarantees that we use only safe metals like 925 sterling silver.  What does 925 mean?  Since sterling silver is an alloy of silver, it contains 92.5% silver in weight and 7.5% of weight by other safe metals.  This means that sterling silver has a minimum fineness of 925.  Finer silver, for example, 99.9% pure silver, is too soft for producing jewelry or other functional objects.

A few little silver fun facts.  According to the Oxford English Dictionary, sterling is a derivation from a late Old English steorling (with (or like) a "little star"), as some early Norman pennies were imprinted with a small star.

The American revolutionary Paul Revere was regarded as one of the best silversmiths from this “Golden Age of American Silver.” Following the Revolutionary War, Revere acquired and made use of a silver rolling mill from England.

Eureka! There’s gold in them thar hills!!

Let’s talk about the metal treasured for its natural beauty and radiance.  For centuries, many cultures have used the color gold to represent the sun. Yellow gold is still the most used color.  However, by mixing in other metals, gold comes in a variety of colors including:  White, rose and believe it or not, blue, purple and even black!  The weight of gold is measured in troy ounces (1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 grams) and its purity is measured in carats.  24 carat is pure gold with no other metals.

Rose gold, also called pink or blush gold, is gold alloyed with copper to get a pink tint. The more copper used will produce a redder hue of gold while less copper will produce a pinker color.

At Chanteur Designs, we like to mix it all up!  We offer rose gold plating on 925 sterling silver, with the same protection as all of our other products to help avoid infections and irritations to your child’s ear.

Make the brilliant choice!

It’s taken many years and lots of hard work and research to make our jewelry as brilliant, trendy and safest as possible for your child.   View our full line of products here and let us know what you think.  We strive to continually educate our customers and ourselves in order to produce stellar jewelry. Why?  Because your little princess deserves it!  And you deserve the peace of mind of safety and high quality at a reasonable price!

Shop our FULL collection of 100% LEAD FREE kids jewelry HERE!

 

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