Jewellery advertised as sterling silver on popular online marketplaces has been found to contain toxic chemicals.
A BBC Watchdog investigation by experts on The One Show examined 25 pieces of jewellery bought from a number of vendors on websites like Amazon, eBay, Temu, OnBuy and Etsy.
It found eight items containing levels of cadmium – a chemical that can cause cancer – that exceeded the legal maximum.
Only two of the items listed could be classed as genuine sterling silver.
Meranda, 34, spoke to the outlet after she purchased a necklace from Etsy listed as sterling silver.
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After a short time wearing it, she found her skin had become irritated.
Meranda said: ‘I remember looking at it as I took it off and thinking the color on this doesn’t look right.’
She added there was no reason to suspect there was anything wrong with the jewellery when she first purchased it online.
‘It was very shiny. It looked [legitimate]; I did not think it wasn’t sterling silver.’
Testing by the Sheffield Assay Office found that Meranda’s necklace only contained 8.9% silver.
Genuine sterling silver must contain at least 92.5% silver.
The testing also found Meranda’s necklace contained nickel. One section of the chain had a concentration as high as 11%.
Of the 25 items of jewelry purchased by BBC Watchdog, eight also included cadmium over the legal limit of 0.01%.
In some cases, the jewelry contained up to 10% cadmium.
Cadmium is a carcinogen but can also cause respiratory issues, kidney damage, cardiovascular problems and other detrimental health effects.
Ingestion and inhalation both pose serious risks to human health.
While you’re unlikely to eat your jewellery, if you were to drop an earring containing high levels of cadmium into your food and then continue to eat it, it could put your health in danger.
Low-level exposure from wearing the jewellery could also have detrimental impacts on your well-being.
Selling fake sterling is a breach of the Hallmarking Act and those who fall foul risk fines and imprisonment.
When contacted for comment, eBay told Metro none of the items it sold were found to contain illegal levels of cadmium during the investigation.
It also said it had removed the products identified as potentially posing risks by the BBC investigation.
An eBay spokesperson said: ‘eBay strictly prohibits misleading listings and requires all items to be described accurately.
‘To ensure buyers can shop with confidence, anyone who receives an item that does not match its description may be covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee, and we encourage them to contact us for support.’
Amazon told the BBC that customers with any concerns about their jewelry purchases should contact them directly for support.
The online retail giant said it had since recalled a number of jewelry products found to be unsafe after the BBC Watchdog investigation.
A Temu spokesperson said affected products had been removed from its platform thanks to its ‘ongoing monitoring’ before the BBC got in contact.
‘We have arranged additional testing by an independent laboratory and are reviewing similar products to identify and address potential risks,’ it said.
‘Temu requires sellers to comply with applicable product safety and compliance requirements as a condition of selling on our platform. This includes complying with restrictions on hazardous substances, accurately describing product materials and providing relevant test reports and compliance documentation.’
OnBuy told the BBC it has offered affected customers refunds and initiated a recall of the product our analysis identified as containing cadmium.
Metro has contacted Amazon, OnBuy, and Etsy for comment.