Each piece of jewelry sold to the market has an identification certificate. "One property, one certificate" can help consumers understand commodity information and protect their rights and interests. However, in recent years, with the continuous expansion of the market, especially in the new format, jewelry sales have moved from offline to online, and various violations of laws and regulations such as low-cost certificates, "mass-produced" certificates, and forged certificates are on the rise. It disrupts the market order, misleads consumers, and brings new challenges to the jewelry and jade inspection and testing industry.

　　"Buy a sapphire pendant for 299 yuan, and it comes with a jewelry appraisal certificate. If you grab it, you will earn it." "Gem experts will fry earrings for everyone. This price is absolutely impossible to buy in the market." "99 yuan pure gold jewelry to take home. "...Open a live broadcast platform and enter the word "jewelry", such "super value discounts" are not uncommon. When asked whether these merchants have jewelry appraisal certificates, the anchors gave affirmative answers without exception, and took out the appraisal certificates on the spot to prove their "identity". However, when reporters asked to show the contents of the certificate carefully, some anchors ignored it.

　　Recently, there have been media reports that some jewelry and jade appraisal agencies, especially online agencies, have falsely issued appraisal certificates, forged appraisal certificates of professional institutions in batches, and made illegal profits, which seriously disrupted the market order and deceived consumers. What are the reasons behind these chaos? How should consumers identify the authenticity of the authentication certificate? The reporter interviewed relevant experts on these issues.

 

　　Jewelry sales on online platforms are very hot. Photo by reporter Li Zhuocong

　　status quo

　　Jewelry and jade appraisal price is "inside volume", the certificate is difficult to distinguish

　　China is the world's second largest jewelry consumer market. According to incomplete statistics, the consumer market of various types of jewelry in my country exceeds 600 billion yuan, and the total number of various jewelry enterprises is nearly 65,000, with nearly 4 million employees. Under the huge market, how to ensure the health of the industry and how to maintain the interests of consumers? As a third-party inspection and testing organization, it is the key link.

　　"Jewelry and jade jewelry are mostly precious commodities, and each piece is unique. Since 1994, the National Jewelry Inspection has taken the lead in launching the 'one item, one certificate' model for listed products, which means that every piece of jewelry sold to the market comes with An appraisal certificate is like our ID card." Tian Jing, deputy director of the Jewelry National Inspection Technology and Quality Department, introduced.

　　The "one certificate for one item" model, relying on the scientific, fair, accurate and efficient appraisal of jewelry inspection and testing institutions, can help consumers understand commodity information and protect their rights and interests. However, with the continuous expansion of the market, especially under the new format, jewelry sales have moved from offline to online. Online platforms represented by Taobao, Tmall, etc. are becoming more and more popular for selling jewelry, and live streaming on Douyin and other platforms is extremely popular. Some top internet celebrities can even carry more merchandise in one day than a traditional large shopping mall in one month. transaction volume. The jewelry and jade inspection and testing industry is facing new challenges.

　　Taking Douyin as an example, it has established an integrated operation center for jewelry and jade quality inspection and logistics in 10 places including Nanyang (Zhenping), Ruili, Jieyang, Donghai, and Zhuji. Delivery integration operation. This is commonly known as the "BIC cabin" in the industry.

　　"This kind of platform has fast delivery speed, and the time requirements for inspection and testing institutions are relatively strict. Too short inspection time may affect the quality of inspection." Tian Jing expressed her concerns.

　　It is reported that, according to the standard technical process, the normal time for issuing the certificate ranges from 3 to 5 hours to 1 to 2 days. However, under the requirement of immediate certificate issuance, some informal institutions have tried to save time, reducing the necessary testing links, or the certificates issued are not standardized enough, and a few online platform merchants even use fake certificates from formal institutions to deceive consumers.

　　The reporter learned that in the jewelry inspection and testing areas such as Lilang in Shenzhen, Zhenping in Nanyang, and Ruili in Yunnan, some "small workshop" testing institutions can issue thousands or even tens of thousands of certificates per person per day. Many of these certificates flowed into the hands of consumers along online stores or live broadcast platforms, and became "Li Gui" whose quality is of concern.

　　Under the huge demand for mass production, the oncoming is the price war.

　　In the past, the price of a single certificate was about 200 yuan, but now, it has dropped all the way to less than 10 yuan. A certificate issued by individual institutions even only cost one or two yuan. This abnormal way of competition "involves" the entire market and squeezes the living space of national inspection and testing institutions.

　　"In the final analysis, jewelry and jade identification work is supported by technology and data, and the pursuit of too fast speed and too low cost will lead to 'sacrifice' in other aspects. For example, the equipment used is not advanced enough to carry out identification of difficult samples. Or omitting the manual verification process, etc., it is the consumers who suffer in the end." Tian Jing said.

　　"Suicide-style" low price, "mass-production" certificate production, and the accompanying shoddy certificates, incorrect information, forged official seals, and even forged certificates in batches, etc., have become industry issues that need urgent attention under the new format.

　　Traceability

　　Jewelry and jade appraisal institutions are mixed, and the threshold of employment needs to be raised urgently

　　What is the root cause of the frequent occurrence of appraisal certificate problems? This starts with the current situation of jewelry and jade inspection and testing institutions.

　　According to the "2020 National Inspection and Testing Service Industry Statistical Briefing" issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation (hereinafter referred to as "SAMR"), by the end of 2020, the number of inspection and testing institutions with less than 100 employees accounted for 96.43% , the vast majority of inspection and testing institutions are small and micro enterprises.

　　The relevant person in charge of the State Administration for Market Regulation pointed out that the "small and scattered" characteristics of my country's inspection and testing industry are relatively obvious, and the jewelry field also has this characteristic.

　　Experts said that the "small and scattered" of jewelry inspection and testing institutions is due to the development of the industry, strong demand, and more and more independent start-up companies;

　　It is understood that, in 1996, my country officially began to implement a qualification system for jewelry inspection practitioners, requiring personnel engaged in jewelry appraisal to take a national unified examination and obtain a qualification certificate for jewelry and jade quality inspectors. Until 2016, the State Council issued a document announcing the cancellation of 47 professional qualification licenses and accreditation matters, including jewelry and jade quality inspectors.

　　"The previous examination of gemstone quality inspectors had comprehensive requirements for jewelry theory and practical ability, and re-registration was required every two years. Before 2015, there were no more than 1,500 registered gemstone quality inspectors in the country. Moreover, according to the then It is stipulated that the establishment of a jewelry inspection and testing laboratory requires at least two registered quality inspectors." Tian Jing said.

　　After the cancellation of the registration system, the threshold for establishing a jewelry inspection and testing laboratory has been greatly reduced. In addition, if only the cost of purchasing basic testing equipment is not high, a large number of small and micro institutions with less than 10 people will flood into the market, and industry supervision will become more difficult.

　　It is worth noting that in April last year, the State Administration for Market Regulation promulgated the new "Administrative Measures for the Qualification Accreditation of Inspection and Testing Institutions", clarifying that inspection and testing institutions can choose to inform the commitment process when applying for qualification accreditation. After the institution submits the notification commitment and application materials to the qualification accreditation department as required, it can receive the qualification accreditation certificate in advance. At the same time, the qualification accreditation department will conduct an on-site inspection of the institution within 3 months after the qualification accreditation decision is made.

　　This move of issuing certificates first and then carrying out review and verification is aimed at optimizing the access services of inspection and testing institutions and reducing the time for obtaining certificates, but it has been maliciously used by a few unscrupulous institutions and has become an opportunity for them to exploit the "loopholes" in their policies.

　　The reporter learned that some illegal organizations took advantage of the "time difference" between filing an application and on-site inspection to conduct illegal operations. Even if they are investigated and punished, because of the low cost of illegality, they can still make a comeback for a "skin". This phenomenon has also become a "cancer" that disrupts the market order.

　　The above-mentioned person in charge pointed out that in order to survive, some small and micro inspection and testing institutions compete at low prices and issue certificates indiscriminately, which intensifies the bad competition in the entire industry; while formal institutions pay attention to social reputation and strictly abide by industry regulations. In the long run, it is inevitable that "bad money drives out good money" and "reverse elimination" occurs, which should be highly valued by the regulatory authorities.

 

　　Jewelry inspection laboratory scene. Photo courtesy of National Jewelry Inspection

　　Initiative

　　Strengthen market supervision and improve the level of inspection and testing informatization

　　How to stop the chaos in the field of jewelry and jade inspection and testing, and purify the market environment?

　　A number of interviewed experts called on the government regulatory authorities to make heavy efforts to rectify, standardize access, and strictly supervise. On the one hand, strengthen the supervision and management of institutions that have obtained legal qualifications; on the other hand, we should focus on cracking down on institutions that have not been qualified, illegally issued jewelry appraisal certificates or issued false certificates, and exposed the business behind them through the social credit system. , to achieve a certain deterrent effect.

　　In response to the rise of live streaming and BIC cabins in the new format, the person in charge of the above-mentioned State Administration for Market Regulation pointed out that it is necessary to correct the excessively harsh requirements imposed by some platforms on quality inspection agencies in terms of time, and the inspection procedures and quality necessary for quality inspection agencies cannot be sacrificed. In exchange for the logistics rhythm of the platform's live broadcast of goods. The regulatory department should carry out special supervision and inspection on the validity and authenticity of the jewelry appraisal certificate in the live broadcast.

　　While tightening the supervision cage, the digital transformation of jewelry and jade inspection and testing has entered the fast lane, playing an important role in the anti-counterfeiting of identification certificates and the improvement of inspection efficiency.

　　In June 2020, the National Jewelry Inspection and Inspur Group cooperated to launch the first "one code, one chain" jewelry digital ID card based on "one object, one certificate" in China's jewelry industry, realizing the "credit upgrade" of the certificate.

　　"Scan the 'national inspection code' on the jewelry appraisal certificate, and you can review the certificate data to avoid entering the pit." Luo Qiang, director of the network technology department of jewelry national inspection, said.

　　He told reporters that the mystery of this kind of "digital ID card" lies in the application of blockchain technology. The upgraded "National Inspection Code" writes the data of the inspection certificate into the blockchain, and the blockchain encryption technology can ensure that the inspection data is not tampered with, which helps to standardize the jewelry and jade market order.

　　In addition, the National Jewelry Inspection also launched an electronic certificate last year. "Don't underestimate this card, it contains a wealth of quality inspection information, and has a high degree of anti-counterfeiting." Luo Qiang showed the reporter the certificate key the size of an ID card.

　　Open the "Jewelry National Inspection" app and read the certificate with the near field communication (NFC) technology that comes with your mobile phone. You can not only learn the certificate name, serial number, test conclusion, quality, three-dimensional shape, map and other inspection and testing information, but also get Knowledge of jewellery.

　　"In addition to certificates, we have also made many innovations in inspection and testing equipment. The developed weighing camera can improve the inspection efficiency by 80%; using the big data acquisition system, the data in the jewelry inspection process can be collected, not only can It can provide a reference for market supervision departments, and can also be used for the development of intelligent detection algorithms." Luo Qiang said that these digital methods can improve the speed and accuracy of manual detection and meet the requirements for detection time in new formats.

　　In his view, while the jewelry and jade inspection and testing institutions are based on their main business, they should conform to the development of the Internet era, cooperate with relevant sales platforms, further regulate the market, and safeguard consumer rights and interests. , we will transform and upgrade services to meet the needs of new business models and consumption scenarios," he said.

　　future

　　The promotion of popular science culture has a long way to go and requires efforts from all sides

　　"'To buy jewelry, you need a certificate'. Many consumers do not have such a basic awareness of rights protection." Meng Xiaojun, director of the Publicity and Promotion Department of the National Jewelry Inspection, said frankly.

　　She said that many consumers have not yet realized that while technological progress has brought more life choices to mankind, it has also brought more confusion. There are more and more synthesis and processing methods of jewelry and jade, and the application scope of synthesis and processing products is also more and more extensive. It is difficult to accurately distinguish new technology products only by traditional "eyesight" or basic equipment. The technical ability of inspection and evaluation, service level and inspection system development and management behind the jewelry appraisal certificate are becoming more and more important.

　　"There are still some consumers who feel that foreign certificates are better than domestic ones, and this view also needs to be changed." Meng Xiaojun said that the essence of jewelry and jade appraisal is part of the economic field of social supervision. On a global scale, China's supervision system is in the system The construction and governance institutions are first-class, and from the perspective of technical service capabilities, China's current special technology research and development, standard development, appraisal methods and rights protection services in the field of gold, jewelry and jade jewelry can fully provide consumers with high-quality services. .

　　However, people's understanding requires a process, and the improvement of the ability and level of consumer goods governance in the whole society requires a process. At the very least, "We need to make consumers realize that behind the small certificate is a set of security systems, which has a large space for scientific research, testing capabilities and technical management construction." Meng Xiaojun said.

　　At present, consumers still have barriers to the recognition of jewelry and jade appraisal certificates, and it is necessary to start from bit by bit of popular science propaganda. In Meng Xiaojun's view, science can be popularized from three aspects: common knowledge of jewelry and jade, relevant qualifications and regulations of jewelry and jade inspection and testing, how to protect rights and how to consume.

　　As a national jewelry and jade jewelry inspection and testing center, in addition to using the website, WeChat public account, Douyin and other Internet platforms to conduct daily popular science publicity last year, the National Jewelry Inspection also held 76 online live broadcasts and online events through the "NGTC Social Public Information Platform". The next lecture activity will interact with the audience of nearly 5 million to popularize the knowledge of jewelry and jade. In terms of relevant qualifications and laws and regulations related to the inspection and testing of jewelry and jade, the National Jewelry Inspection has carried out quality inspection exchanges, academic exchanges and lectures for enterprises, institutions and consumers, and has participated in major exhibitions such as China International Consumer Goods Fair and China International Jewelry Show. Free testing services are provided in the center to help consumers further understand the jewelry and jade inspection and testing industry.

　　"Jewelry consumption is not a daily necessities, it is a kind of cultural consumer goods. It can be said that it represents people's yearning and expectations for a better life. When people buy jewelry, they often place their emotions on it. If the market order is disrupted, they will Consumers will cause double damage to property and emotions, and those involving financing and loans will also cause financial risks." Meng Xiaojun said.

　　Regarding the problems of the jewelry and jade inspection and testing industry under the new format, Meng Xiaojun believes that various efforts should be made. First, he calls on the government regulatory authorities to recognize the necessity of the industry threshold. In terms of institutional approval, qualification certification, personnel capabilities and equipment identification, Be strict and truthful. Second, for inspection and testing institutions, to carry out technical service work within the allowable scope of testing qualifications and capabilities, they must be conscious and self-disciplined. The third is to enhance and promote technological self-improvement and cultural self-confidence. Technological innovation should be used to drive the high-quality development of the jewelry industry and the testing industry, integrate various social forces, use various media platforms, and expand the publicity of regular testing institutions to help consumers. Distinguish "Li Kui" and "Li Gui" well.

　　How to recognize the "identity card" of jewelry and jade?

　　One look at the sign/logo

　　The first is the CMA mark, which is the qualification certification mark. Inspection and testing institutions that issue certificates to the society must obtain qualification certification. There are also certificates issued by some institutions with the ILAC-MRA/CNAS logo, which means that they have passed the laboratory accreditation of the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS). Laboratory accreditation is a voluntary application.

　　Second check content

　　To get a certificate, the most important thing is to look at the inspection results. What kind of sample are you sending for inspection? Is it a natural gemstone or an artificial gemstone? Generally, the certificate will also provide information such as photos, weight, color, shape and other information of the sample, so that it can be judged whether the sample is consistent with the certificate.

　   Three Distinguishing Authenticity

　　How to distinguish the authenticity of the appraisal certificate provided by the merchant? First, check whether the certificate has the qualification mark of the testing agency, and then check whether the content of the certificate is complete, whether there is testing basis, the official seal of the agency, the name of the testing personnel, and the QR code if necessary. , website query and other certificate query methods of anti-counterfeiting information.

　　Finally, I would like to remind you that when buying jewelry and jade jewelry, remember to ask the merchant to provide a shopping invoice. Only with jewelry and jade jewelry with complete "tickets" and "certificates" can you really rest assured!