(a) It is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent that an industry product contains silver, or to misrepresent an industry product as having a silver content, plating, electroplating, or coating.
(b) It is unfair or deceptive to mark, describe, or otherwise represent all or part of an industry product as ``silver,'' ``solid silver,'' ``Sterling Silver,'' ``Sterling,'' or the abbreviation ``Ster.'' unless it is at least \925/1,000\ths pure silver.
(c) It is unfair or deceptive to mark, describe, or otherwise represent all or part of an industry product as ``coin'' or ``coin silver'' unless it is at least \900/1,000\ths pure silver.
(d) It is unfair or deceptive to mark, describe, or otherwise represent all or part of an industry product as being plated or coated with silver unless all significant surfaces of the product or part contain a plating or coating of silver that is of substantial thickness. \8\---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ See footnote 3.---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(e) The provisions of this section relating to markings and descriptions of industry products and parts thereof are subject to the applicable tolerances of the National Stamping Act or any amendment thereof. \9\---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ Under the National Stamping Act, sterling silver articles or parts that contain no solder have a permissible tolerance of four parts per thousand. If the part tested contains solder, the permissible tolerance is ten parts per thousand. For full text, see 15 U.S.C. 294, et seq.
Note 1 to Sec. 23.6: The National Stamping Act provides that silverplated articles shall not ``be stamped, branded, engraved or imprinted with the word `sterling' or the word `coin,' either alone or in conjunction with other words or marks.'' 15 U.S.C. 297(a).
Note 2 to Sec. 23.6: Exemptions recognized in the assay of silver industry products are listed in the appendix.