N.J. Stat. tit. 51, ch. 5

in effect

N.J. Stat. § 51:5-1 § 51:5-1

No person shall make for sale or sell, or offer to sell or dispose of, or have in his possession with intent to sell or dispose of, any article of merchandise made in whole or in part of gold or any alloy of gold, upon which article, or upon any tag, card or label attached thereto, or upon any box, package, cover or wrapper in which such article is incased or inclosed, shall be stamped, branded, engraved or imprinted any mark indicating, or designed or intended to indicate that the gold or alloy of gold in such article is of a greater degree of fineness than the actual fineness or quality of such gold or alloy, unless the actual fineness of such gold or alloy in the case of flat ware and watch cases be not less by more than three one-thousandths parts, and in the case of all other articles be not less by more than one-half karat than the fineness indicated by any such mark, according to the standards and subject to the qualifications set forth in section 51:5-2 of this title.

N.J. Stat. § 51:5-2 § 51:5-2

In any test for the ascertainment of the fineness of the gold or its alloy in any article mentioned in section 51:5-1 of this title according to the standards prescribed therein, the part of the gold or its alloy taken for the test, analysis or assay shall be such part or portion as does not contain or have attached thereto any solder or alloy of inferior fineness used for brazing or uniting the parts of such article, and in addition to the aforesaid tests and standards, the actual fineness of the entire quantity of gold and of its alloys contained in any article mentioned in said section 51:5-1 of this title, except watch cases and flat ware, including all solder, or alloy of inferior metal used for brazing or uniting the parts of the article (all such gold, alloys or solder being assayed as one piece), shall not be less by more than one karat than the fineness indicated by the mark stamped, branded, engraved or imprinted upon such article or upon any tag, card or label attached thereto, or upon any box, package, cover or wrapper in which such article is incased or inclosed.

N.J. Stat. § 51:5-3 Manufacture or sale of articles made of silver, with marks of "sterling" , "coin" , etc., where articles less than certain fineness

No person shall make for sale, sell or offer to sell or dispose of, or have in his possession with intent to sell or dispose of, any article of merchandise made in whole or in part of silver or of any alloy of silver, upon which article, or upon any tag, card or label attached thereto, or upon any box, package, cover or wrapper in which such article is incased or inclosed, shall be marked, stamped, branded or engraved: a. The words "sterling silver" or "sterling" or any colorable imitation thereof, unless nine hundred and twenty-five one-thousandths of the component parts of the metal appearing or purporting to be silver, of which such article is manufactured, are pure silver, subject to the qualifications set forth in section 51:5-4 of this title, provided that in case of all such articles, there shall be allowed a divergence in fineness of four one-thousandths parts from the foregoing standard; or b. The words "coin" or "coin silver" or any colorable imitation thereof, unless nine hundred one-thousandths of the component parts of the metal appearing or purporting to be silver, of which such article is manufactured, are pure silver, subject to the qualifications set forth in said section 51:5-4; provided that in case of all such articles, there shall be allowed a divergence in fineness of four one-thousandths parts from the standard mentioned in this paragraph; or c. Any mark or word, other than the word "sterling" or the word "coin" , indicating, or designed or intended to indicate, that the silver or alloy of silver in such article is of a greater degree of fineness than the actual fineness or quality of such silver or alloy, unless the actual fineness of the silver or alloy of silver of which such article is composed be not less by more than four one-thousandths parts than the actual fineness indicated by said mark or word, subject to the qualifications set forth in said section 51:5-4.

N.J. Stat. § 51:5-4 § 51:5-4

In any test for the ascertainment of the fineness of any article mentioned in section 51:5-3 of this title, according to the standards therein prescribed, the part of the article taken for the test, analysis or assay shall be such part or portion as does not contain or have attached thereto any solder or alloy of inferior metal used for brazing or uniting the parts of such article, and, in addition to the aforesaid tests and standards, the actual fineness of the entire quantity of metal purporting to be silver contained in any article mentioned in said section 51:5-3 of this title, including all solder or alloy of inferior fineness used for brazing or uniting the parts of any such article (all silver, alloy or solder being assayed as one piece), shall not be less by more than ten one-thousandths parts than the fineness indicated, according to the aforesaid standards, by the mark stamped, branded, engraved or imprinted upon such article, or upon any tag, card or label attached thereto, or upon any box, package, cover or wrapper in which such article is incased or inclosed.

N.J. Stat. § 51:5-5 Manufacture or sale of gold plated articles without indicating they are plated

No person shall make for sale, sell, or offer to sell or dispose of or have in his possession with intent to sell or dispose of, any article of merchandise made in whole or in part of inferior metal, having deposited or plated thereon or brazed or otherwise affixed thereto a plate, plating, covering or sheet of gold, or of any alloy of gold, which article is known in the market as "rolled gold plate" , "gold plate" , "gold filled" , "gold electroplate" , or by any similar designation, and upon which article or upon any tag, card or label attached thereto, or upon any box, package, cover or wrapper in which such article is incased or inclosed, shall be stamped, printed, branded or engraved any word or mark usually employed to indicate the fineness of gold, unless such word be accompanied by other words plainly indicating that such article, or some part thereof, is made of rolled gold plate, or gold plate, or gold electroplate, or is gold filled, as the case may be.

N.J. Stat. § 51:5-6 Manufacture or sale of silver plated articles with false marks of "sterling" or "coin" thereon

No person shall make for sale, sell or offer to sell or dispose of, or have in his possession with intent to sell or dispose of, any article of merchandise made in whole or in part of inferior metal, having deposited or plated thereon, or brazed or otherwise affixed thereto, a plate, plating, covering or sheet of silver, or of any alloy of silver, which article is known to the market as "silver plate" or "silver electroplate" , or by any similar designation, and upon which article, or upon any tag, card or label attached thereto, or upon any box, package, cover or wrapper in which such article is incased or inclosed, shall be stamped, branded, engraved or imprinted the word "sterling" , or the word "coin" , either alone or in conjunction with any other words or marks.

N.J. Stat. § 51:5-7 Penalty for violations

Every person, firm, corporation or association guilty of a violation of any provision of this chapter, and every officer, manager, director or managing agent of any such person, firm, corporation or association directly participating in such violation, or consenting thereto, shall be liable to a mandatory penalty of not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00 recoverable by the Superintendent of Weights and Measures in a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil penalty action pursuant to "the penalty enforcement law" (N.J.S. 2A:58-1 et seq.). Amended by L.1969, c. 251, s. 30, eff. Jan. 7, 1970; L.1980, c. 53, s. 3, eff. June 27, 1980.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislative-activity/statutesFetched: 10/17/2026