Marne
NEF Jewelry sold me NICKEL instead of 925 Silver. Proven by Two Labs.
$6,000 AUD of my jewellery manufactured by N.E.F. tested magnetic and was not made from 925 sterling silver. I'm a solo designer who put my life savings into a 20+ piece jewellery collection. After 8 months of having my life on hold for this collection to be completed, based on my own testing and calculations, I estimate around 80% of the delivered jewellery contains nickel, concealed under a rhodium plating. NEF Jewelry (Thailand) told me in writing they use 99.99% recycled silver, with a certificate to back it up, which is part of why I chose them. Months into production I started having repeated allergic reactions to the earrings. When I raised this directly, I was told in writing that nickel is not used in their production or plating processes. Independent testing by two separate accredited labs, one in Australia, one in Bangkok, found otherwise: over 30% nickel in the pieces I tested. A simple magnet test confirmed the same pattern across the entire rhodium plated batch, sterling silver isn't magnetic, theirs consistently was. N.E.F Jewelry (Thailand) sent their own internal reports showing high silver and no nickel. When I compared these against the actual pieces from the batch, they didn't seem to match, one piece from the same design, tested independently at random, came back showing significant nickel despite their own paperwork saying otherwise. I was patient and professional with this company for over a year through repeated delays. Finding out I may have been sent falsified documentation while raising a genuine health concern has been genuinely difficult, this was everything I had. I have not been compensated by this business in any way. I have been left with next to nothing to work with and this business has not taking any accountability for what they have done. Avoid them at all costs.