7101 22 — Cultured pearls, worked, whether or not graded, but not strung, mounted or set, worked cultured pearls, temporarily strung for convenience of transport

7101 Natural or cultivated pearls, processed or unprocessed, sorted or unsorted, but unstitched, unrigged or unfixed; natural or cultured pearls, temporarily strung for ease of transportation: 7101 10 natural pearls - cultured pearls: 7101 21 - raw 7101 22 - processed

The pearls considered in this heading, like mother-of-pearl, are the result of the natural secretion of various mollusks inhabiting sea or fresh water (especially the pearl oyster and pearl bivalve mollusks). Pearls have a shiny surface, they consist mainly of layers of calcium carbonate coated with a horny substance (conchiolin). The carbonate layers cause optical interference and diffraction, giving pearls a characteristic pearl shine ("oriental" pearls); conchiolin gives pearls a semi-transparency or "wateriness".

Pearls are usually white but may have tints or colours (grey, black, purple, violet, red, yellow, green or blue). Pearls are, as a rule, round in shape, but sometimes semi-round (button pearls) or irregular (baroque or blister pearls), and may be of very different sizes. Mother of pearl (heading 0508 or 9601) has almost the same composition, but usually takes the form of thin sheets. This heading also covers cultured pearls (i.e., produced with human intervention). They are created by fixing a mother-of-pearl bead in a small sac cut from the mantle of one oyster and then inserting this sac into the tissue of another, healthy oyster. Over a number of years the bead is slowly covered with concentric layers of nacre. Cultured pearls therefore look very much like natural pearls, but they can be distinguished by means of a special instrument (endoscope) or by X-ray examination. The heading covers natural or cultured pearls both unworked, i.e., gathered and simply cleaned (e.g., with salt and water), and worked, which includes pearls ground to remove defects, drilled or sawn (e.g., halves or three-quarter pearls). Pearls of this heading may be temporarily strung for convenience of transport. Pearls which have been set, mounted or, after grading, strung for permanent further use as such are excluded from this heading (see heading 7113, 7114 or 7116, respectively). It should be noted that natural or cultured pearls are not covered by Chapter 97 (collectors' pieces, antiques, etc.) and are therefore classified in this Chapter. The heading excludes: (a) imitation pearls (plastics – heading 3926; glass – heading 7018; wax – heading 9602); (b) mother of pearl, unworked or simply prepared (heading 0508) or worked (heading 9601).

Notes

Machine translation. The original is the Russian text of the EAEU tariff, and customs goes by it; this translation is for understanding only and has no legal force.

1. Subject to the provisions of Note 1(A) to Section VI and the following exceptions, this Chapter includes all articles consisting wholly or partly of:

(a) natural or cultivated pearls or precious or semi-precious stones (natural, artificial or reconstructed); or

(b) from precious metals or metals clad with precious metals.

2. (A) Headings 7113, 7114 and 7115 do not include articles in which the precious metal or metal clad with the precious metal is present only as minor components, such as fine fittings or minor finishes (e.g. monograms, rims and edgings), and the provisions of point (b) of note 1 do not apply to these articles.

(B) Heading 7116 does not include articles containing precious metals or metals clad in precious metals (other than small constituent parts).

3. This group does not include:

(a) amalgams of precious metals or precious metals in the colloidal state (heading 2843);

(b) sterile surgical suture materials, dental filling materials or other products of Chapter 30;

(c) goods of Chapter 32 (e.g. glossy);

(d) catalysts on carriers (heading 3815);

(e) articles of heading 4202 or 4203 (see note 3(B) to chapter 42);

(f) articles of heading 4303 or 4304;

(g) goods of Section XI (textiles and textile articles);

(h) footwear, headgear or other articles of Chapter 64 or 65;

(ij) umbrellas, canes or other articles of Chapter 66;

(k) abrasive materials of heading 6804 or 6805 or of Chapter 82 containing a crumb or powder of precious or semi-precious stones (natural or artificial); articles of Chapter 82 with a working part of precious or semi-precious stones (natural, artificial or reconstructed); machinery, equipment, machinery, electrical goods, or parts thereof, of Section XVI. However, articles and parts thereof consisting wholly of precious or semi-precious stones (natural, artificial or reconstructed) are classified in this Chapter, with the exception of unfixed processed sapphires and diamonds for pickup needles (heading 8522);

(l) Articles of Chapter 90, 91 or 92 (scientific instruments, clocks of all kinds, musical instruments);

(m) weapons or parts thereof (Chapter 93);

(n) articles referred to in Note 2 to Chapter 95;

(o) articles of Chapter 96, in accordance with Note 4 to Chapter 96; or

(p) original sculptures or figurines (heading 9703), collectibles (heading 9705) or antiques more than one hundred years old (heading 9706), other than natural or cultivated pearls or precious or semi-precious stones.

4. (A) The term “precious metal” means silver, gold and platinum.

(B) The term platinum means platinum, iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium.

(C) The term “precious or semi-precious stones” does not apply to the materials referred to in Note 2(b) to Chapter 96.

5. In this chapter, any alloy (including an agglomerated mixture and an intermetallic compound) containing a precious metal shall be considered a precious metal alloy if its share in the alloy is not less than 2% by weight. Alloys of precious metals should be classified according to the following rules:

(a) an alloy containing 2% or more platinum by weight, as a platinum alloy;

(b) an alloy containing 2 wt.% or more of gold but without platinum, or containing less than 2 wt.%, as an alloy of gold;

(c) other alloys containing 2 % or more by weight of silver, as silver alloys.

6. Unless otherwise specified in the context, any reference in the Nomenclature to precious metals or to any particular precious metal shall include a reference to alloys of precious metals or a particular metal in accordance with the rules set out in Note 5 above. However, this does not apply to metals clad with precious metals, base metals or non-metals coated with precious metals by a galvanic method.

7. Throughout the Nomenclature, the term “precious metal clad metal” means a material made from a metal, on one or more surfaces of which a coating of precious metal is coated by soldering, welding, hot rolling or similar mechanical means. Unless otherwise specified in the context, the term also means a base metal inlaid with a precious metal.

8. Subject to the provisions of Note 1(A) to Section VI, goods corresponding to the description of heading 7112 shall be classified in that heading and in no other heading of the Nomenclature.

9. For the purposes of heading 7113, the term “jewelry” means:

(a) any small items of personal adornment (e.g. rings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, earrings, watch chains, key chains, pendants, tie pins, cufflinks, religious or other medals and signs); and

(b) articles for personal use, usually carried in pockets, handbags, men's or on the body (e.g. cigarette case, snuffboxes, pill boxes, powder boxes, purses with a chain or rosary).

These articles may be combined with or decorated with, for example, natural or cultivated pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, artificial or reconstructed precious or semi-precious stones, turtle shell products, mother-of-pearl, ivory, natural or reconstructed amber, gagat or coral.

10. For the purposes of heading 7114, the term “works of gold or silver craftsmen” means ornaments, utensils, toiletries, smoking utensils and other articles for the household, institutions or religious purposes.

11. For the purpose of heading 7117, the term “jewelry” means jewellery as defined above in note 9 (a) to this chapter (other than buttons or other articles of heading 9606 or ridges, hairpins and hairpins of heading 9615), without natural or cultivated pearls, precious or semi-precious stones (natural, artificial or reconstructed), without precious metals or metals clad with precious metals (not counting galvanic coatings or minor parts of precious metals or metals or precious metals).

Subheading notes

English text as published in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/1832 (Combined Nomenclature). The EAEU tariff and the EU nomenclature copy these notes from the same convention. For a Russian declaration the binding version is the Russian one: Annex to Decision No 80 of the EEC Council of 14 September 2021.

1. For the purposes of subheadings 7106 10, 7108 11, 7110 11, 7110 21, 7110 31 and 7110 41, the expressions ‘powder’ and ‘in powder form’ mean products of which 90 % or more by weight passes through a sieve having a mesh aperture of 0,5 mm.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter note 4(B), for the purposes of subheadings 7110 11 and 7110 19, the expression ‘platinum’ does not include iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium or ruthenium.

3. For the classification of alloys in the subheadings of heading 7110, each alloy is to be classified with that metal, platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium or ruthenium which predominates by weight over each other of these metals.

Additional note of the Eurasian Economic Union

Machine translation. The original is the Russian text of the EAEU tariff, and customs goes by it; this translation is for understanding only and has no legal force.

1. For the purposes of subheadings 7106 91 000 1, 7108 12 000 1, 7108 20 000 1, 7110 11 000 1, 7110 21 000 1 the term “ingot” means a metal article cast in the form of a truncated pyramid, a truncated cone, a prism (square, rectangular or polygonal cross-section) or a cylinder not otherwise treated.