NY 800337 - The country of origin marking of stainless steel watch bracelets. - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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NY 800337 August 4, 1994

CLA-2-91:S:N:N8:344 800337

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. David Eisen
Siegel, Mandell & Davidson, P.C.
One Astor Plaza
1515 Broadway - 43rd Floor
New York, NY 10036-8901

RE: The country of origin marking of stainless steel watch bracelets.

Dear Mr. Eisen:

Your letter dated May 23, 1994, on behalf of Esquire Watch Company and addressed to U. S. Customs, Office of Regulations & Rulings, Washington, D. C., has been referred to this office for our reply.

You have submitted two samples of men's watches, both of which have stainless steel bracelets made in Hong Kong. The watch movements are made in Switzerland and the cases are made in China. The bracelets will be imported separately and their marking is the subject of this ruling request.

Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, provides that, unless otherwise excepted, every article of foreign origin imported in the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly and permanently as the nature of the article will permit, in such manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article.

U.S. Customs has previously ruled that the country of origin of a watch is the country in which the movement is manufactured. In this case Switzerland. Customs has also determined that straps and bands must be separately marked when its country of origin is different from that of the watch and such marking must be sufficient to meet the conspicuous and legibility requirements of 19 U.S.C. Section 1304, i.e., size of the marking, whether or not the marking can be easily located and that it can be read without strain.

The bracelet on the first sample bears the words "Stainless Steel" and directly underneath that, the words "Hong Kong." This marking is located in the center of the exterior folding plate of the closure buckle and remains visible when the buckle is in the closed position. This marking is in 9-point print size, is of the identical print size as "Stainless Steel," and can be easily read without strain from a reasonable distance. This marking is acceptable for Section 1304 purposes.

The bracelet on the second sample has the words "100% Stainless Steel" located in the center of the exterior folding plate of the closure buckle. However, the words "Hong Kong" appear on the side of the exterior folding plate of the closure buckle and cannot be readily seen unless the angle of the bracelet is adjusted to just the right light. Although the print size is considered acceptable, it is smaller than the words "100% Stainless Steel." It is our opinion that this marking is not conspicuous and is not easily located and therefore does not meet the requirements of Section 1304. An acceptable marking would have the words "Hong Kong" directly beneath the words "100% Stainless Steel" in the same print size. If this cannot be accomplished, hangtags or paper stickers would be an acceptable alternative so long as they are well secured so as to remain on the bracelet until the watch reaches the ultimate consumer.

Your samples are being returned as requested.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire

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