Spotlight on jewellery retailers shows up flaws
The excessively intense display lighting used by jewellery shops - to make their wares sparkle - is putting thousands of sales workers in danger of irreversible damage to their health and wasting electricity.
Among five jewellery shops surveyed in a South China Morning Post investigation, indoor lighting intensity was up to two times the level recommended by the labour watchdog, prompting calls from eye-care physicians and unionists to address the issue of 'indoor light pollution'.
Some popular goldsmiths have pledged to review their lighting to safeguard staff after learning of the findings, but green activists said the issue was just the tip of the iceberg.
The Post earlier this month visited five jewellery shops - branches of Chow Tai Fook, Luk Fook, Chow Sang Sang and Just Gold at New Town Plaza, Sha Tin, and Tiffany & Co at The Peninsula hotel. All were using spotlights to illuminate their products.
The readings were taken with a modified photometer developed by Henry Chung Shu-hung, associate dean of the faculty of science and engineering at City University. Three readings were taken at each shop. The average readings ranged from 770 to 960 lux - units that reflect light intensity - among the five shops. Maximum readings of 1,100 and 1,200 lux were recorded at two spots in the Chow Sang Sang and Tiffany stores respectively.
The readings were higher than the optimal lighting level for shops as listed in occupational safety guidelines issued by the Labour Department in 2000.
