Costco’s Costly Tiffany’s “Mistake”

In yet another story where a company purposefully misleads it customers, Costco’s was on the losing end of a gavel in a recent lawsuit and ordered to pay a cool $19.4 million for misleading consumers into thinking they could buy legit Tiffany bling.

The mega-company’s defense, according to the New York Post?

“Costco intended that the word Tiffany in its signs convey only that the rings had this style of setting — not that the rings were Tiffany & Co. brand rings,” the company said in a statement, adding “that was consistent with decades of dictionary definitions.

Hmmm…”dictionary definitions”? Sounds fishy, for sure.

The takeaway (as always) for jewelry purchasers everywhere: buyer beware. If a price sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Tiffany’s (in can be comfortably assumed) doesn’t sell their jewelry at “warehouse prices.” So as always, use a little common sense when investigating your next purchase.

That doesn’t mean you can’t purchase a piece of jewelry that has similarities to a certain style you love. Custom design jewelry can do just that: combine elements of jewelry that has caught your eye and create a new piece, original in its origin and particular in its design. (We highly suggest that route!)