Couple Sue for $75,000 over Lost Tanzanite Ring
November 06, 24
(IDEX Online) - A couple are suing a jeweler in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, for $75,000 over the loss of an engagement ring.
Chelsea King, a singer, and her fiance Dawson Blankinship, a tennis player, claim a family-owned jewelry store failed to insure the ring, which was stolen in transit back on the way back from a gem cutter in Florida.
They paid $1,100 to have a tanzanite crystal, which was a family heirloom, cut and set in a ring. They say the tanzanite - one of the world's rarest gemstones - was worth $9,500.
"They told me they insure all items, for up to $100,000," Dawson said, according to local news channel KTVZ-TV. "What I didn't know was that they were shipping it off to a gem cutter in Miami."
King Jewelers, in Green Hills, said it had made every effort to resolve the matter.
In a statement it said it had offered to create a custom engagement ring using a superior-grade gemstone at no charge, or to compensate the client at fair market value.
"Despite our efforts, the situation has escalated publicly and legally. We are now facing a legal matter that we believe constitutes defamation and extortion, and we are prepared to counter-sue to address the exaggerations and false information being spread online."
Generic pic of tanzanite ring.