Seized: $9.2m Counterfeit Van Cleef & Arpels Jewelry
April 27, 25
(IDEX Online) - A shipment of counterfeit Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry, with an "if genuine" value of over $9.2m, has been seized entering the US from China.
Officers from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) say a package intercepted at El Paso, Texas, contained 1,708 rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces and other jewelry items resembling four-leaf clover pieces from Van Cleef & Arpels' iconic Alhambra collection.
Genuine Alhambra bracelets are typically priced at around $5,000, earrings and rings start at $3,500 to $7,000, and necklaces with are priced from $10,000 to well over $100,000 for diamond-set high-jewelry versions.
CBP said Van Cleef & Arpels confirmed the items were not a legitimate product and the seizure was authorized on 21 April. The shipment was was manifested as "accessories and bracelets worth $15,480".
"Buying counterfeit luxury jewelry may seem like a bargain, but it may also be fueling criminal enterprises involved in money laundering, forced labor, and even organized crime," said CBP El Paso director of field operations Hector Mancha.
"Counterfeit goods are generally poor-quality products that cost US businesses billions of dollars a year while robbing our country of jobs and tax revenues."
Pics of seized items courtesy CBP.