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Roberto Coin Jade Line Pulled from Macy’s
Dec 31, 2018 10:13 AM
By Leah Meirovich
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RAPAPORT... Macy’s has removed a collection of Roberto Coin black-jade
jewelry from its shelves following allegations the line bears unlawful gem
certification.
Natural-stone supplier Kings Stone, which made the claims
that prompted Macy’s move in April, filed a lawsuit in August seeking damages
of $46.1 million from Roberto Coin Incorporated (RCI). The suit asserts the
jeweler continued to use the National Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC)
certification that Kings Stone obtained for its black amphibole jade years
after the supply agreement between the two entities had ended.
Kings Stone’s jade is the only stone “the NGTC had ever been
willing to certify as ‘black amphibole,’” meaning Roberto Coin could not have
gained access to NGTC-certified black amphibole jade from another supplier,
according to the lawsuit filed on August 20.
Macy’s agreed to drop the line in mid-April after it was
unable to provide proof of certification of the line from Roberto Coin at the
request of Kings Stone’s owner Joseph Goldstein, he told Rapaport News.
Goldstein claimed that other retailers, including Saks Fifth Avenue and
Borsheims, had also pulled the collection.
Borsheims and Saks Fifth Avenue did not respond to requests
for comment at press time. Macy’s said it did not comment on ongoing
litigation.
Following the retailers’ move, Roberto Coin filed an initial
lawsuit accusing Goldstein and Kings Stone of defamation. “RCI initiated this
suit against Kings Stone to stop Kings Stone and its principal from continuing
to engage in false advertising and disseminating false allegations against RCI,”
Gayle Pollack of Morrison Cohen, which represents Roberto Coin, told Rapaport
News Friday. “RCI has conducted its business in accordance with the highest
standards for over two decades, and has long been an industry leader in ethical
gemstone sourcing. RCI looks forward to being vindicated in court.”
Kings Stone countersued, claiming the jeweler had not been
able to produce proof of the certification from its new supplier of jade and had
engaged in a years-long fraud in the marketing and sales of its black jade, according
to the filing in the Eastern District of New York.
In response to Goldstein’s claim that only Kings Stone had
certification for amphibole black jade, NGTC said that it used to issue
certificates for “amphibole black jade.” However, the certification was “neither
limited for material from any one specific mine, nor any specific supplier(s),”
NGTC deputy director David Liu told Rapaport News.
Image: Roberto Coin black jade and diamond earrings. (Roberto Coin)
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Tags:
black amphibole jade, borsheims, David Liu, Gayle Pollack, Joseph Goldstein, Kings Stone, Leah Meirovich, Macy’s, Morrison Cohen, National Gemstone Testing Center, NGTC, Rapaport News, RCI, Roberto Coin, Roberto Coin Incorporated, Saks Fifth Avenue
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