Cartier, Van Cleef Sue Alleged Counterfeiter

RAPAPORT… Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels have filed a lawsuit
against a Florida jeweler, claiming willful infringement on a number of the
luxury jewelers’ famous trademarked collections.



Scott King Inc., registered for business as Florida Diamond Brokers and
King Jewelers, allegedly sold imitations of jewelry belonging to the
Richemont-owned divisions, the May 6 suit, filed in the US District Court of
Florida, claims.


In November 2018, an agent of Cartier and Van Cleef visited
King Jewelers, and noticed the store was selling counterfeit copies of the jewelers’ pieces. Those imitations included Van
Cleef’s Alhambra and Perlée collections, as well as Cartier’s Love and Juste un
Clou collections, engraved with the brands’ trademarked name, the suit claims. The
prices for the items ranged from $900 to $1,125 for earrings, and more than
$6,000 for bracelets, a similar range to Cartier and Van Cleef’s own prices.


The agent returned to the store the following month, and
again in February, according to the lawsuit. During the first visit, employees of
King Jewelers allegedly informed the agent that the jewelry was not authentic
Van Cleef and Cartier pieces, but rather “inspiration” jewels made to look like
them. An employee also said the products
were not listed in the store’s catalogues because they “don’t want to get in
trouble.”


Cartier and Van Cleef are asking the court to order King
Jewelers to turn over all its counterfeit jewelry to them for destruction, and to
recall any pieces it has distributed to retailers and other customers. They are also suing for the total amount of profits King Jewelers has made from all sales of the
copied pieces, plus up to $2 million per counterfeited collection and per each jewelry category (bracelets, rings, etc.) within those collections. 

King Jewelers and counsel for Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels had not responded to a request for comment
from Rapaport News by press time.


Image: A Cartier Love Bracelet. (Cartier)