Tiffany & Costco Diamonds Compared

[JewelFreak]

From Bloomberg Businessweek.

 

[chrono]

Isn't Costco currently facing a lawsuit by Tiffany for calling their rings Tiffany rings?
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/tiffany-sues-costco-for-allegedly-selling-counterfeit-rings.185656/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/tiffany-sues-costco-for-allegedly-selling-counterfeit-rings.185656/[/URL]

Tiffany is overpriced for the quality these days and most of their diamonds are of only average cut, considering the high price tag. I think I've read that you can get some decently cut diamonds at Costco too, it just takes a bit more work checking the cut parameters.

 

[FrekeChild]

I think there was a thread about the lawsuit a while back. I think it's total crap though. "Tiffany" is pretty common descriptor for jewelers selling plain ol' settings that resemble that famous setting.

I peruse the Costco jewelry case every time I go (pretty often because of a yogurt gobbling toddler) and they have pretty damn nice stuff. I wouldn't be bothered at all to wear Costco jewelry.

Also, I have seen "Tiffany" as a descriptor, but NEVER any "Tiffany & Co" blue boxes or logos. In the jewelry case.

Except in the eyeglasses area, because Costco DOES carry Tiff glasses. Blue box, logo and everything.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Last weekend when I was at Costco and I saw a 1ct I VS2 IGI graded 6 prong Tiff style PT ring priced at $6800.

 

[kenny]

Tiffany has to defend it's brand.
If they don't the name Tiffany will change from a brand name to just another generic name.
This happened to many brand names in the past.

Zillions of dollars is lost when a company's brand name slips into generic name status.
If Bayer had acted in time only their Aspirin could be called Aspirin.
Now countless companies make a profit selling under the Aspirin name.

Here's a clip from Wiki about this ...

The following list contains marks which were originally legally protected trademarks, but which have subsequently lost legal protection as trademarks by becoming the common name of the relevant product or service, as used both by the consuming public and commercial competitors.
Some marks retain trademark protection in certain countries despite being declared generic in others.

Aspirin Still a Bayer trademark name for acetylsalicylic acid in about 80 countries, including Canada and many countries in Europe, but declared generic in the U.S.[1]
Cellophane Still a registered trademark of Innovia Films Ltd in Europe and many other jurisdictions. Genericized in the U.S. Originally a trademark of DuPont.[3][4]
Dry ice Trademarked by the Dry Ice Corporation of America in 1925.[6][7]
Escalator Originally a trademark of Otis Elevator Company.[8]
Heroin Trademarked by Friedrich Bayer & Co in 1898.[9][10]
Kerosene First used around 1852.[11]
Lanolin Trademarked as the term for a preparation of water and the wax from sheep's wool.[12]
Laundromat Coin laundry shop.[13] Westinghouse trademark, registered in the U.S. in the 1940s (automatic washing machine) and 1950's (coin laundry) but now expired.
Linoleum Floor covering,[14] originally coined by Frederick Walton in 1864, and ruled as generic following a lawsuit for trademark infringement in 1878; probably the first product name to become a generic term.[15]
Mimeograph Originally trademarked by Albert Dick.[16]
Thermos Originally a Thermos GmbH[21] trademark name for a vacuum flask; declared generic in the U.S. in 1963.[22]
Touch-tone Dual tone multi-frequency telephone signaling; AT&T states "formerly a trademark of AT&T".[23]
Videotape Originally trademarked by Ampex Corporation,[24] an early manufacturer of audio and video tape recorders.
Webster's Dictionary The publishers with the strongest link to the original are Merriam-Webster, but they have a trademark only on "Merriam-Webster", and other dictionaries are legally published as "Webster's Dictionary".[25]
Yo-Yo Still a Papa's Toy Co. Ltd. trademark name for a spinning toy in Canada, but declared generic in the U.S. in 1965.[26]
ZIP code Originally registered as a servicemark but has since expired.[27]
Zipper Originally a trademark of B.F. Goodrich.[28]

 

[iLander]

It's time for me to come clean.

I have purchased a bunch of jewelry from Costco and from Costco.com.

Years ago, we bought my 25th anniversary 3 stone, EC 3 CTW ring from Costco.com for $12K.

They had 2 of the same ring at the time, one had a VVS2 center, the other a VS1 center. All with GIA certs, excellent symmetry and polish, etc. I ordered the VS1 because it was about $1500 less than the other. They called me and said they inspected the VS1 before shipping, and it had a tiny chip under one prong. They upgraded me to the VVS2 at NO additional charge.

I was delighted!

There is not even a speck on the GIA diagram, so I can't even figure out why it wasn't rated IF, but that's a different thread.

Back in those days, you could get real prices on the Tiffany website. They had my EXACT ring on Tiffany.com; 3 CTW 3 EC, 1.5 center.

Wanna guess how much? $85,000!

So, yes, I am very loyal to Costco.

And I have NEVER seen the word "Tiffany" on any of Costco's jewelry price labels, or on their website. Tiffany is full of bull.

 

[kenny]

And I have NEVER seen the word "Tiffany" on any of Costco's jewelry price labels, or on their website. Tiffany is full of bull.

IIRC it was a Costco store in Huntington Beach, California that is allegedly used 'Tiffany' to describe rings for sale in that store.
Also I suspect the offense is limited to the management of that one store, with Costco corporate not aware what the rogue store had done.
Naturally that does not make Costco corporate innocent, but is does put this into perspective ... if my memory and understanding is correct.

 

[iLander]

And I have NEVER seen the word "Tiffany" on any of Costco's jewelry price labels, or on their website. Tiffany is full of bull.

IIRC it was a Costco store in Huntington Beach, California that is alleged to have used the Tiffany name to describe rings for sale in the store.
Also I suspect the offense is limited to the management of that one store, with Costco corporate not aware what the rogue store had done.
Naturally that does not make Costco corporate innocent, but is does put this into perspective ... if my memory and understanding is correct.

The description must have been verbal, some yakky yutz. I've worked with a lot of retailers (at the corporate level, I'm not a shop girl ) and every price ticket and sign is generated by the corporate computer.

I agree, I seriously doubt they would have put the word Tiffany in at the corporate level. Among retailers, Costco is the most respected (by people within the industry).

 

[ChristineRose]

And I have NEVER seen the word "Tiffany" on any of Costco's jewelry price labels, or on their website. Tiffany is full of bull.

IIRC it was a Costco store in Huntington Beach, California that is alleged to have used the Tiffany name to describe rings for sale in the store.
Also I suspect the offense is limited to the management of that one store, with Costco corporate not aware what the rogue store had done.
Naturally that does not make Costco corporate innocent, but is does put this into perspective ... if my memory and understanding is correct.

The description must have been verbal, some yakky yutz. I've worked with a lot of retailers (at the corporate level, I'm not a shop girl ) and every price ticket and sign is generated by the corporate computer.

I agree, I seriously doubt they would have put the word Tiffany in at the corporate level. Among retailers, Costco is the most respected (by people within the industry).

There were signs, and there are pictures of the signs. The signs did not say "Tiffany Style" as at many jewelers. The salespeople told customers that they were "authentic Tiffany rings." And it was multiple stores, albeit apparently all in the same geographic area.

I thought Costco was going to claim that they meant to say "Tiffany Style" and that it was just a few dumb salespeople, but no, their defense is that they can call any ring with long prongs a Tiffany.

I guess it's not impossible that Tiffany is lying for effect, but I would think that was a risky tactic.

 

[JewelFreak]

Tiffany has to protect its brand, as Kenny pointed out. They put a boatload of money behind publicizing it & it alone is a major asset for the company. I'm sure whoever put that on the signs at Costco meant "Tiffany-style" & some birdbrain clerks who didn't know anything said "Yeah, of course real Tiffany." I'm surprised too that Costco didn't just say, "Oops, mistake, sorry, won't do it again," but maybe Tiff's wouldn't accept that without a big payoff -- though whatever that would have been, it has to be less than the cost of defending a suit & then paying possible damages. Odd decision.

I always cruise the jewelry case at Costco too. Some very nice stuff & they disclose treatment, etc. Interesting about your upgrade, iLander. I've bought gold stuff there as gifts, but never anything with stones. Wouldn't rule it out if something jumped out & called my name.

--- Laurie

 

[momhappy]

Slightly unrelated, but has anyone ever actually been asked where they purchased their E-ring/wedding ring? I ask because it was a comment that was quoted in the article (one woman said that she was afraid that people would ask her where she got her ring). I have never had someone look at my wedding ring and ask me where I purchased it and just wondered if others had? Likewise, I have never looked at someone's ring and asked them where they got it...

 

[bunnycat]

Slightly unrelated, but has anyone ever actually been asked where they purchased their E-ring/wedding ring? I ask because it was a comment that was quoted in the article (one woman said that she was afraid that people would ask her where she got her ring). I have never had someone look at my wedding ring and ask me where I purchased it and just wondered if others had? Likewise, I have never looked at someone's ring and asked them where they got it...

Not so far, and I have never asked anyone either.

What strikes me as funny is how the article played up Tiffanys as some sort of altruistic jeweler "educating" customers on diamonds, when all they really do is meep at you on color and clarity like any other store and poo-poo anything below an H. "Oh...just look at all that tint in that H...." (Yes, I actually had one of them say something very similar when I was in one of their stores one time.)

 

[SB621]

...sneaking off to look at the cosco website.......

 

[distracts]

Slightly unrelated, but has anyone ever actually been asked where they purchased their E-ring/wedding ring? I ask because it was a comment that was quoted in the article (one woman said that she was afraid that people would ask her where she got her ring). I have never had someone look at my wedding ring and ask me where I purchased it and just wondered if others had? Likewise, I have never looked at someone's ring and asked them where they got it...

I've had people ask, but exclusively people about to get engaged, jewelry nuts, and jewelers.

 

[Niel]

Re: Tiffany & Costco Diamonds Compared

Slightly unrelated, but has anyone ever actually been asked where they purchased their E-ring/wedding ring? I ask because it was a comment that was quoted in the article (one woman said that she was afraid that people would ask her where she got her ring). I have never had someone look at my wedding ring and ask me where I purchased it and just wondered if others had? Likewise, I have never looked at someone's ring and asked them where they got it...

Not so far, and I have never asked anyone either.

What strikes me as funny is how the article played up Tiffanys as some sort of altruistic jeweler "educating" customers on diamonds, when all they really do is meep at you on color and clarity like any other store and poo-poo anything below an H. "Oh...just look at all that tint in that H...." (Yes, I actually had one of them say something very similar when I was in one of their stores one time.)

That's terrible. I don't know what my response would be!