H. Stern jewelers to reimburse for fallen diamonds Court:

 "The chain cannot expect the consumer buying a ring to be an expert jeweler."

"H. Stern Jewelry and Precious Stones Ltd., a respected and reputable chain cannot expect the next consumer buying a ring from it to be an expert jeweler.

The company must have the proper professional equipment and should have legal counsel to review all documents it signs, as H. Stern claims," ruled the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court as it ordered the jeweler to pay a British resident for diamonds which fell of a piece of jewelry purchased from the company.

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The court the claimant, Nicholas Levin, NIS 184,000 in compensation for the cost of the ring, NIS 20,000 in mental anguish, and NIS 45,000 in court costs.

Levin bought a $40,000 diamond ring as a gift for his wife at the H. Stern store at the Tel Aviv Hilton. He says that the first time that his wife wore the ring at a Bar Mitzvah of friends in London, one of the diamonds fell off and disappeared. Levin stressed the anguish and humiliation incurred as they were forced to call a halt to the celebrations so that guests could crawl across the floor to look for the lost diamond.

Levin claims that a similar incident occurred at Heathrow Airport, when the ring's centerpiece stone fell off and was found on the passenger's hall. He said that he and his wife were members of "high society" in London and that the two incidents caused "considerable shame and anguish, and hurt their reputations."

Levin claims that H. Stern sent a letter of apology, in which it offered to a piece worth $5,000 in compensation, but refused to refund the money paid. The company said in its defense that the ring had been checked at the time of sale by a professional and that no flaw had been found. It added that the buyer had examined the ring before buying it.

Judge Jacob Shienman ruled that H. Stern was in fundamental breach of contract with the claimant by the very fact that diamonds had fallen off the ring on two occasions. He said that no one warned the claimant that there was a risk that the diamonds would fall off.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 2, 2007