< Back to 68k.news PT front page

He Paid $13 for $13,000 Cartier Earrings, and Then the Jeweler Noticed

Original source (on modern site) | Article images: [1] [2]

Americas|He Paid $13 for $13,000 Cartier Earrings, and Then the Jeweler Noticed

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/26/world/americas/mexico-cartier-sale-consumer-protection.html

You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.

When Rogelio Villarreal bought rose-gold earrings for a price that the luxury retailer said was a mistake, he looked to a Mexican consumer protection law. He later said the company delivered the earrings.

One of the individually wrapped boxes, closed with a wax seal, that Rogelio Villarreal reported receiving on Friday, and which he said contained the earrings he had ordered.Credit...Rogelio Villarreal

Published April 26, 2024Updated April 28, 2024

Rogelio Villarreal knew nothing about the French jeweler Cartier, he said, when an ad popped up on his Instagram feed last December. He clicked on it, perusing the pages of bling and other luxury items, including handbags, watches and necklaces, each listed for thousands of dollars.

Then Mr. Villarreal, who lives in Mexico, noticed a pair of earrings: slender studded 18-carat rose-gold cuffs lined with diamonds, priced at just 237 Mexican pesos, or about $13.

"I was amazed to see how much the necklaces cost and so on and I said: 'Someday,' until I saw the earrings," Mr. Villarreal, 27, wrote on social media. "I swear I broke out in a cold sweat."

He bought two pairs. Later, the price for the earrings was adjusted on the Cartier website to 237,000 pesos — more than $13,000.

The purchase initiated a monthslong tussle between Mr. Villarreal, a surgery resident from the northern state of Tamaulipas, and Cartier, with hundreds of social media users following along — some cheering, others taunting — and even a Mexican senator weighing in on the dispute. But Mr. Villarreal said on Friday that he had received the earrings for the steeply discounted price and noted that he had a special person in mind to be their recipient.

"I'm excited," he said, "especially for my mom. Those earrings are for her."

Image

Rogelio Villarreal said on Friday that he received a shipment of the two pairs of Cartier earrings that he had purchased on the company's website for $13 each.Credit...Rogelio Villarreal

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

< Back to 68k.news PT front page