$720,00 of Indian Jewelry is "Worthless Fakes"
June 13, 24
(IDEX Online) - A US businesswoman claims jewelry she bought in India for $720,000 (Rs 6 crore) turned out to be fakes worth just $4.
Police in the northwestern city of Jaipur are investigating after Cherish Nortez (pictured) filed a complaint with them and with the US embassy in India.
According to police reports the "diamonds" they tested were moonstones (part of the feldspar group of minerals), the "gold" was just silver coated with a gold film and the hallmark certificates that accompanied the items were fake.
Nortez, who runs Cynthia Ann Jewels, in Houston, Texas and Vail, Colorado - selling pendants, necklaces and earrings - had items shipped from a store in Jaipur's Johri Bazaar area.
But according to media reports in India, experts in the US identified them as fakes when she displayed them at an exhibition in April.
She returned to India to confront the owners of the business that sold the items and claims she was threatened.
Police say they have arrested one man and are seeking a father and son over the allegations.