Roberto Coin Jade Line Pulled from Macy's

RAPAPORT... Macy's has removed a collection of Roberto Coin black-jadejewelry from its shelves following allegations the line bears unlawful gemcertification. Natural-stone supplier Kings Stone, which made the claimsthat prompted Macy's move in April, filed a lawsuit in August seeking damagesof $46.1 million from Roberto Coin Incorporated (RCI). The suit asserts thejeweler continued to use the National Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC)certification that Kings Stone obtained for its black amphibole jade yearsafter the supply agreement between the two entities had ended. Kings Stone's jade is the only stone "the NGTC had ever beenwilling to certify as 'black amphibole,'" meaning Roberto Coin could not havegained access to NGTC-certified black amphibole jade from another supplier,according to the lawsuit filed on August 20. Macy's agreed to drop the line in mid-April after it wasunable to provide proof of certification of the line from Roberto Coin at therequest of Kings Stone's owner Joseph Goldstein, he told Rapaport News.Goldstein claimed that other retailers, including Saks Fifth Avenue andBorsheims, had also pulled the collection. Borsheims and Saks Fifth Avenue did not respond to requestsfor comment at press time. Macy's said it did not comment on ongoinglitigation. Following the retailers' move, Roberto Coin filed an initiallawsuit accusing Goldstein and Kings Stone of defamation. "RCI initiated thissuit against Kings Stone to stop Kings Stone and its principal from continuingto engage in false advertising and disseminating false allegations against RCI,"Gayle Pollack of Morrison Cohen, which represents Roberto Coin, told RapaportNews Friday. "RCI has conducted its business in accordance with the higheststandards for over two decades, and has long been an industry leader in ethicalgemstone sourcing. RCI looks forward to being vindicated in court." Kings Stone countersued, claiming the jeweler had not beenable to produce proof of the certification from its new supplier of jade and hadengaged in a years-long fraud in the marketing and sales of its black jade, accordingto the filing in the Eastern District of New York. In response to Goldstein's claim that only Kings Stone hadcertification for amphibole black jade, NGTC said that it used to issuecertificates for "amphibole black jade." However, the certification was "neitherlimited for material from any one specific mine, nor any specific supplier(s),"NGTC deputy director David Liu told Rapaport News. Image: Roberto Coin black jade and diamond earrings. (Roberto Coin)