Luxury Jewelry Maker Cartier Doesn’t Give Stuff Away, But They Pretty Much Did For One Man In Mexico

MEXICO CITY — Cartier, the luxury jewelry brand, is not known for giving out gifts, but in the case of one Mexican guy, they pretty much did.

Rogelio Villarreal was browsing Cartier’s website when he stumbled upon an offer that appeared too good to be true. “I broke out in a cold sweat,” he posted on his X account, previously known as Twitter.

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Luxury Jewelry Maker Cartier Doesn’t Give Stuff Away, But They Pretty Much Did For One Man In Mexico

Cartier made a mistake and advertised gold-and-diamond earrings for 237 pesos ($14) rather than the exact price of 237,000 pesos ($14,000). Villarreal ordered two sets.

What ensued was months of back-and-forth, during which he claimed Cartier offered him a consolation gift instead of the jewelry, and Mexican officials supported his argument that the corporation should uphold the listed price.

Villarreal eventually received the earrings last week at his price, and he posted a video online of himself unwrapping them. But he quickly grew tired of the public attention, realizing that not all that glitters is gold, and posted on Monday, “Alright already, talk about something else, I’m tired of the earrings being the only thing anyone knows about my personality.”

Villarreal’s case had become a lightning rod online during a particularly polarizing period in Mexico, ahead of the June 2 presidential elections.

Some onlookers chastised Villarreal for taking advantage of what they perceived as a genuine error by the high-end jewelry manufacturer. Some claimed he should return the earrings or pay taxes on them. Some called him a thief.

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Luxury Jewelry Maker Cartier Doesn’t Give Stuff Away, But They Pretty Much Did For One Man In Mexico

Villarreal, a doctor doing his medical residency, claimed he had to fight for months to get the company to deliver and that it offered to give him a bottle of champagne instead.

The corporation did not reply to inquiries for comment.

“I have the worst luck in the world, and I’ve never made any money, and what I do have is because I bought it,” Villarreal posted on social media. However, he could now purchase two $14,000 sets of earrings for only around $28.

He says he gave one of them to his mom.

“It feels great and it’s cool not to be the underdog for once in my life,” Villarreal said.

Profeco’s representative, Jesús Montaño, validated Villarreal’s account of his struggle.

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Luxury Jewelry Maker Cartier Doesn’t Give Stuff Away, But They Pretty Much Did For One Man In Mexico

“He filed a complaint in December,” Montaño explained. “There is a conciliation hearing scheduled for May 3, but the consumer already received his purchase.”

When asked about ethics, Montaño stated that corporations “have to respect the published price.” If an error occurs, “it’s not the consumer’s fault.”

SOURCE – (AP)