Couple sues jewelry store after family heirloom ring is stolen

By Aaron Cantrell

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    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) — A Nashville couple has filed a lawsuit against King Jewelers in Green Hills, claiming the store failed to insure their engagement ring containing a valuable Tanzanite crystal, which was later stolen off a FedEx truck.

Chelsea King and Dawson Blankinship’s relationship blossomed from friendship into romance. In search of the perfect ring, Dawson planned to propose using a $9,500 Tanzanite crystal, hoping to place it in Chelsea’s family heirloom ring.

“It’s an heirloom that’s been passed down — my grandma wore it. My aunt wore it,” Chelsea King said.

The couple paid King Jewelers $1,100 to prepare the ring, and the jeweler sent it to a third-party gem cutter in Florida. But on its return, the package was stolen. Chelsea and Dawson allege King Jewelers did not insure the items, despite being told otherwise, and that the store refused to compensate them.

“They told me they insure all items, for up to $100,000,” Dawson said. “What I didn’t know was that they were shipping it off to a gem cutter in Miami.”

Frustrated with the lack of resolution, Chelsea shared their experience on TikTok, where their story quickly went viral.

The couple claims owner David King offered a replacement ring but no monetary compensation.

“They never reached out to us behind the scenes, or to our attorney, or offered any compensation,” Chelsea said.

Now, Chelsea and Dawson are suing King Jewelers for over $75,000 in damages, with Dawson hoping to warn others. “We don’t want people to go down this route and feel stuck and hopeless,” he said.

In response, King Jewelers posted a statement online, stating their initial offer was to create a custom ring or compensate the couple at fair market value.

A spokesperson for King Jewelers said, “Our goal from the beginning was to resolve this matter with fairness and transparency.” They also suggested the couple’s online statements constitute defamation and extortion and indicated the company is prepared to counter-sue.

Despite the ordeal, Chelsea says they’re focused on their future together. “I just wanted to get engaged and have that happy ending,” she said.

Here’s King Jewelers full statement:

“We regret the ongoing situation and the way it has unfolded. Our goal from the beginning was to resolve this matter with fairness and transparency, and we offered several options to rectify the situation. These included creating a custom engagement ring using a superior-grade gemstone at no charge, or alternatively, compensating the client at fair market value.

Despite our efforts, the situation has escalated publicly and legally. While we respect our clients’ right to express dissatisfaction, we maintain that we followed proper procedures. We are now facing a legal matter that we believe constitutes defamation and extortion, and we are prepared to counter-sue to address the exaggerations and false information being spread online. This case was already dismissed by the Better Business Bureau as we offered to assist the client in any way possible, yet we are not willing to be taken advantage of.

As a family-owned jewelry store that has been in business for over 100 years, we take great pride in standing by our principles. We remain committed to providing quality service and transparency to all our customers.” The lawsuit also notes that in 2019, King Jewelers was sued and held liable for allegedly selling counterfeit versions of Cartier and Van Cleef merchandise from trademarked collections.

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