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Rogelio Villarreal Jasso got extremely lucky when he found heavily discounted Cartier earrings online.
He was even more fortunate when he was allowed to keep the two pairs he purchased.
On December 1, 2023, the Mexico native noticed an Instagram advertisement for gold-and-diamond Cartier earrings priced at 232 pesos, or about $13, he told Business Insider.
The earrings — in Cartier's Clash style — originally retailed for 232,000 pesos, or about $13,675, so Jasso said he ordered two pairs.
Rogelio Villarreal Jasso
But then Cartier tried to intervene, he said.
Jasso told BI he received a call from the luxury jewelry brand days later and was told that his order would be canceled because the online price wasn't correct.
He said Cartier apologized and offered to send him Champagne and a card holder — which he refused. Cartier did not respond to a request for comment from BI.
Instead, Jasso said he reviewed the terms and conditions of Cartier's Mexico site, where he found that the brand directs customers to the Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer if they have issues with orders.
According to The New York Times, he filed a complaint with the federal consumer protection agency, citing one of the country's consumer protection laws, which states that a supplier can be taken to court if the terms and conditions of a given purchase aren't upheld.
The agency did not respond to a request for comment from BI.
The Times reported that the complaint led to the agency contacting Cartier to mediate an agreement. Though the agency declined to share details with the publication while the case was ongoing, Jasso told the Times that a meeting was scheduled for next week.
But it wasn't necessary. After being contacted by the agency, Cartier seemingly took matters into its own hands and settled the issue by sending Jasso his order.
At the end of April, he shared photos of a Cartier package on X featuring two wrapped boxes with the brand's signature wax seals inside.
Now, he said, the earrings are officially his — much to the dismay of Mexican senator Lilly Téllez, who accused Jasso of taking advantage of Cartier and argued that he shouldn't have done so "even if the law supports you."
"It is more important to be honorable than to have Cartier earrings," she wrote.
As the Times reported, consumer complaints against businesses that change product prices are common in Mexico, which is likely the root of the senator's frustration.
But Jasso is thrilled about his purchase.
He told BI that he plans to keep one pair for himself solely as a memory of this experience and has decided to give the other to his mother because "she really deserves it."
