A woman brought in a ring to Tiffany & Co. for cleaning. Then, the jeweler asked her where the ring was from, as it wasn’t a Tiffany & Co. brand product. The situation ended up embarrassing the content creator.
TikToker Quinton Westchester (@daddyissuesllc) was surprised to learn that Tiffany & Co. wouldn’t clean her Kay Jewelers engagement ring. An employee with the company said they weren’t even allowed to touch non-Tiffany & Co. pieces if they came into the shop. This is something the creator described in a TikTok video with over 118,000 views.
She brings the ring into Tiffany & Co. Then they humble her
When Westchester brought her engagement ring into Tiffany & Co., she was expecting a quick cleaning of its settings and diamonds. What she didn’t expect was to feel shamed for having a different product entirely.
She walked into the store and requested a ring cleaning for her Kay Jewelers product. At first, the employees were very nice. But when they asked her for the number associated with the ring and took a further look at it, employees quickly realized that it wasn’t a Tiffany & Co. ring.
“ He was like, ‘uh, what’s the number incorporated with it?’ … I gave my wife’s number. I was like, ‘but she didn’t get my ring from Tiffany’s…” she said. “He was like, ‘oh, we’re not even allowed to touch rings that are not Tiffany pieces.’”
An employee quickly gave her back the ring and let her know there was nothing they could do for her. From there, she ended up leaving the store a bit baffled and humbled.
“ The way he looked at my ring and touched my ring, like it was just gross ’cause it wasn’t Tiffany’s. I feel so humbled ’cause what?” She added.
Why can’t Tiffany & Co clean the ring?
While Westchester felt shamed by the jewelry company, it turns out there might be an actual reason why they can’t clean the ring.
For one, it could pose a major liability. If they were to touch a ring from another jeweler and clean it—without knowing its price, value, or anything about it—they might just accidentally break it. Were that to happen, there could be a liability issue where Tiffany & Co. has to pay for the ring, regardless of how much it costs.
If the company handles its own products, this is significantly less of a risk. Tiffany & Co. has the resources to replace or fix its own jewelry. For other brands, though, they might not have the means to try to reset a stone correctly. In general, it’s not a good idea for companies to freely handle other brands’ products. Unless the customer is OK with them potentially damaging it. In this case, it’s probably just not worth it to clean a product that wasn’t sold by the company.
Commenters pointed this out, asking, “Why would Tiffany’s clean your Kay jewelers ring?”
Others said, “I own tens of thousands of dollars in Tiffany. I also own Cartier. They won’t clean my Cartier. This is common knowledge.”
What’s Tiffany & Co’s official policy?
Surprisingly, Tiffany & Co doesn’t clarify that rings have to be from the company to be subject to professional cleaning. On its official website, the brand states, “Tiffany boutiques offer on-site cleanings, subject to availability. Gold and platinum jewelry cleanings are complimentary, while sterling silver jewelry cleanings are available for a fee… During your cleanings, Tiffany associates will clean the item, check for worn-down metal, review the security of gemstones and ensure prongs have not been compromised from normal wear and tear.”
While it refers to pieces as being from Tiffany, there’s nothing specifically saying rings from other companies are off-limits. Westchester essentially discovered an unspoken, “common knowledge” policy that jewelers don’t always say out loud.
The Tiffany & Co. ring cleaning—is it a class issue?
While a Tiffany & Co. employee looking at a person with disgust over bringing in a Kay ring might seem somewhat classist, many commenters argued that the situation was perfectly reasonable.
Viewers offered an ample amount of comparisons—saying that it was like going into PRADA with Kohl’s sunglasses or going into Gucci with a Coach bag—which painted a picture, though, that there was a drastic class difference between Westchester’s purchase and Tiffany & Co. products.
Ultimately, though, commenters concluded that it just wasn’t within the realm of possibility for Tiffany & Co. to consider cleaning a ring that wasn’t part of its company, regardless of class. Even though there was a brand difference between Tiffany and Kay, there was still just the issue of the rings being from entirely different companies. Regardless of where the ring was from, it was likely that the employees wouldn’t be able to clean it.
As another commenter said, “I’m just curious why you thought Tiffany offered a free cleaning service [for] products that they didn’t sell.” Westchester did not reply to any of the questions inquiring.
@daddyissuesllc Well dang ? #tiffanyandco ♬ Nocturne (Chopin) calm piano solo – もつ
The Mary Sue reached out to Westchester via TikTok direct message and Tiffany & Co. via email for comment.
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