She buys a ring for thousands of dollars from a bankrupt jeweler and realizes the scam: “It was too shiny”

What started as a feel-good splurge quickly turned into a costly lesson for one woman in Dublin, Ireland. She paid more than $3,500 for what she believed was a dazzling emerald and diamond ring—only to discover later that it was a cheap imitation.

Customer negotiates fake ring down

The woman made the purchase in December 2023 at Empress Fine Jewels, a boutique located near Grafton Street, one of Dublin’s most upscale shopping areas. The store, run by a woman named Shuwan Li, told her the ring was made of 18-karat gold and featured genuine emeralds and diamonds. Originally priced at €4,200 (about $4,900), she managed to negotiate it down to €3,000 ($3,500).

But soon after, she started to have doubts. “I always had this feeling it wasn’t the same ring I saw in the store,” she told the Irish Independent. “It just looked too shiny.”

She took it to an independent appraiser, and her gut instinct was spot on. The stones weren’t emeralds or diamonds—they were fakes. The ring’s true value? Just a few hundred euros at most.

Jeweler files for bankruptcy, more scams come to light

To make matters worse, Empress Fine Jewels declared bankruptcy not long after the sale. The woman wasn’t the only one caught up in the scandal. Months earlier, another customer said she left four rings worth a combined €35,000 (almost $41,000) at the store to be cleaned. According to reports, the pieces were allegedly stolen while being transported on a public bus by a retired man hired by the shop.

In March 2024, owner Shuwan Li filed for bankruptcy with debts totaling €1.5 million (around $1.76 million), leaving customers with little hope of recouping their losses.

Buyer “moves on” from ring scam

The woman who bought the fake ring hasn’t filed a police report. She says she’s made peace with it, even if she knows she was duped. “It was a scam, sure. But worse things have happened. I bought it as a treat for myself, and I ended up getting fooled. I might still wear it now and then—I’ve accepted that it’s fake and moved on.”

While she won’t get a happy ending, she hopes her story can serve as a warning to others. “I just hope no one else went through what I did. I want people to be careful. Just because something sparkles doesn’t mean it’s real.”

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