Jewelry

BELLEVUE, Wash. -- A locally-based jewelry business is warning its customers about a fake jewelry scam that's now affected all of its stores.

The scam itself isn’t new, but Bellevue Rare Coins told KOMO News it’s never seen such an alarming number of cases in such a short amount of time.

Over the past few days, at least 10 customers have come into the company's 4 locations with the same or very similar sets of gold jewelry hoping to sell them for a profit. The jewelry looks real, but quick tests reveal the pieces are actually fake, employees said.

"To this extreme is definitely an eye-opener and definitely wanting people to be aware that this is going on," said Angela Rivers, Bellevue Rare Coins. "It was all the same style jewelry. Cuban-link bracelets and necklaces, and 1980s-style chunkier rings, and so forth."

In each case, Rivers said the victims bought the pieces for a low price or received them in exchange for helping someone who appeared to be in need. The scam artists focus on high-traffic areas like gas stations or shopping centers and often ask for gas money or reference an infant in a nearby car, she added.

"It’s hard because people want to do good and be good people and wanting to help people, but just be careful," Rivers said. "Having to tell someone who thinks that they were doing some good and might be able to make a little bit on their end, too. Knowing that they just got scammed on both ends. It’s a little heartbreaking."

Rivers said employees can often quickly tell when a piece of jewelry is fake just based on its weight. Fake pieces often feel quite light, she said. A quick test involving acid and a piece of stone can help determine if the employees' instincts are correct. Bellevue Rare Coins can conduct a jewelry evaluation for free, Rivers said.

A spokesman for the Bellevue Police Department told KOMO News he hadn’t heard of this particular scam. His best advice is to only buy jewelry from a reputable jeweler or reseller.