“Wal-Mart is not a Cartier-authorized retailer,” the brand points out

Cartier says it has “no knowledge or involvement” in the recently reported sale of one of its watches over Walmart.com.

“Wal-Mart is not a Cartier-authorized retailer, therefore Cartier has no knowledge or involvement in the selling or marketing of this watch nor can confirm the authenticity of the piece,” says a statement provided to JCK. “[Cartier sells] its products exclusively through its own boutiques and its own hand-selected retail partners worldwide. Despite these efforts, due to currency fluctuations and other marketplace pressures, Cartier products can be found at unauthorized retail outlets including online and brick-and-mortar stores.”

The $18,000 watch was offered by third-party seller Jewlery [sic] Unlimited Inc. Wal-Mart did not respond to a query about whether the watch had found any buyers but did send JCK a list of other Cartier watches it is offering for sale.

The Cartier statement says that it continues to “monitor the unauthorized marketplace.”

“Unauthorized dealers try to cover up the fact that they sell products that are often used, sometimes faulty, occasionally counterfeit, and never warrantied by Cartier,” it says. “All of this behavior is done at the expense of the unknowing consumer, who are being sold on the false idea that they are getting the exact same product for less. Cartier has filed several lawsuits on this basis as well that are a matter of public record.”

In 2010, Cartier sued flash site HauteLook, now owned by Nordstrom, over its secondhand watch sales.

Rob Bates

JCK News Director