Winsome Diamonds has threatened to sue IDEX Online over an article it claims defamed the company.
The piece, “Winsome Lose Some,” appeared Jan. 15 and was authored by Edahn Golan, a well-respected industry commentator.
In a letter from Winsome’s law firm posted online, the company said it objected to the following aspects of the article:
– The piece suggested that Winsome “has successfully rubbed many people in the diamond industry the wrong way.” The company’s lawyers countered that was “false and malicious.”
– It objected to efforts to link the company to Florida lab-grown diamond producer Gemesis. “Our clients do not make or deal with lab-grown diamonds,” it said, adding that suggestions that it deals in them has drawn the company into what it calls “the controversy over whether lab-made (grown) diamonds are like earth-mined diamonds.”
(A June 24, 2013, article in The Business Standard did suggest the company was looking into selling lab-grown stones.)
Along those lines, it objected to any efforts to link the company with the undisclosed parcel of synthetic diamonds found in Antwerp.
“Mr. Jatin Mehta as the non-executive director on board of [Winsome] had in July 2012 indicated that a certain lobby of diamond businessmen had falsely prosecuted him in connection with lab-grown diamonds,” the letter said. “Therefore, he desired to step down so as to not to affect our client’s business, which did not and does not deal with lab-grown diamonds.” (He officially resigned that November.)
– It also charged that the article mischaracterized Winsome’s financial issues.
“By calling [Winsome’s] defaults ‘a shameful act,’…against our client’s claim that they have been victims of the circumstances, you have degraded, ridiculed, and disparaged our client’s fair name,” the letter continued.
It added: “This matter is under investigation, and by the said article, you have attempted to influence the investigation, causing serious prejudice to our client.”
It noted that Winsome “has kept the banks fully informed about all transactions…and have been totally transparent in their dealings with the bank.”
The company’s full letter of complaint, as well as the original article, can be seen here. The letter demands the article be taken down—which has already happened—and that IDEX publish a Winsome-approved apology and clarification.
IDEX could not be reached for comment.
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