OFF BEAT: Woman sues Macy's, claims earrings not 'good as gold'

Macy’s Inc. has been sued in federal court by a customer who says that earrings she purchased at the store are insufficiently golden.

Natalya Barsukova filed suit in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, on Oct. 10, alleging that earrings she purchased for $129 in April 2010 from a Macy’s store in Burlington, Mass., were not “fine gold.” According to the suit, the earrings were labeled “fine gold” but were instead sterling silver covered with a fine layer of gold or gold alloy. The complaint says Ms. Barsukova took the earrings to a jeweler after they became tarnished and was informed that the gold coating on the jewelry had worn off.

The plaintiff’s attorneys, who are seeking class action status for the suit, note that the Federal Trade Commission prohibits the use of the word “gold” in advertising unless the product is composed entirely of gold or a gold alloy or if an adequate qualification such as “gold-plated’ is used in the product description.

In addition to full refunds for customers who “purchased jewelry from Macy’s labeled and sold as ‘gold’ or ‘fine gold’ that was in fact gold-plated silver or sterling silver,” the lawsuit seeks punitive damages and attorney fees.