Tiffany vs. Costco: Which Diamond Ring Is Better?

Costco Wholesale sells 10-pound boxes of frozen sausage, 2-gallon jars of pickles, and diapers by the thousands. It also sells Tiffany engagement rings. No, not rings from Tiffany & Co., the upscale New York jewelry store, but diamonds placed high on a silver band and held in place with six prongs—which look identical to the classic Tiffany engagement ring setting. In February, Tiffany filed a multimillion-dollar trademark suit against Costco that seeks to determine whether “Tiffany” has become the Kleenex of diamond rings or if it refers specifically to the store famous for blue boxes and Audrey Hepburn’s breakfast.

Unlike Wal-Mart Stores, which sells diamond rings for only a few hundred dollars each, Costco’s rings regularly run as much as $40,000. (Tiffany & Co. rings with the Tiffany setting start at $11,000 and go up and up.) In 2011, Costco’s website even offered a 6.5-karat ring for $1 million. People who can spend that much money on a piece of jewelry aren’t usually the sort to accessorize at Costco.