Clemens at Center of Lawsuit Over $750,000 Pink Diamond Ring
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A $750,000 pink diamond ring tied to a former Yankees pitcher, Roger Clemens, is at the center of a $5 million legal dispute between two jewelers.
A Philadelphia jewelry store, Marshall Asnen Inc., is suing New York jewelry designer Charles Krypell, who allegedly interfered with the sale of a ring Mr. Clemens wanted to buy for his wife, Deborah.
Shortly after coming out of retirement to return to the Yankees in May 2007, Mr. Clemens told a dealer with Marshall Asnen, Joshua Hyman, to locate a pink diamond ring for his wife, according to the lawsuit filed yesterday in New York State Court in Manhattan. The couple agreed to buy the ring for $750,000 after meeting Mr. Hyman in Midtown Manhattan, and asked that it be shipped to Houston “for tax purposes,” according to the lawsuit.
Mr. Clemens allegedly rescinded his offer after Mr. Krypell, who operates a store in the diamond district, told him the stone was not worth the agreed upon price, and Mr. Clemens ultimately purchased a pink diamond ring from the New York designer instead, according to the lawsuit.
“I didn’t do anything to this person except have this stone appraised,” Mr. Krypell said in a telephone interview with The New York Sun yesterday evening. “I looked at the stone and I gave him my opinion. But my opinion means nothing. All I did was alert him.”
