BACK in December, Rogelio Villarreal had a once in a lifetime experience. He bought $14,000 Cartier Earrings for $14. How?
While scrolling through Instagram, Villarreal stumbled upon an ad for luxury brand Cartier.
He recalls going on the website to check out a cologne— and noticing a major company error. Cartier was selling its rose-gold and diamond Clash earrings for 237 pesos (around $14 USD) instead of their true price: 237,000 pesos, or $13,980 USD. Villarreal’s reaction? “I broke out in a cold sweat.”
The Mexican man bought two pairs of earrings for $28 USD, and was left with only $2
in his bank account. “I doubt anyone else would have chosen not to take advantage of the opportunity,” he explains.
How did Cartier react to his purchase? As the man wrote on X, he fought tooth-and-nail for the brand to honor his $28 order confirmation. Yesterday, he announced that Cartier finally accepted his order after four months— and it seems like a Mexican law had a lot to do with it.
While documenting his Cartier saga on X, Villarreal explained that he bought the two pairs of earrings for his mother. “Obviously the earrings aren’t for me,” he wrote. “They are for my mother who paid for my degree and I still owe her.” While he told his followers he was not planning on selling the earrings for this reason, many still replied: “You have the right to sell them, too.”
But the situation wasn’t so simple. Villarreal described how he documented his purchase with screen recordings to show Cartier’s error and assure they would honor the earrings’ price. He also kept the online receipt. However, the man says that Cartier tried to dispute his purchase— but he had read the brand’s terms and conditions and knew his rights.
The brand allegedly called Villarreal on several occasions to try to cancel the purchase. He says Cartier eventually sent him a contract saying that they would send him a bottle of champagne and a passport holder if he would forget about the earrings.
Villarreal refused their apology gift— and refused to forget about his two pairs of $14 diamond earrings. Instead, he insisted Cartier honor his purchase for several months, and also told his followers to pray for him with velitas:
Yesterday, Villarreal announced that Cartier finally accepted his order and would send him the earrings. “War is over. Cartier has agreed,” he stated. He also wrote directly to users expressing worry about the Cartier employee who uploaded the earrings for the wrong price. “I don’t know the employee nor their status. If you want to know, ask the brand, not me, I didn’t employ them.” wearamitu.com
