Undaunted by deception, Borsheims keeps giving

Omaha, Neb.--Borsheims isn’t giving up on giving just yet.  

Last week, the retailer announced a surprise early kick-off to its annual Weekend of Giving event when it heard about a local woman who had had her wedding ring stolen and offered to give her a replacement ring free of charge. 

As reported on local ABC affiliate KETV 7, the woman said she’d been robbed after leaving her job as a manager at a restaurant on Dec. 1. Two days later, she was in Borsheims picking out new bling, a 14-karat white gold ring set with a marquise-cut diamond.

The alleged victim didn’t get to keep her diamond long, however. The following day, police arrested her for felony theft by deception over $1,500 for allegedly concocting the robbery story.

Undaunted, Borsheims decided not to just put the diamond ring back into the display case but, instead, find it another, worthier recipient. 

The Omaha retailer held a contest over the weekend on its Facebook page asking its fans to tell the retailer in 100 words or less why they deserve the ring, stating that, “We were incredibly saddened to hear of the deception surrounding this woman’s case, but we still believe in the goodness of people.”

The contest ended Sunday and, while there’s been no official winner announcement from Borsheims, the entry with the most votes belongs to an Omaha woman named Melissa, who is attempting to do something any independent jeweler would appreciate: start a family business with her husband. 

Borsheims holds its Weekend of Giving every year, and the event benefits a local, child-based charity. 

This year the weekend took place Dec. 4 to 7 and benefitted Girls Inc., a charity that encourages young women to be “strong, smart and bold.” The retailer’s customers could contribute to the charity by buying boxes on the Borsheims Giving Tree for $10 (each box contains a prize), buying from the one of the 20 designers holding a trunk show at Borsheims during that weekend, or buying the retailer’s sterling silver “Believe” pendant for $25, with $5 from each necklace sold going to Girls Inc.