A diamond may be forever‚ but a jewellery chain’s good intentions only last seven years.The Advertising Standards Authority of SA (ASA) plans to sanction Browns for re-introducing the phrase "Trusted since 1934" into its ads‚ after being ordered to stop making the claim in 2011.Rival jeweller Shimansky said Browns’ use of the phrase — in a Sunday Times advertisement on January 28 — amounted to a flagrant disregard for the code of the ASA and its 2011 ruling, which said that as Browns did not exist in 1934‚ any claim of being trusted since that period was clearly untrue and misleading.In the offending ad‚ said Shimansky‚ Browns introduced its "vintage collection" and said: "At a time when true love was forever‚ this collection was inspired by the love story of our founder and my grandpa Jack. He and Granny Kate were married aged 24 and 21 back in 1932‚ shortly before they opened their first jewellery store in downtown Johannesburg."But it said Browns was using the banned phrase "Trus...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.