Reines Jewelers: Ashley Gibson
7 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2008 Last revised: 10 Nov 2021
Abstract
As executor for her mother-in-law's estate, Ashley Gibson was attempting to sell a 3.5-carat diamond ring whose lineage could be traced back to the Eastern European branch of the family. An estate liquidator had offered $18,000 for the ring, but Gibson felt that this was a low-ball offer because her internet search suggested numbers in the $30,000 to $35,000 range. She had dropped off the ring for jeweler Peter Reines to examine prior to their meeting the next morning.
Excerpt
UVA-QA-0688
Rev. Oct. 10, 2018
Reines Jewelers: Ashley Gibson
Being the executor for her mother-in-law's estate had begun to wear thin for Ashley Gibson. When she was asked a number of years ago by her mother-in-law to serve as the executor, because “no one else in the family has an ounce of business sense,” Gibson was honored. Saying yes seemed like the right thing to do. Now, after nine months of inventorying the estate, arranging for appraisals, proposing means for the equitable division of the countless family mementos, settling debts, and satisfying the demands of the probate court, she realized the responsibility had evolved from an honor to a duty. Thankfully, the process was nearly complete.
The major outstanding estate asset was a diamond ring, whose lineage could be traced back to the mid-19th century through the eastern European branch of the family. In fact, an old family story connected the ring to the portion of the family that fled Russia at the fall of the Romanov dynasty. The ring had three stones with a large center diamond flanked by two tapered baguette-cut diamonds on the sides in a classic setting made of platinum. The ring is pictured in Exhibit 1.
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Keywords: negotiation, deception
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation