The middle class is changing its approach to buying jewelry and affordable luxury goods, the NRF said.
Lawyer at Center of Overgrading Cases Has License Suspended
The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility has temporarily suspended Brian Manookian from practicing law in the state.
Brentwood, Tennessee—The attorney at the center of the lawsuits and public campaigning regarding overgraded diamonds that roiled the industry a few years ago has lost the right to practice law, at least for now.
According to a Sept. 21 notice from the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR), the court has opted to temporarily suspend Brian Phillip Manookian after finding that he “poses a threat of substantial harm to the public.” The BPR oversees lawyers’ conduct in the state.
The Nashville-based attorney is immediately banned from accepting new cases, and must cease representing existing clients by Oct. 21. After that date, “Mr. Manookian shall not use any indicia of lawyer, legal assistant or law clerk nor maintain a presence where the practice of law is conducted,” the BPR statement reads.
William C. Moody, the attorney with the BPR who is handling the case, said the main impetus for the suspension was an email that Manookian wrote to opposing counsel that the recipient and the board “took to be threatening.”
He added that there have been past court cases in Tennessee involving Manookian that indicate his actions should not be taken as idle threats, including allegations made by a fellow student back in 2004, his ex-wife and his ex-business partner at a Nashville gun store.
“We (the board) felt no lawyer should have to practice law and be threatened by his adversary,” Moody said.
He said Manookian—who did not respond to multiple calls and emails requesting comment—already has filed a petition to dissolve his suspension. The BPR is working to set a hearing date for the petition.
Manookian first became known in the jewelry industry back in 2014.
After buying a diamond at Nashville jeweler Genesis Diamonds that he allegedly later discovered was not properly graded, he led a legal charge against the retailer. Manookian sued Genesis on behalf of multiple consumers who were sold dimonds that were overgraded by EGL International—they had been given a color and/or clarity distinction that was more than a couple grades above what other labs, like GIA, would assign the same diamond.
At that time, diamond overgrading was the jewelry industry’s 800-pound gorilla du jour and the string of lawsuits forced the industry to deal with it.
In October 2014, Rapaport pulled all EGL reports from RapNet, while Polygon banned stones with EGL International reports only. The moves led to reorganization of EGL
In mid-December 2014, Manookian told National Jeweler that a “major national [law] firm” would be filing a class-action lawsuit within 60 days against EGL International as well as “major retailers” in the U.S. for selling diamonds allegedly overgraded by the lab.
He said at the time that the intention was for the lawsuit to target the big chains, not small, independent jewelers.
The class action against the majors never materialized, but Manookian, along with other attorneys, launched public campaigns in an effort to find plaintiffs to file a class actions against five independent jewelers.
The campaigns involved physical fliers and online ads calling the retailers in question “a scam” and asking consumers if they were sold a “fraudulent ring.”
Though many in the industry acknowledged the need to confront the issue of diamond overgrading and applauded the dismantling of EGL International, Manookian’s plaintiff-attracting tactics were met with disdain, with two attorneys interviewed by JCK describing them as “unusual.”
And one retailer, the now-closed Diamond Doctor in Dallas, fired back, suing Manookian, his Nashville law partner Brian Cummings and their firm, Cummings Manookian, in a Texas federal court for violations of the RICO Act, business disparagement and injury to business reputation.
The lawsuit alleged that the public campaigns—purportedly launched in the interest of finding consumers who had been sold overgraded diamonds and helping them to right that wrong—were nothing more than a “cunning shakedown operation” to extort money from the jewelers.
“Manookian and his firm Cummings Manookian selectively target and systematically attack prominent, successful retail jewelers around the country as ‘fraudsters’ perpetrating ‘scams’ accusing them—without any evidence—of selling poor-quality diamonds at inflated prices,” the original complaint, filed in February 2016, reads.
“Manookian utilizes slickly produced internet websites with videos featuring Manookian himself and social media campaigns plastered with the victim’s trademarks and logos. The targeted jeweler (in this case, The Diamond Doctor) naturally contacts Manookian directly or indirectly and demands a stop to the disparaging and harassing campaigns. Manookian … quickly gets to the point: the victim has the choice of retaining Manookian and his firm as outside counsel at a cost of millions of dollars or face further intimidation, unsubstantiated allegations and harassment.”
In August 2017, the parties reached a settlement. Though terms of the settlement were largely confidential, one of the Diamond Doctor’s attorneys, Randy Johnston of Dallas firm Johnston Tobey Baruch, described all the twists and turns that led up to the “crazy” finale of the case in a blog post published on JohnstonTobey.com.
Reached last week, Johnston declined to comment on Manookian’s suspension.
The notice from the Tennessee BPR said the temporary suspension of Manookian’s law license will remain in effect “until dissolution or modification by the [Tennessee] Supreme Court.”
The BPR defines an attorney who has been suspended as “not in good standing and cannot practice law in Tennessee, subject to reinstatement to active status.”
It is separate classification from disbarred, which “terminates the individual’s status as a lawyer, though the individual is permitted to apply for reinstatement after five years.”
The Latest

It marks the third consecutive quarter of growth for Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Buccellati, and Vhernier.

The reseller’s market trends report, based on its sales data, also shows exactly how much Rolex prices have jumped since 2010.

The Seymour & Evelyn Holtzman Bench Scholarship from Jewelers of America returns for a second year.

The auction house will be hosting a retrospective paying tribute to jeweler Jean Dinh Van and his company’s 60th anniversary.


The “Impermanence” collection contemplates nature through the Japanese art of Ikebana (flower arranging) and philosophy of wabi-sabi.

The Texas-based jewelry retailer has set up shop in Tennessee and Arizona.

The countdown is on for the JCK Las Vegas Show and JA is pulling out all the stops.

Eric Ford will step into the role, bringing with him decades of experience.

The “Celestial Blue” capsule collection campaign features Olympian Kateryna Sadurska.

The seasonal store, located in Mykonos, Greece, offers exclusive events, personal styling, and curated experiences.

The New England jeweler is hosting a bridal event for the month of August.

The trade-only event will host its debut fair in the Emerald City later this month.

Its sessions will focus on inventory strategies, staff performance, retention and acquisition, emerging market trends, and more.

For its 10th anniversary, Miseno designed the “Arco” earrings based on the Arco Felice, an arch conceptualized in A.D. 95 in Miseno, Italy.

The jewelry company is one of several contributing to relief efforts in the region after the recent floods.

Inspired by fiancé Sid Wilson’s nickname for her, the white and yellow diamond ring features a unique honeycomb design.

The brand is marking its 50th anniversary with a limited-edition bangle, high jewelry suites, new collections, and more.

Goldfarb said changes in the industry, coupled with his age and the updates needed to modernize his business, drove his decision.

Longtime LVMH executive Michael Burke has stepped into the role.

Central topics of next week’s event include climate action, labor rights, artisan preservation, and value retention in producing countries.

Vickie Rokkos has joined the jewelry company as its new national sales director of North America.

Turbulence will be the new baseline for luxury as it faces its biggest potential setbacks in 15 years, a recent report said.

Sponsored by Rio Grande Jewelry Supply

The “For the Love of Fruits” collection features five fruit pendants, each holding a different meaning.

Diamonds and crimes (some involving diamonds) top the list of National Jeweler’s most popular stories halfway through the year.

They discovered “The Dash Diamond,” named for their dog, at the Crater of Diamonds State Park earlier this month.