Chinese vendors looking to cash in on the frenzy over the April wedding of Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton are selling copies of her engagement ring for as little as US$3.
Knock-offs of the US$45,000 sapphire and diamond ring that the prince gave to Middleton — and once worn by his mother, Princess Diana — are on offer at various shops on Taobao.com, China’s largest online mall.
Most are selling for less than 100 yuan (US$15), with the cheapest — allegedly made of zircon and unspecified alloys — available for just 19.9 yuan, or about US$3, according to Taobao pages searched by AFP.
PHOTO: REUTERS 照片：路透
The original item was given to Diana by William’s father, Prince Charles, when they were engaged in February 1981. Charles and Diana divorced in 1996 and she was killed in a car crash in Paris the following year.
Chinese media said last week that factories in Yiwu, east China, the world’s largest wholesale market for small products, were ramping up output of royal wedding souvenirs, from fake rings to cups to dolls.
The producers, wary of finding themselves in a copyright lawsuit, say they are making minor changes to their bogus engagement rings, reducing the number of “diamonds” surrounding the “sapphire”, according to the reports.
“I believe other company owners are the same as me — none of us would like to run the risk associated with making exact replicas,” one report quoted a businessman in Yiwu as saying.
Cheap imitation rings have also flown off shop shelves in Brazil, reports said.
(AFP)
英國威廉王子與凱特‧密道頓明年四月舉行婚禮，中國商販正想利用這波熱潮大撈一筆，推出凱特訂婚戒的山寨版，要價僅三美元（約新台幣九十元）。
威廉給凱特鑲有藍寶石與鑽石的戒指，曾由母親黛安娜王妃所有，該戒指價值四萬五千美元，現在許多商家於中國最大購物網站淘寶網（Taobao.com），也推出山寨版。
法新社搜尋淘寶網後發現，多數山寨版戒指價格不到一百元人民幣（約十五美元，新台幣四百五十元），最便宜的只要十九點九元人民幣，約三美元，可能是用鋯石和不知名合金製成。
原始戒指是威廉父親查爾斯王子在一九八一年二月送給黛安娜的訂婚戒。查爾斯與黛安娜在一九九六年離婚。次年，黛安娜在巴黎車禍喪生。
中國媒體上週報導，在中國東部義烏市的工廠，正在趕製皇室婚禮紀念品，包括假戒指、杯子和玩偶等。義烏市，為全球最大的小商品批發市場。
據報導，製造商怕惹上著作權官司，便於山寨版訂婚戒上做些微變動，減少了環繞在「藍寶石」周圍的「鑽石」數量。
提到製造複製品時，報導引用一位義烏市商人的話指出，「我相信其他公司負責人跟我一樣，沒有人想要鋌而走險。」
報導指出，便宜仿製的戒指已經可以在巴西商店架上買得到。
（法新社╱翻譯：林亞蒂）
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