Spain Drops False Advertising Probe into Jeweler TOUS

Spain's top criminal court dropped an investigation into the jewellery chain TOUS Monday, saying there was no evidence it made false claims about its products being made of gold or silver. 

In a statement, a judge from the court said it was not possible to say "the facts in the case could be considered a crime" as claimed by Spanish consumer group Consujoya which had accused TOUS of selling jewellery advertised as pure gold but which, in fact, contained other metals.

TOUS is famous for its gold and silver pendants made in the shape of a bear cub and has than 700 shops around the world, with one of its global advertising campaigns featuring Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow. 

Consujoya had filed a complaint at the end of 2018 with prosecutors taking the case to the National Court a year later. 

The National Court confirmed it had opened an investigation last Tuesday but within days, the judge in charge of the file concluded there had been no fraud because TOUS had never claimed the pieces were made of "solid gold". 

TOUS, which was founded in 1920 and operates in 53 countries, had vehemently denied the allegation, saying that although some pieces "could contain non-metallic cores to help provide it with stability", each product was certified by external labs "in accordance with the highest quality standards."