Novus Spiritus - Some Jewelry With a "Quality Issue"
Some Novus Spiritus jewelry contained diamonds which... weren't diamonds.
Background
Sylvia Browne sells a line of "Novus Spiritus" jewelry which she advertises on her web site and mailings. The pieces generally feature the three-ring emblem which is the symbol of her church, the Society of Novus Spiritus.
Aside from being available via the web and mailings, these are also sold at many of her personal appearances and lectures, usually on tables in the lobby, alongside her books.
These are not inexpensive trinkets, either. They have run from $50.00 pendants all the way up to a diamond necklace costing $4,990.00.
Why write an article about this?
Because although I am firmly convinced that Sylvia Browne is not what she claims to be, I have only recently discovered that the same can be said of some of the jewelry she has sold to her followers.
top of page
The Email
On March 17 2007, I received the first of a series of emails from someone who claimed to have been highly-connected within Browne's church at one time.
The email, and subsequent emails from the same source, stated that:
1. Some of the Novus Spiritus "diamond jewelry" sold on Sylvia Browne's web site was not made with diamonds as was advertised, but instead was made with cubic zirconia (a "simulated diamond").
2. This had been brought to light when someone who had purchased one of the pieces had it appraised, and was told by the appraiser that the "diamonds" were not genuine.
3. Browne's staff switched jewelry suppliers/manufacturers as a result of this.
4. Many of the pieces had been sold at Browne's lectures and worship services, and so not all the buyers' names and addresses were known to Browne's staff, yet no public announcement of any of this had been made on Browne's web site, or in her monthly newsletter to her fans and followers.
The correspondent was not certain whether Browne and her staff had been aware of the nature of the jewelry prior to the contact by the person with the appraisal. The correspondent was also not sure exactly when this appraisal had happened, but said that it was at least as early as September of 2006, possibly as early as July of that year.
These were obviously very serious charges, and merited further investigation.
top of page
The Investigation
Looking through archived versions of the Sylvia Browne site's "Jewelry" page, I noted that some time between February 09 and April 27 of 2006, the links to selling the jewelry were removed, and replaced with the following notice:
Dear Valued Customer,
Regarding all orders that we have received...they have been backordered. Thank you for your continued patience.
We had to switch manufacturers and it has taken longer than expected to receive a new shipment. We hope to receive the new shipment with the next week or two and will fill all back orders first.
I have been told that the new pieces will be very nice.
If that is not timely enough for you or if you choose to cancel your order, please email Michael at [email address] or call me at [phone number].
We apologize for this delay and any inconvenience this may cause you.
We will sell only the best quality jewelry, pieces that you will be proud to wear for as long as you own them.
Sincerely,
Michael McClellan
Sylvia Browne Enterprises
Months later, when jewelry was again for sale on the page, only the lower-end "Eclipse" line of jewelry (under $300.00) was being sold. The higher-end "Trinity" and "Signature" lines ($1,440.00 - $4,990.00) do not appear to have been on the site since then.
Looking for more substantial confirmation, I called Michael McClellan at Sylvia Browne Enterprises, and discussed this with him, after telling him who I was, and that I was preparing an article on the subject.
We spoke for a few minutes about what he referred to as the "quality issue" they had with some of their jewelry.
(Diamond jewelry which does not have any diamonds on it, and this is a "quality issue?" Who knows, perhaps this is how Novus' attorneys advised them to refer to it.)
After that phone call, I sent him the following email:
From: webmaster@stopsylviabrowne.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 3:54 PM
To: Michael McClellan
Subject: Jewelry Quality Issue
Mr. McClellan:
Thank you for the few moments we spent on the phone.
Just to confirm my understanding of our conversation:
1) You agreed that for some unknown period of time, Novus Spiritus jewelry was sold which, although advertised as containing diamonds, instead contained simulated diamonds: cubic zirconia.
2) You stated that this was discovered when the manufacturer contacted your organization to let you know there were "quality issues" with the jewelry.
3) When asked if efforts were made to contact those who had purchased the jewelry with the quality issues, you said yes, and that this was an ongoing process.
Please let me know if I have any of this incorrect, and also know that if either Novus Spiritus or Sylvia Browne wish to issue a statement regarding this, email it to me, and I will gladly include it in the article I am writing for my web site.
Best regards,
Robert S. Lancaster
Webmaster,
www.StopSylviaBrowne.com
In return, I received the following reply:
Subject: RE: Jewelry Quality Issue
From: "Michael McClellan"
Date: Tue, Mar 20, 2007 4:55 pm
To:
Mr. Lancaster:
1) The jewelry quality in question was sold strictly between December, 2003 and October, 2005 (as indicated in the attached letter from the manufacturer of this jewelry), not for an "unknown period".
2) As soon as our corporation was contacted by the manufacturer and made aware of this quality issue, we notified our customers and are immediately sending new pieces which meet the quality standards we demand and are doing so as soon as the affected pieces are returned. Because this jewelry was sold to the customer by Sylvia Browne Enterprises and represents Sylvia's spiritual organization, Novus Spiritus, we are standing behind the quality of each and every piece
3) The manufacturer of the jewelry in question, ITC, is absorbing the entire cost of replacing this jewelry since it was entirely their oversight which caused this problem. (also, see attached letter.)
Michael McClellan
The attached letter was a Microsoft Word document, undated, with the logo of ITC International, "signed" by Marc Nehamkin, "the CEO and owner of ITC international, representing the jewelry manufacturer of a portion of The Sylvia Browne/TU Design Collection."
In part, the letter stated:
Recently our quality control department discovered a batch of jewelry in this line that was less than satisfactory to us and did not meet our exacting specifications. After contacting Sylvia Browne Enterprises and TU Designs to inform them of this issue, we learned that some of these pieces had already been sent to their customers and also learned that there was also a similar problem in samples from prior batches. At this time we have no way of knowing which recipients received these inferior pieces. Consequently, we are contacting you in writing to ask that you send us, using the enclosed self-addressed, stamped envelope any of the pieces you received from this line; i.e.., the Eclipse Pendant, Ring, or Earrings.
My reply to Mr. McClellan:
From: webmaster@stopsylviabrowne.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 5:10 PM
To: Michael McClellan
Subject: RE: Jewelry Quality Issue
Mr. McClellan:
Thank you for the clarifications, corrections and the copy of the letter from the manufacturer. They will be incorporated into the article. It seems odd to me that they would refer to using CZ instead of diamonds as a "quality issue," but then, I'm not a jewelry manufacturer.
I understand that some of these pieces were sold in locations where identification of the buyer may not be available to you, such as at Sylvia Browne lectures and other appearances. What effort is being made to contact these buyers? It would seem to me that notice should have gone out in Sylvia's newsletter as well as on the SB and NS web sites, urging those who purchased the pieces within that time frame to contact you. Was something like this done?
Best regards,
Robert S. Lancaster
Webmaster,
www.StopSylviaBrowne.com
Mr. McClellan's reply:
From: "Michael McClellan"
Date: Wed, Mar 21, 2007 1:45 pm
To:
Yes, an article and copy of the ITC letter is being included in our upcoming Newsletter as well as in the jewelry section of our website. Also, when jewelry was sold at Sylvia's lectures and other events, we took the name and address of the customer at the time of the purchase regardless of their form of payment. Also, if any of our customers does not receive the notice within the time frame of the letter, we will nevertheless be more than happy to replace their jewelry regardless of the date of its return.
So, the letter from ITC, and the email from Michael McClellan, say that the problem had been discovered by ITC International, which had subsequently contacted Sylvia Browne Enterprises. This conflicted with the story my correspondent had given me, that it was brought to Browne's attention by someone who had purchased some of the jewelry.
After a few emails back and forth with the correspondent, I sent the following email to Mr. McClellan:
From: webmaster@stopsylviabrowne.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 4:33 PM
To: Michael McClellan
Subject: RE: Jewelry Quality Issue
Michael:
It is my understanding that you have been aware of the situation with the jewelry for more than a year now. Is there a reason that you have waited this long to put a notice in the newsletter or on the web site?
I also have someone who says that he/she will sign an affidavit stating that you told him/her that the way this was discovered was not through the manufacturer letting you know, but by someone who had purchased one of the pieces telling you that they had it appraised and finding out the "diamonds" were CZ. Do you have any comments regarding this?
Best regards,
Robert S. Lancaster
Webmaster,
www.StopSylviaBrowne.com
His reply:
From: "Michael McClellan"
Date: Thu, Mar 22, 2007 10:22 am
To:
We were not aware of this quality issue until about 4 months ago. It became known to us by a member of our own staff who took her pendant in to replace a missing stone. At that time, we immediately notified the jewelry manufacturer, ITC, and had to work through the legal system with a lawyer to ensure they made this right. As a result, this issue was only settled and the procedure for replacement firmly in place within this past month.
top of page
The Affidavit
McClellan's version of events differed in many respects from that of the email correspondent who notified me of the story to begin with.
Since the correspondent was not willing to allow me to publish his/her name (for fear of harassment by Browne and her people), I told the correspondent that I would feel more comfortable publishing this story if he/she would send me a notarized document describing the pertinent events as he/she remembered them.
Not long after, I received in the mail an affidavit, signed by the correspondent in the presence of a Notary Public, who then notarized the affidavit.
Here is the text of that affidavit (I have removed identifying information, such as name and address):
State of
County of
BEFORE ME, the undersigned Notary, , known to me to be a credible person and of lawful age, who being by me first duly sworn, on oath, deposes and says:
I, , did personally relay information via email given to me directly from Rev. Michael McClellan, a minister for the Society of Novus Spiritus in Campbell, CA, and a member of the Board of Directors for the Society of Novus Spiritus, to Robert Lancaster, webmaster of the www.stopsylviabrowne.com website, as pertaining to information regarding the line of Novus Spiritus Jewelry sold by the Society of Novus Spiritus.
I was told directly by Rev. Michael McClellan that last year it was discovered by members of the Board of Directors of Novus Spiritus in Campbell, and Sylvia Browne, that the high quality, expensive diamond Novus jewelry that they have been selling at the Sylvia Browne Lectures, at her Church services, and via her website and newsletters were made with fake diamonds.
Rev. McClellan also told me in this conversation that they have no record of who purchased them at the lectures since that type of information wasn't gathered, and only knew a fraction of the "customers" who purchased these diamond jewelry pieces.
Rev. McClellan, in the same phone conversation, told me that a person who had purchased the jewelry had discovered that the diamonds were not real when they took a piece to a jeweler to get an appraisal value for insurance. According to Rev. McClellan, this is when he was notified by the customer as to the diamonds being fake.
Rev. McClellan did state to me personally on this telephone call that he was notifying certain Ministers and others associated with Novus of this to replace the jewelry, but that no public announcement was being made because they could not find a way to contact all the people who purchased the jewelry, and did not want to publicize this matter.
I hereby affirm and attest that this information is true and accurate.
[signature of affiant]
Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 11th day
of April, 2007.
[Notary Seal:]
[Signature of Notary]
NOTARY PUBLIC
My commission expires
top of page
Analysis
There are certainly conflicting stories here.
Timeline
- McClellan/Novus says that this was all discovered "about four months ago," placing it around November of 2006.
- Multiple email correspondents tell me that Novus staff was aware of this no later than Spring of 2006.
The notice put on the "Custom Jewelry" page of Browne's site, some time between February 09 and April 27 of 2006, tends to lend credence to the earlier time frame.
How Discovered
- McClellan/Novus first said it was the manufacturer who discovered the problem, then said that it was a Novus staff member who discovered it when taking her jewelry in for repair.
- More than one person has told me that they heard otherwise from people high up in the Novus organization. One said that a Novus board member described it as having been brought to light "when an irate lady walked in and demanded an immediate explanation and refund after having had her necklace appraised for insurance purposes."
Contacting Purchasers
- McClellan/Novus says that Novus recorded the names and addresses of all people who purchased the jewelry.
- An eyewitness tells me that he/she witnessed cash purchases of the jewelry - at Sylvia appearances - in which no contact information was taken.
Jewelry Involved
- McClellan/Novus says that the only jewelry involved was from the "Eclipse" line, not the more expensive "Trinity" and "Signature" lines.
- More than one person has told me that they heard otherwise from people high up in the Novus organization.
top of page
Conclusion
I have reproduced Mr. McClellan's emails in the interest of fairness, so that Sylvia Browne Corp. got their version of events published.
But whenever and however Browne's people learned about this, it would seem that a very public notice to Browne's followers about the whole affair would have been the best way to have treated her followers, some of whom spent a considerable amount of money on jewelry which, to put it mildly, had a "quality issue."
It is important to note that the email accounts I have received which show the less-flattering version of events consist mostly of second- and third-hand accounts.
Yet, the notice of change of manufacturers seems to support their account of the time line, and Mr. McClellan's version of how it all was discovered seems to change, which does not help support the Novus version of events.
Also, there is this, from Mr. McClellan's email of March 21, 2007:
Yes, an article and copy of the ITC letter is being included in our upcoming Newsletter as well as in the jewelry section of our website.
It is now April 21, 2007, one month after Mr. McClellan's statement above.
Since then:
- The April edition of the "Novus Connection" newsletter went out with no mention of the "quality issue."
- The March/April edition of the "Sylvia Browne Newsletter" went out with no mention of the "quality issue."
But perhaps this was due to deadlines. Perhaps it was too late to get the story in.
I assume there are no such deadline problems with the "Custom Jewelry" page of Browne's web site. Yet as of this writing, it still lacks any notice about the problem.
My conclusion: If I had purchased an item from line of Browne's Novus Spiritus jewelry, no matter I had purchased it, I would seriously consider having it appraised.
My thanks to my correspondents for their information, and to Michael McClellan for his cooperation.
top of page
Related Links
Clicking on any of these links will load a separate browser window for viewing the linked page.
StopSylviaBrowne.com is not responsible for the content of any of these linked pages.
top of page
