HEIDI KLUM - KLUM'S JEWELLERY DREAMS ENDED WITH LAWSUIT

KLUM'S JEWELLERY DREAMS ENDED WITH LAWSUIT

Supermodel HEIDI KLUM has shut down her jewellery business after she was taken to court by exclusive gem firm Van Cleef & Arpels.
The runway beauty launched a collection of designs for Mouawad five years ago and the range was a success, selling out within moments of going on sale on TV shopping channels like QVC.
But Klum reveals a lack of business experience, coupled with a lawsuit by Van Cleef & Arpels over one particular design, put an end to her jewellery dreams once and for all.
She tells the Los Angeles Times, "I don't do the jewellery anymore, which I loved doing.
"Unfortunately, I did have a partner who... maybe wasn't as knowledgeable in terms of setting up a business. I worked five years very hard on that. But we stopped because we had a lawsuit with Van Cleef & Arpels - they wanted to have the clover, even though our designs had never matched, I don't know how may designs I had done in five years, maybe 800 different designs - but they just wanted to own the clover motif.
"So they went after everyone who does that (and) they said, 'We own the clover.' I think when you're a small company, which we are, we're not a Van Cleef - they have a thousand lawyers. I'm a small fry next to that. That’s a sad lesson to learn.
"That’s how life is. You have to set yourself up from the very beginning properly."