Daughtrey v. Ashe

Hayes Daughtrey went to Sidney Ashe's jewelry store to buy a diamond bracelet for his wife. Ashe showed Daughtrey a $15,000 bracelet and described the stones as "nice diamonds." Ashe then prepared an insurance estimate form that said:

The following represents our estimate for insurance purposes only, of the present retail replacement cost of identical items, and not necessarily the amounts that might be obtained if the articles offered for sale: bracelet, set with 26 brilliant full ct of diamonds weighing a total of 10 carats. H color and v.v.s. quality. Appraised value: $25,000.

The term v.v.s. means "very very slight inclusion" and is a term used to describe diamonds of the highest quality. Daughtrey purchased the bracelet for $15,000. Later, another jeweler inspected the bracelet and told Daughtey that the diamonds were not v.v.s. quality, but a substantially lower grade. Doughtrey returned the bracelet to Ashe and demanded that he replace the bracelet with one that v.v.s diamonds. Ashe offered to refund the purchase price but Daughtrey refused because diamond prices had risen substantially since he had originally purchased the bracelet. Daughtrey sued Ashe on the basis of breach of an express warranty. Ashe claimed that he made no express warranty because he described the stones as "nice diamonds" only. Ashe further claimed that the insurance estimate was for insurance purposes only and as such does not constitute an express warranty. Do Ashe's statements constitute an Express Warranty? Discuss. Daughtrey v. Ashe 243 Va. 73, 413 S.E.2d 336, (1995)