Hong Kong Woman Sues Rolex, Claims Rash

A Hong Kong woman has sued Rolex, alleging that a watch she bought caused her psychological trauma because she had to wear long sleeves to cover up an itchy, unsightly skin allergy triggered by a label on the underside of the luxury timepiece, a newspaper reported Thursday.





Lee Ka-wai filed her claim in the Small Claims Tribunal, seeking $6,044 in damages, the South China Morning Post said. She purchased the $3,866 Rolex Oyster Perpetual in August 2004, the newspaper said.

Lee said the skin allergy - scratchy red dots - was caused by a removable label on the back of the watch, the newspaper reported. She didn't remove the label because she was afraid she would lose Rolex's worldwide guarantee or sacrifice proof of the watch's authenticity, it said. "Rolex should have mentioned it in the manual or asked its agent to remind customers to remove the label," Lee was quoted as saying.

She said that she suffered psychological trauma because she had to wear long sleeves to cover up the unsightly allergic reaction, the newspaper reported.

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