LGBTIQ couple DENIED engagement ring at jewellery storeAn online jeweller has been accused of LGBTIQ discrimination for refusing to sell engagement rings to a Lesbian couple.
by Mambaonline.com
30-11-2022 17:27
in LGBTQIA
Despite Craig Marks refusing to make Candice van Eck and her partner an engagement ring, the couple later got engaged in Greece with another ring. Photo: PEXELS
Craig Marks, a Cape Town-based online jeweller, has again been accused of LGBTIQ discrimination by refusing to sell engagement rings to same-sex couples because of the owner's Christian beliefs.
--
When quantity surveyor Candice van Eck decided earlier this year to propose to her partner, she started looking for the ideal diamond ring for the special occasion.
We're originally from Joburg and moved to PE and there wasn't much variety around here, van Eck tells MambaOnline. She turned to online retailers and came across the Craig Marks website which offers custom-made fine jewellery .
ALSO READ: Cape Town Pride cruise is set to LAUNCH next year
Finding just what she'd been looking for on the website, she excitedly contacted the company and spoke to owner Craig Mark Quinton. During their conversation about the ring's settings and size, she casually referenced that her partner was a woman.
--
I loved this diamond, it was perfect, says van Eck. However, when she tried to follow up with Quinton about the ring, she found herself being ghosted. I kept sending him emails waiting for the settings with no response. And then I tried to call him. He ignored me. Then I tried off my mom's phone and he answered.
It made me feel that we are not good enough
ALSO READ: Gay pride march in Gqeberha led by learners
--
How it all transpired Van Eck says that Quinton apologised and promised to reply to her via email. When he did email her on 30 March, Van Eck was stunned by his response.
You did mention on the phone that it's an engagement ring for a female partner,
We, unfortunately, do not provide rings for the purposes of engagement or marriage for same sex couples. This is out of faith towards God as he has said between man and woman.
He added that he'd be happy to help her if she was looking for any other kinds of jewellery.
It made me feel that we are not good enough, says Van Eck. It's so brazen and entitled. I actually cried afterwards - it's meant to be something special and he made me feel that I'm doing something completely wrong.
Determined to not allow the disappointment and humiliation sour her engagement, van Eck put the matter aside for the time being. Finding another ring, she and her partner got engaged in July in Greece at sunset overlooking the ocean.
Despite the happy outcome of her proposal, she couldn't let go of the troubling incident. It sat with me and bothered me, and I thought I don't want to let this just go by'. I felt quite upset and disheartened by it.
Where then is the LGBTIQ community to go? Van Eck is now considering lodging a complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission or the Equality Court. She's also been in touch with OUT LGBT Well-being's legal clinic for support.
I've been fortunate to not have experienced a lot of discrimination in my life and this is one of the first big acts towards me. I can only imagine what other people are facing every day. That's why I want to take it further.
Businesses are not allowed to continue to humiliate LGBTIQ people by treating them as second-class citizens
In 2019, Quinton made headlines for refusing to sell an engagement ring to another same-sex couple, telling the women that we follow Christ and do not want to partake in what God calls sin which is a man with a man or woman with a woman.
He and his company faced a significant backlash from the LGBTIQ community and its supporters, with Quinton alleging that he'd been harassed and threatened because of his stance.
Forging an alliance with the conservative religious group, Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA), he essentially argued that his constitutional right to religious freedom superseded the right of LGBTIQ people to equality and protection from discrimination,
Business owners cannot deny services to LGBTIQ people based on their personal religious beliefs, says OUT's Human Rights Manager Lerato Phalakatshela. Their religious beliefs cannot be brought into their professional public capacity as an excuse to discriminate against a protected group.
Phalakatshela added: This company's actions are in violation of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act [also known as the Equality Act]. We urge the SA Human Rights Commission and the courts to take action to ensure that businesses are not allowed to continue to humiliate LGBTIQ people by treating them as second-class citizens.
MambaOnline contacted Quinton requesting comment and asking if it remained his company's policy to refuse to sell engagement rings to same-sex couples. He had not replied at the time of publishing this article.
By Luiz De Barros
This article was initially published on MAMBAonline.com
How much of a rugby fanatic are you? FIVE easy answers could win you a signed jersey! ENTER HERE!
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
LGBTIQ couple DENIED engagement ring at jewellery storeAn online jeweller has been accused of LGBTIQ discrimination for refusing to sell engagement rings to a Lesbian couple.
