An infamous gaffe by the chain's founder, Gerald Ratner, in 1991 - when he described one of its wares as "total crap" - rendered the brand the disgrace of the jewellery trade.

BBC: Legal threat tarnishes Ratner comeback

At 15, I remember viewing the first movie that I felt a strong urge to walk out of because out of sheer boredom and because, well, I thought the offending film was total crap.

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In 1991 it took just two words - "total crap" - from then chairman Gerald Ratner, who was describing one of the company's products, to torpedo consumer confidence and bring it to the brink of bankruptcy.

BBC: Renaming: Sleight of brand?

Like you'd expect, 99% of the stuff is total crap, but our pals over at Tiger Telematics have been issuing press releases for their new Gizmondo portable game console almost every day lately, often on the flimsiest of pretexts.

ENGADGET: Tiger Telematics goes overboard with Gizmondo press releases