UPDATED: This Chicago Storeowner Will Give Out Free Jewelry—Because it Snowed

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Yesterday's snowstorm was a lucrative force of nature for some Chicagoland shoppers. Local jeweler Rich Bennett, who owns PK Bennett Jewelers in Mundelein, offered a holiday promotion that went something like this: customers who purchased bling between Black Friday and Christmas Day would be refunded if it snowed more than three inches by noon on New Year's Day. And, it did.

Bennett estimated that he owed customers $151,000 worth of refunds yesterday. But, the jovial jeweler insisted that he was in fine shape to dole out the snow-won rewards. "This year was the best year ever, and we just had the best Christmas season ever," he told ABC. Plus, The Chicago Tribune reports, his insurance helped cover any potential losses.

Update January 5, 2014: Um, looks like PK Bennett Jewelers may be off the hook for doling out those refunds. The store's insurance company took a good, hard look at the snowfall that blanketed Chicagoland on New Year's Day between the hours of midnight and noon, and found that accumulation was only 1.1 inches (not the 3 inches on which the refund was contingent.) Bennett is disappointed in the news: "Obviously, as a business it would be awesome for us and our customers to have this big party and write everyone a check, but we have to abide by what the insurance company says," he told The Daily Herald. But there's still hope: Bennet has tapped another "resource" to look into the matter, so it's yet to be determined if that awesome party will indeed take place. [The Daily Herald]
· Chicago Snow Costs Jewelry $151,000 [ABC News]
· PK Bennett Jewelers [Official Site]
· Mundelein jewelery offers $150,000 in refunds if snow hits New Year's Day [The Chicago Tribune]