GemEx, a Wisconsin-based company that analyzes the quality diamonds has accused Zales, the jewelry conglomerate, of false advertising and misleading consumers.

GemEx Systems Inc. filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee.  According to GemEx, the dispute involves Zales' so-called Celebration Diamond and an analysis of its qualities by a GemEx competitor.

GemEx claims only its technology can do a light performance analysis, and Zales has misled customers by claiming reports done by the competitor are equivalent.

The lawsuit filed last week said GemEx provided its diamond grading reports to Zales for two years before the business relationship ended last summer. Zales then switched to GS Laboratories of America, also of Irving, for the analysis.

The grading reports of diamonds are designed to inform customers about a diamond's brilliance, dispersion of colored light and sparkle, the lawsuit said.

His client has patented the technology to measure the light with a device called a BrillianceScope Analyzer, he said.

GemEx alleged that GS Laboratories' way of giving a quality score measured physical characteristics of a cut diamond, not actual light returned by it, yet Zales told customers the so-called "OGI firetrace reports" measured light performance.

Such claims "disparage the quality of GemEx's services," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and asks a judge to order Zales to stop claiming its diamond reports measure light.

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