A federal jury in Seattle dismissed Blue Nile Inc.’s $60.1 million claim against The Yehuda Diamond Company following a six-day trial, reaffirming Yehuda Diamond’s right to compare the prices of its clarity-enhanced diamonds to the untreated diamonds sold by online retailer Blue Nile.

The suit, brought by Blue Nile and heard last month in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, involved Blue Nile’s efforts to prevent Yehuda from comparing the price and appearance of its clarity enhanced diamonds to those natural untreated diamonds sold by Blue Nile.

The jury dismissed both Blue Nile’s federal and state claims that Yehuda had engaged in false or misleading advertising.

Yehuda will continue to press its own lawsuit against Blue Nile filed in November 2008 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In that suit, Yehuda contends that consumers who purchased rubies, emeralds, sapphires, or jewelry containing those stones from Blue Nile were not informed that the gemstones had been treated to enhance their appearance.

JCK