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New York--A Hispanic female executive with De Beers Diamond Jewellers U.S. Inc. is suing the retail chain, claiming she was passed over for the top post in favor of a “less-qualified white woman,” court papers show.

According to the lawsuit, filed Dec. 15 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Desirée Charles is accusing De Beers Diamond Jewellers U.S., a joint venture of The De Beers Group and luxury retail giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, of race discrimination under federal, state and city statutes.

Charles joined De Beers’ U.S. operations six years ago, working as the assistant vice president of marketing and merchandising under Hamida Belkadi, who was the chain’s CEO from 2009 to 2011.

When Belkadi stepped down earlier this year, Charles claims she was told the company wanted to replace her with an executive with 25 years of experience in diamond and luxury goods retailing, a description that, she alleges, was “deliberately misrepresented” to her.

In the spring, De Beers Diamond Jewellers U.S. announced that it had chosen Devon Pike, the senior vice president of digital at apparel company Juicy Couture who has about 18 years of total experience in the retail industry, as its new CEO. 

“Not only did Pike not meet the qualifications for the position as defendant’s management had described them, she had no experience in the sale of diamonds or other luxury goods,” court papers state.

De Beers Diamond Jewellers U.S. denies Charles’ claims of discrimination, calling them “entirely without merit.” 

“We intend to vigorously defend ourselves against the defendant’s claims,” the company said.

According to court documents filed in the case, Charles is a “well-educated” business professional with more than a decade of experience in the retailing of diamonds and fine jewelry, as well as a Master of Business Administration from the “prestigious” École Supérieure des Sciences Économiques et Commerciales in Cergy, France.

Charles worked as a jewelry marketing manager for Cartier for five years before joining De Beers in March 2005 as the assistant vice president of marketing and merchandising. Her superior Belkadi reported directly to François Delage, the global head of De Beers’ retail chain.

In February 2009, Belkadi was promoted to CEO of De Beers’ Diamond Jewellers U.S. and served in that position until her resignation in January.

According to court papers, Delage “made clear” to Charles that the company wanted to replace Belkadi with “someone with equivalent experience, that is, with approximately 25 years of experience in diamond and luxury goods retailing and a strong business background,” court papers state.

“Because the qualifications for defendant’s CEO were described in that way to Charles she did not apply for the position,” court papers state.

After Belkadi’s departure, Charles continued in her role as head of marketing and merchandising and assumed many of the CEO duties for a five-month period, increasing sales by 30 percent for the retail chain.

Even after Pike came on board, the suit states that Charles had to train her on the “most basic aspects” of the diamond jewelry industry and continued to perform critical CEO duties for several months, including monthly mid-month sales estimates and discount authorizations on high-end products.

In March, Charles received the standard 2.5 percent raise, bringing her salary to $116,000 while the company is paying Pike “approximately three times that amount,” court papers state.

The court documents also detail incidents in which Charles claims the company’s bias was reflected through Delage.

One such incident occurred in September 2010, when Delage allegedly expressed “surprise” upon learning that Charles--the only employee of color in a management position for De Beers Diamond Jewellers US Inc.--had written a marketing plan that he viewed favorably.

“Charles found Delage’s reaction disturbing since neither he nor anyone else at De Beers had previously expressed to Charles a negative view of her performance,” court papers state.

Charles is asking that the court enter a judgment forcing De Beers to promote her to CEO, compensating her for wages and other lost benefits as well as paying her compensatory and punitive damages and attorneys’ fees in the case.