Tiffany is accused of stealing luxury jewelry trade secrets in a lawsuit filed by Cartier.

On Monday, Cartier filed a lawsuit against Tiffany & Co, accusing the luxury retailer of stealing trade secrets about its high-end jewelry from an employee it enticed away in December.

Tiffany recruited an unskilled junior manager out to learn further about Cartier’s “High Jewelry” line, where pieces often cost $50,000 to $10 million, according to a case filed in a New York state court in Manhattan.

Tiffany’s recruitment of Megan Marino, according to Cartier, a group of Switzerland’s Richemont SA, was a desperate attempt to revive its own high jewellery unit, which had been left in “disarray” following several departures, reflecting Tiffany’s “disturbing culture of misappropriating competitive information.”

According to court documents, Tiffany appeared to place the responsibility squarely on Marino when she fired her after only five weeks.

Marino alleged Tiffany was “more willing to hire me as an information source than as a High Jewelry manager” in an affidavit that accompanied the complaint.

Tiffany’s recruitment of Megan Marino, according to Cartier, a group of Switzerland’s Richemont SA, was a desperate attempt to revive its own high jewellery unit, which had been left in “disarray” following several departures, reflecting Tiffany’s “disturbing culture of misappropriating competitive information.”

According to court documents, Tiffany appeared to place the responsibility squarely on Marino when she fired her after only five weeks.

Marino alleged Tiffany was “more willing to hire me as an information source than as a High Jewelry manager” in an affidavit that accompanied the complaint.