The Boston Globe
Jewelry designer Carolyn Rafaelian filed a lawsuit to resolve what court files describe as “a family shareholder dispute.”
Carolyn Rafaelian photographed at her home in 2021.
Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff
updated on May 21, 2026 | 10:25 AM
3 minutes to read
PROVIDENCE — The founder of Alex and Ani has filed a lawsuit against her sister, alleging she misused the assets of their family’s decades-old Rhode Island-based jewelry business to secretly subsidize Air & Anchor, another jewelry venture.
Jewelry designer Carolyn Rafaelian first brought the lawsuit against her sister, Rebecca Rafaelian Caruolo, in Newport County Superior Court in November 2025, records show. But the matter — described in filings as “a family shareholder dispute” — was recently moved to US District Court in Providence, according to court records.
A complaint filed on May 8 alleges Rafaelian Caruolo used her position as majority shareholder and president of Cinerama, the jewelry company created by her and Rafaelian’s father in 1966, “to create a new business venture using all of the assets of Cinerama … for the sole purpose of excluding and divesting Carolyn of her interest in Cinerama.”
“Concealed from Carolyn as a mere subtenant leasing a portion of space from Cinerama to start a jewelry business, the new enterprise, Air & Anchor, is in fact a knock-off of Carolyn’s Alex + Ani jewelry brand, created from the complete takeover and de facto liquidation of Cinerama and its assets,” the lawsuit states. “Indeed, Air & Anchor uses all of Cinerama’s factory space, equipment, inventory, phone number, management, trade secrets, tradename, vendor relationships, goodwill and reputation and is the functional alter ego of Cinerama.”
Rafaelian Caruolo’s actions are essentially “freezing out” Rafaelian from Cinerama “as well as diminishing the value of the companies’ shares,” the lawsuit alleges.
Rafaelian, who holds about 43 percent of Cinerama’s shares, was never presented with the opportunity of Air & Anchor, according to the complaint. She is now seeking unspecified damages, and is asking the court to block the defendants from “using Cinerama’s and Carolyn’s assets, image, likeness and goodwill without express permission,” the filing states.
The lawsuit follows a turbulent few years for Alex and Ani, the jewelry brand Rafaelian launched in Cranston, R.I., in 2004. Rafaelian was pushed out of the business in 2020, and the charm bracelet company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2021. Alex and Ani is controlled by majority owner Lion Capital, a London-based firm founded by English financier Lyndon Lea.
According to the lawsuit, Air & Anchor, which produces charm necklaces and bracelets, launched in 2019 and was formed by Rafaelian’s and Rafaelian Caruolo’s niece and her husband,Rachel and Omar Ajaj.
The complaint alleges Rafaelian Caruolo “manages and controls the daily operations of the new enterprise, leaving Cinerama a shell company, existing merely to conceal the misappropriation of Cinerama’s assets, subsidize Rebecca’s new business venture, and mislead Carolyn as to the value of her shares in Cinerama.” The lawsuit seeks to have the court appoint a receiver for Air & Anchor.
“By this lawsuit, Carolyn seeks to protect, preserve and realize the full value of her shareholder interest in her family’s businesses and their assets, reputation, image, and goodwill, and to protect her own assets, reputation, image and commercial likeness of entities,” the complaint states.
An attorneyfor Rafaelian Caruolo did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday. Joseph V. Cavanagh III, an attorney representing Productive Collaboration, LLC, the parent company of Air & Anchor, declined to comment.
In a statement, Mike Raia, a spokesperson for Air & Anchor, said the company “is a tenant of Cinerama’s and is owned and operated by Rachel and Omar Ajaj,” and added that, “Rebecca Rafaelian has no financial or business interests in Air & Anchor.”
“The company rejects the claims made in Carolyn’s lawsuit and will vigorously defend itself through the legal process, and will remain laser focused on growing the Air & Anchor brand,” Raia said. “We will not comment further on active litigation.”
A spokesperson for Rafaelian, in an email, wrote Rafaelian does not “comment directly on any current litigation.”
In a statement Monday, Rafaelian said: “History is what makes us strong. Cinerama is my history, my heritage and my start. This is its 60th anniversary year, a milestone worth celebrating. My focus is on doing so and on preserving this great family legacy.”
