A legal battle between Alex + Ani founder Carolyn Rafaelian (pictured) and her sister Rebecca Rafaelian Caruolo is a window onto a family drama centered on money, real estate, and jewelry.

Carolyn Rafaelian first brought a lawsuit against her sister in November 2025 and has now expanded it, with claims related to Air & Anchor, the jewelry company that Carolyn’s niece Rachel Ajaj founded with her husband, Omar, after they left Alex + Ani. The case has also been moved from Rhode Island state court to U.S. District Court for consideration.

In her amended complaint, filed May 8, Carolyn asked the court for damages, appointment of a receiver for Air & Anchor, injunctive relief, and a jury trial. Rebecca subsequently filed a motion to dismiss, which noted that Carolyn is basically suing herself, as she owns a portion of their family business.

The business consists of two entities: Pentagon Properties, which owns a commercial property where Air & Anchor is based, and Cinerama Jewelry, the Rhode Island company that the women’s father, Ralph Rafaelian, started in 1966.

Carolyn founded Alex + Ani in 2004, but parted ways with the company in 2019. Following a 2020–21 bankruptcy reorganization, the mostly online Alex + Ani is now majority-owned by Lion Capital. Rachel and Omar Ajaj also left Alex + Ani in 2019, and launched Air & Anchor the following year.

In a statement to JCK, Air & Anchor spokesperson Mike Raia said that the company rejects the claims in Carolyn’s lawsuit and that Rebecca has no financial interest in Air & Anchor.

“Air & Anchor is a growing company that is helping to revitalize Rhode Island and New England’s manufacturing and jewelry industry. The company is owned and operated independently by Omar and Rachel Ajaj,” Raia says. “Air & Anchor…will vigorously defend itself through the legal process and will remain laser focused on growing the Air & Anchor brand. We will not comment further on active litigation.”

Through a representative, Carolyn told JCK she would not comment on the case. However, she noted that Cinerama is “my history, my heritage, and my start.”

In her amended complaint, Carolyn accused Rebecca of “shareholder oppression and self-dealing” and said her sister’s conduct in regards to Cinerama and Pentagon has had the effect of “freezing out” Carolyn and “severely diminishing the value of the companies’ shares.”

The complaint also alleged that Rebecca concealed Air & Anchor from Carolyn, and it described the brand as “a knockoff” of Alex + Ani that was created from the complete takeover and de facto liquidation of Cinerama and its assets.

“Indeed, Air & Anchor uses all of Cinerama’s factory space, equipment, inventory, phone number, management, trade secrets, trade name, vendor relationships, goodwill, and reputation and is the functional alter ego of Cinerama,” the filing stated.

It also said that Rebecca manages and controls Air & Anchor in such a way that Cinerama is left “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.”

Carolyn owns 43% of Cinerama and Rebecca 57%, while Cinerama is split 50/50 between them. Their father established Pentagon in 1991 to own and manage property, including the building at 115 Pettaconsett Ave. in Cranston, R.I., that became known as “the Factory.” Air & Anchor’s store is now at that address, and the newer brand has continued to refer to it as “the Factory.”

Carolyn’s filing this month said, “In 2019, Rebecca, Rachel, and Omar saw the distress Alex + Ani was experiencing and recognized the opportunity to duplicate Carolyn’s business plan and begin a wholesale manufacturing and retail jewelry enterprise identical to Cinerama and Alex + Ani.”

The trio then “conspired and agreed to simply take Cinerama for themselves and designed a scheme to disenfranchise Carolyn from her interest in Cinerama,” the court document read. Air & Anchor got a lower-than-market-rate lease from Cinerama, it added.

Further, Carolyn alleged that Air & Anchor has used Cinerama’s vast vintage jewelry inventory archives as well as Carolyn’s “inventory of valuable and unique crystals, beads, and stones.”

In her response, Rebecca contended her sister has attacked her “using manufactured grievances and knowingly false claims.” She said Carolyn is not qualified to bring claims on behalf of Pentagon or Cinerama, as she would be suing herself to a degree. Rebecca’s filing also said the litigation would force Pentagon to raise what is fair rent and to evict Air & Anchor and Cinerama.

The motion additionally said, “Carolyn’s own pleadings reveal her objective: evict Cinerama and…clear the Pentagon commercial property so Pentagon would lease space to her own company, Metal Alchemist LLC. Notably, the last time one of Carolyn’s entities sub-leased space at the property, the entity failed to pay over $100,000 in rent and ultimately declared bankruptcy.”

Carolyn created Metal Alchemist in 2022, and in 2023 she launched another jewelry brand, &Livy. She had obtained her first patent for what became the renowned Alex + Ani bangle in 2004. By 2014, that brand’s sales had reached $350 million.

(Photo courtesy of Carolyn Rafaelian)

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