Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL BENJAMIN "R eal power is silent," Carolyn Rafaelian says while thoughtfully stroking a gold bracelet clasped around her wrist. "It's silent and it's beautiful." Natural dark curls cascade around Rafaelian's pronounced cheek- bones. Her eyes are deep auburn and exotic. If she needed any proof that power is indeed beauti- ful, all she would need to do is look in the mirror. Rafaelian has arrived. The founder, CEO, and creative director of the megasuccessful Alex and Ani jewelry line, Rafaelian is sitting at her corporate headquarters in Cranston, Rhode Island. The room feels more like an artist's studio than an executive's office. Rafaelian sips her tea and leans back in her chair. Awards crowd the wall behind her. A thousand- plus employees are fastidiously at work all through the building. This is the castle that Rafaelian built. Nearby is the castle that Rafaelian bought. Literally. In 2012, she purchased Belcourt Castle— the Belcourt Castle, the one that once housed Alva Vanderbilt and the Newport Jazz Festival, and overlooks the Atlantic along the Cliff Walk of Bellevue Avenue, the Rodeo Drive of Newport, Rhode Island. She picked it up for a cool $3.6 million and has since invested at least double that amount to rehabilitate the historic prop- erty. Rafaelian has grand visions. Now renamed Karma Chameleon ALEX AND ANI'S CAROLYN RAFAELIAN IS QUIETLY CREATING A GOLDEN EMPIRE, ONE ZENPOWERED BANGLE AT A TIME. BY JENNY JOHNSON VIEW FROM THE TOP continued on page 44 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 43 PEOPLE, CULTURE, TASTE, TREASURES 043-044_BC_SP_VFT_LateSpring14.indd 43 4/7/14 5:34 PM