Quality designs that last

MADE TO WEAR: HAVERHILL Inc. co-founder Haverhill Leach, left, and CEO Alison Cariati target professional women who want high-quality pieces that are also affordable. / PBN PHOTO/FRANK MULLIN
MADE TO WEAR: HAVERHILL Inc. co-founder Haverhill Leach, left, and CEO Alison Cariati target professional women who want high-quality pieces that are also affordable. / PBN PHOTO/FRANK MULLIN

The woman who buys her own jewelry and who wants something classic and real is the type of customer driving the growth of HAVERHILL Inc.

Three-year-old HAVERHILL is among the small companies with dedicated offices in the shared space operated by the Founders League on Clemence Street in Providence.

The company is led by CEO Alison Cariati and creative director and designer Haverhill Leach. Cariati, whose background is in marketing, and Leach, a former handbag and swimsuit designer, met several years ago and launched their company in 2013.

They aim their jewelry at professional women who want high-quality, affordable pieces that are versatile.

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The designs are clean and uncluttered. “I really believe when something’s clean, it’s timeless,” Leach said. “You keep it and pass it down from generation to generation.”

Leach is the fifth generation of her family who has worked in the jewelry industry. Her designs were inspired, in part, by the midcentury modern furniture she and her husband began to collect when they lived in Los Angeles.

The imprinted design on the interior surface of the pieces, such as bracelets and rings, is based on a garden gate at her former home.

HAVERHILL jewelry features semi-precious stones and high-quality sterling silver, as well as gold accents. The stones include topaz, citrine, aquamarine, garnet, as well as mother-of-pearl. All are hand set into rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

Prices begin at $49, for earrings, and run up to several thousand dollars for signature pieces. But much of its product is in the $200 to $400 range. “There is a full range there, but it’s accessible,” Cariati said.

One market the company is not entering is the bridal arena. Designs do not include precious gems, such as diamonds or emeralds.

“We’re not trying to be the engagement-ring market,” Cariati said. “You can do a lot of things with amethyst, mother-of-pearl.”

The jewelry is sold online through the company website, and at trunk shows and specialty events, rather than through retailers. In the next several months, the collections will be featured at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day derby in Lexington, Ky., at the Hampton Classic Horse Show, an eight-day horse show in Bridgehampton, N.Y., and at other juried sale events.

The company does not disclose sales figures, but Cariati said revenue has doubled annually. “My big challenge right now is to build a team that will allow us to expand our capacity exponentially.”

While women make up a large part of the audience, men who buy jewelry for their wives, daughters and others also make up a part of the customer base.

In 2016, HAVERHILL will launch its first men’s collection, in part because men have said they find the clean design appealing, Cariati said. Initial pieces will include necklaces, cuff links and rings.

Additional women’s items will be launched in the coming months.

“It is for the woman that expects it to last,” Cariati said. “You wear it all the time.” •

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