Jeweler Is Latest To Leave Square

Diamond lovers may benefit from liquidation sales at Alpha Omega Jewelers, but for some Cambridge natives, the prospect of cheap jewelry doesn’t dispel concerns about the effects that the store’s bankruptcy—and likely disappearance—will have on the character of Harvard Square.

In recent days, signs in front of the store have publicized the ongoing financial difficulties of the jewelry chain, which owns three other locations in Boston—all of which are expected to close by this summer.

Gabriel Solomon, a long time Cambridge resident, says he doubts whether Alpha Omega’s departure will be a boon to Cambridge.

“I know businesses come and go, but if [the replacement] has nothing to offer, I’ll be upset,” he says.

“Look around you, all you see now are national chains and bank machines,” Solomon adds. “What happened to the stores you could shop at?”

Denise A. Jillson—executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, an organization that promotes the commercial interests of Square businesses—says that Solomon’s complaint is not the first she’s heard.

But Jillson, who says she is not worried about the effects of Alpha Omega’s demise, gives a more optimistic outlook about the prospects of small, independently owned businesses in the Square.

“I feel confident that owners and managers of the property are doing the right thing,” Jillson says. “The reality is that more than 90 percent of most recent members [of the Square] are small local independently owned businesses. There are lots and lots of small eclectic stores.”

Alpha Omega’s problems came to a head in December, when its owner, Raman Handa suddenly left for his home country of India, leaving considerable debts in his wake.

Amie Breton, spokesperson for the Massachusetts attorney general’s office, said yesterday that she could neither confirm nor deny that an investigation into Handa’s disappearance is going on.

One of the few things that has become clear in this murky case is who will take over the company’s assets.

Three investment firms, including the Tiger Capital Group of Boston, gained access to Alpha’s Omega’s assets through an auction, according to a January press release.

“Handa was heavily in debt and apparently took off rather than facing the music,” says Susan Morgan, the spokesperson for The Gordon Company, another one of the firms involved in the deal.

Morgan also says that the joint-venture partnership will operate the Alpha Omega Jewelers stores through July, by which time they hope to sell off Alpha Omega’s assets.

“[Alpha Omega Jewelers] are running the sale in all of the stores, and they are selling everything in there,” she said.