Before Devin Kaya ever designed an engagement ring, he watched thousands of them leave the jewelry store his parents built.
Some of his earliest memories are of sitting in the back of Kaya Jewelers during the holiday season, watching customers come through the door to celebrate engagements, anniversaries, birthdays, and life’s biggest milestones.
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“I remember sitting in the shop around Christmastime, swinging in the chairs while my parents helped customers,” Devin says. “Even then, I loved being there.”
For Kerim and Belinda Kaya, jewelry was never simply about what was inside the display cases. When they opened Kaya Jewelers more than thirty years ago, they built the business on a simple philosophy: do right by every customer, create jewelry people would be proud to pass down, and stand behind every piece that carries the Kaya name. Over the decades, that philosophy helped make Kaya Jewelers a trusted family-owned jewelry store in Newburyport, serving generations of families with custom jewelry, engagement rings, expert jewelry repair, and lasting relationships.
Growing up in that environment, Devin wasn’t just learning about diamonds and gemstones. He was learning why people buy jewelry in the first place. Every engagement ring, necklace, bracelet, custom design, or jewelry repair represented a celebration or memory that mattered to someone.
By high school, working in the family business had become second nature. Summers and holiday seasons were spent helping customers, learning the craft, and building relationships that lasted for decades.
After studying Business Management in Tampa, Florida, Devin joined a major national jewelry retailer, where he worked with thousands of clients and earned recognition as the company’s top sales consultant across the Southeast. The experience broadened his perspective on luxury retail and reinforced something he had always known.
“I always knew I wanted to come back,” he says. “Watching my parents build something people genuinely trusted and seeing the happiness jewelry can bring during life’s biggest moments made the decision easy.”
When Devin returned to the family’s Newburyport jewelry store a year and a half ago, he wasn’t looking to reinvent what his parents had spent more than three decades building. Instead, he focused on carrying that reputation forward while bringing his own passion for custom design, exceptional gemstones, and one-of-a-kind jewelry to the business.
Ask Devin what inspires him most, and the conversation turns to the unexpected.
“I’ve always been drawn to things you don’t see every day,” he says. “I’ll always love diamonds—they’re timeless—but gemstones fascinate me because every one is different. Formed deep within the earth, each has its own color, character, and personality. No two are exactly alike.”
That appreciation for individuality shapes the way he approaches design. While he enjoys seeing new trends emerge, he’s most interested in creating pieces that balance fresh ideas with lasting beauty. Whether it’s a custom engagement ring, a redesigned family heirloom, a colorful gemstone ring, or a custom pendant, his goal is simple: create something uniquely personal that will still be loved decades from now.
Sometimes that means searching a little longer for the perfect gemstone. Other times it means refining a design until every proportion feels just right. Devin believes those details are what make a piece truly personal.
For him, that’s what defines an independent jeweler.
“There are countless places to buy jewelry today, especially online,” he says. “What makes an independent jeweler different is taking the time to understand each customer, being honest throughout the process, and standing behind every piece you create. Those are values my parents built this business on, and they’ll always be part of who we are.”
Today, Kaya Jewelers specializes in custom engagement rings, fine jewelry, expert jewelry repair, custom jewelry design, heirloom redesigns, and carefully selected gemstones. Every piece is created or chosen with the same philosophy that has guided the business for more than thirty years: craftsmanship matters, relationships matter, and jewelry should be made to last for generations.
As Kaya Jewelers continues to grow, Devin is quick to point out that the business has never been about one person. Alongside his parents, he’s grateful for the experienced team that helps bring every project to life, while his younger brother, Taner, has begun learning the craft at the jeweler’s bench, continuing the family’s tradition of passing knowledge from one generation to the next.
With locations in Newburyport and Portsmouth, Kaya Jewelers welcomes customers from throughout Newburyport, Newbury, Amesbury, Salisbury, the North Shore, Portsmouth, Exeter, Hampton, and communities across the New Hampshire Seacoast. Whether they’re searching for the perfect engagement ring, redesigning a treasured family heirloom, or restoring a cherished piece of jewelry, the goal remains the same: creating jewelry that becomes part of someone’s story.
Looking ahead, Devin’s vision isn’t to change what Kaya Jewelers stands for. It’s to continue building on the trust that Kerim and Belinda spent more than three decades earning while introducing a new generation of customers to the family business. By combining timeless craftsmanship with thoughtful custom design and exceptional service, he hopes the next thirty years will be every bit as meaningful as the first.
These days, when Devin helps someone choose an engagement ring or design a piece they’ll one day pass on to their children, he often thinks back to those early days in the store, watching his parents do the very same thing.
More than thirty years after Kaya Jewelers first opened its doors, the philosophy that built it remains unchanged. The little boy who once watched from the back of the shop is now helping write the next chapter of the family’s story, one meaningful piece at a time.