Henry Abriam Spaulding was born in New York in 1837. Spaulding started his career at the New York Jewelry firm Ball, Black & Co. before joining Tiffany & Co. in 1871 as their general representative in Europe. Upon his return to the United States, Spaulding moved to Chicago and in 1889, opened his own firm. Spaulding & Co. quickly established a reputation for exceptional jewelry and became a popular fixture of downtown Chicago.