When Charles Dawson started his jewelry store its success, according to Dana Dawson, was dependent upon the tick of a watch. When Dana’s father started his business in Great Bend in 1953, America was still an analog society; the invention of the integrated circuit by Great Bend native Jack Kilby was still years away and watches, most notably pocket watches, were the staple of the jewelry business.

Dawson’s Jewelry then

After serving aboard a B-17 in WWII, Charles Dawson used the GI Bill to attend Elgin’s watch school. After school, he came back to Great Bend and worked for Komarek Jewelers before beginning his own business.

“Back then, watches were everything in a jewelry store,” Dana said. “Really, jewelry was almost a sideline because you bought whatever they had, there was no customization. The most a jeweler did then was size a ring and maybe set a diamond.”

Precision watches with jeweled movements were a premium, and in demand by the railroad industry as the dominant transportation system in the country.

“All the railroads were run by watches,” Dawson explained. “They didn’t have the radios or the GPS or anything. You had to have an accurate watch; the watches had to be checked twice a year by a certified jeweler.”

Today, however, “watch and clock repair are a dying arts,” Dawson noted. “Eventually, you’ll have to send your watch across the country. There aren’t enough of the mechanical movements out there to make a living at it. With quartz watches, 99% of them, they just pull the movement out and put another one in at the factory. They are making them so inexpensively now, it’s not worth the time.”

Rise of the jeweler’s art

As watchmaking and repair faded, the jeweler’s stock and trade began to shine in precious stones with intricate settings. At Dawson’s, Dana joined his father’s business, which survived a fire in 1983. Charles decided to semi-retire in 1990 when the store was built at its present location. At one time, there were five jewelry stores in Great Bend. 

“We were all doing well,” he said. “But for one reason or another, mainly retirement, they’ve gone out.

“We were the first to do casting, where we actually made the entire ring in the store,” he said. “Before then you ordered in parts and put them all together. We can do 100% of it from molten gold. We can even take old gold and make a new piece out of it.” 

Starting from scratch

While Dawson’s maintains a large inventory, it is the ability to create a stunning piece of jewelry that sets the business apart in today’s market. 

Using drawing skills learned at a young age, Dawson can sketch a piece from a customer’s description, cast the ring or pendant including the settings and set the stones, all from the workshop at 1301 Main Street in Great Bend.

“We can, and we have the capability, of making something from scratch,” he said. “All the work is done in-house, the casting and the stone-setting. We can now do computer-generated waxes and cutting, we aren’t limited on what we can create, it’s just a matter of getting that idea from the customer.

“We can do just about anything with the different carats of gold and now we can do lab-created diamonds,” Dawson noted. “We can do about any price range needed. We can get close to that internet price, but with a better quality.”

Jewelry repair has also become a necessary sideline, Dawson said.

“We do a lot of restoration on rings,” he noted. “Unfortunately, we can only save so much because gold being soft, it rubs off, it’s just not there. We may have to add some new parts, but we can keep it as original as possible because a woman wants to wear the ring.

“There’s always something has to be given to get that price really low: the quality of the stone, the quality of the mountings and since gold has gotten so high they’ve been making the mountings thinner and thinner to where they don’t hold up.” 

A family atmosphere

Dawson appreciates the rural culture and its characteristics are apparent within his business.

“Our main goal is to treat everyone the way we want to be treated,” he said. “We do our very best to give the best value, service after the sale and we like to have a good relationship with our customers. 

“We’re not just order-takers. We don’t mind taking the extra time to educate somebody,” he said.

“Take a one-carat diamond for example. It might be worth $500, or it might be worth $15,000. You have to know everything about it, there are four main factors and if you leave one out it could make a big difference. We can put a gemstone under the microscope and tell you as much or as little as you want to know about it. We are happy to share as much information as the customer wants.

 “We have a lot of people as customers who have left Great Bend, but they still come here to shop. It’s why we’re here,” he said.

Business Insight is a regular feature of the Great Bend Tribune, showcasing locally owned businesses and encouraging folks to shop local as we near the Christmas holidays. Contact news@gbtribune.com for more information.