Dean Jewelers celebrates 75 years in business in Charles City

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

A staple of Charles City’s Main Street is celebrating a milestone anniversary as Dean Jewelers enters its 75th year in business.

Established by Dean Schlick in 1948, the family-owned jewelry store has serviced Charles City for generations and is currently owned and operated by Schlick’s nephew, Dave Davidson.

“He taught me how to do jewelry when I was in high school,” said Davidson.

Davidson remembers his uncle as a role model, teaching him the trade of making and repairing jewelry and watches.

“He was like a jack-of-all-trades,” said Davidson.

More than that, Davidson said he remembers his uncle as somebody that truly cared about his community, looking out for his customer’s best interest, particularly when it involved expensive romantic gestures.

“He was a super honest and trustworthy guy,” said Davidson.

Schlick ran the business from 1948 until his retirement in the early 80s, passing the store down to his son, Ron Schlick.

Davidson, who by then had already entered the industry with his cousin, working on several jewelry stores together around the state, remembers Ron as being just as involved in the community, serving in several community organizations, including the Fine Arts Council.

“He was very civic minded,” said Davidson. “He wanted Charles City to be great.”

Beyond just the art of jewelry making, Ron Schlick had a passion for interior design, food, and art, and he had a deep knowledge of the finer things in life.

“Before there was Wikipedia, he was your guy,” said Davidson. “He was really quite a character.

After Ron Schlick’s death in 2010, Davidson took on the store with his business partner, Brandon Dittmer, before ultimately buying it out in 2020.

Today, Dean Jewelers continues as one of the oldest continually running businesses in Charles City and Davidson said he has no intentions of changing that.

“I’m planning on being here forever,” said Davidson. “I’m never going to slow down and stop doing what I’m doing.”

With 45 years of experience under his belt, Davidson said he plans to continue to offer the same personalized service and craftsmanship that his uncle and cousin have provided Charles City.

Still, times have changed significantly in 75 years and the market for handcrafted jewelry is very different than it was in the 1940s. While Davidson continues to sell his own custom jewelry under the brand David Iver Designs, he has also expanded his inventory to provide a wider range of options and price points for his customers.

Davidson is also working on plans to diversify the business. For the better part of a year, Davidson has been working on retrofitting a portion of his building into an ice cream shop, with ambitions of expanding into hot foods in the future.

“We want to utilize the building to its full potential,” said Davidson. “Everybody eats every day. They don’t buy jewelry every day.”

Whether it be through handcrafted jewelry, ice cream, or even original skateboard designs, Davidson wants to keep Dean Jewelers as a place for community minded creative work.

“The tradition of the store, from Dean to Ron to me, is making things,” said Davidson. “They were all about that kind of thing.”