Four generations of Dixon’s Venier family have provided precious moments for 75 years

DIXON – It’s especially fitting when jewelry stores make it to their diamond anniversary, and Venier Jewelers has reached that milestone.

For 75 years, four generations of the Venier family have not only been suppliers of special gifts to celebrate accomplishment, but also teachers of how to make life’s biggest leaps of faith, such as the all important marriage proposition, a success. Even if it means having the three most active Venier men in the shop – partners Mike, 61; Bob, 59; and Anthony, 32 – catch up on the latest trends of the woman’s world.

The success over the last three-quarters of a century all boils down to taking care of people the way they want to be taken care of, said Mike, the third-generation business manager.

“We started with small means and continued to build it over the years based on trust, based on understanding our customer needs, keeping everything specific to our customer needs, and providing great, honest customer service,” Mike said. “We focus on making sure our customers are satisfied, and if something isn’t to their perfect liking, then we make sure that it is.”

Like any multigenerational family business, an appreciation for history is important in maintaining trust for its customers, and the showroom has plenty of pieces of Venier history all around it. Anthony, Mike’s son, is the latest generation to work for the business that his great-grandfather Lorenzo started in 1945, and brings a modern twist to the operations. He got the store’s website going, and among day-to-day business also handles the internet aspect of the business, which now includes private online video conferencing brought upon by the current coronavirus pandemic mitigations.

Every day brings a surprise, Anthony said.

“Waking up in the morning and not really knowing what the day is going to bring truly is what keeps me excited,” he said. “The unexpected and the unknown of our industry really is exciting, and not knowing what kind of day we’re going to have is a lot of fun.”

While the last names of the partners all are the same, each one has their specific role. Louie, 84, is president and CEO, and the buck continues to stop with him despite handing off much of his work to his sons and grandson. He started working for his father as a Dixon High School freshman in 1950, and still makes it to the store at least once a week.

“Working with my family is a big thing,” Louie said. “It’s always good to come to work and be with your family and make a living.”

Louie’s brother Joe, 95, was with the business up until a couple of years ago, spending plenty of time working with the delicate tools of the business into his 90s.

Bob enjoys the backbench role, where skilled hands provide the sharpest precision that gives each piece its unique style.

“I like the tradition that my grandfather and uncle started for us, and doing my part to make it continue, and whatever it takes to make it happen,” Bob said. “They gave it their heart and soul, forever.”

Venier’s not only sells new products, they repair them, too. That all involves repair, sizing, custom services, remounting, watch battery installation, engraving, rhodium plating, eyeglass repair and bead stringing. The store also can appraise various jewelry and clocks.

Doing a lot of services in-house has kept them competitive within the industry, Anthony said.

“That gives a lot of confidence to our customers, knowing that we’re not outsourcing a lot of our work. It’s done here,” he said. “When you’re dealing with precious jewelry and family heirlooms, it gives some quality and peace of mind to the customer knowing that their precious goods aren’t being sent all over the place.”

Despite being a family business, the Veniers had some non-family members work for them for many years, including Beverly Pitzer and Eileen Hahn, two “loyal, longtime clerks,” Bob said, that helped make the customer service experience tremendous over the years.

“They were here since we were kids and saw us grow up into adults,” Bob said. “Those kind of employees, you don’t find anymore; their honesty, their loyalty, and willing to go through the changes of working inside a family business that isn’t theirs.”

Thousands of jewelry pieces come and go every year, but sometimes the Veniers can recognize pieces they’ve sold just by remembering the people they sold them to. Many pieces last for many years, and they’ve seen pieces brought in for a tune-up that originally were purchased when Louie was young.

“It’s pretty rare to see four generations get along and be able to stay in business for as long as we have,” Mike said. “There’s an appreciation for what our grandfather and our uncle started, and we want to see that tradition carried on to not only the level that they started, but to take it to another level. There’s not much of the industry we can’t do at this point.”

Rock solid since 1945

Venier Jewelers, 117 W. First St. in downtown Dixon, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Go to venierjewelers.com, find them on Facebook or call 815-284-3034 for more information.

Virtual appointments also can be arranged through the website with the Zoom video application.