GUNDERSON’S JEWELERS TO JOIN ONYX AUTOMOTIVE AT HEARTWOOD PRESERVE
Story by Kim Carpenter // Images Provided
A moment, a memory, a lifetime. For over 75 years, Gunderson’s Jewelers has commemorated all three with exquisite jewelry and precision timepieces. Starting in the summer of 2024, the family business will do so nestled within Omaha’s latest city hub, Heartwood Preserve, where the new retail store will offer both an expanded selection of exclusive items as well as numerous client-focused services. Forget journeying to Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive. Luxury abounds right here in the heart of the Midwest.
Heartwood Preserve is the ideal location for such a luxury Mecca. Already home to ONYX Automotive, the urban development underway in West Omaha features 500 mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly acres that will become a cornerstone for living, working, shopping, and enjoying recreation in the city. Central to the plan is the integration and protection of the area’s natural beauty, which will include some 80 acres of greenway corridors, bike paths, walking trails, and sidewalks lined with oak savannahs, woodlands, riparian corridors, and limestone.
That kind of setting is ideal for Gunderson’s, which has five Midwest stores, including one at Village Pointe in Omaha since 2013. It will wind down that retail space before the 2024 transition to the new Gunderson’s location. Currently under construction, the Heartwood Preserve facility will feature more than 25,000 square feet of combined retail and operations space that will house client-focused services such as a custom design studio, a Rolex repair facility, and an exclusive bridal salon focused on fine diamonds and mountings.
“We found the perfect location to present the future of the Gunderson’s brand,” said owner Brian Gunderson. “The Omaha market is dynamic and rapidly growing; we’re certain that Heartwood Preserve will be the new hot spot of luxury retail and recreation in the area. This location will set a new standard for our brand.”
That standard is emblematic of Gunderson’s, which prides itself on not simply being a jewelry store. Headquartered in Sioux City, Iowa, the jeweler is a privately-held, family-owned small business in its third generation of serving a growing list of devoted clients, who in turn are themselves treated like family members. For more than half a century, Gunderson’s has offered the highest quality diamonds, fine jewelry, and gifts and provided the service and quality that now make its name synonymous with luxury.
Watchmaker George Gunderson founded the company in Sioux City in 1945, and the company’s roots in fine watches are evident today in its dedication to luxury timepieces. The Gunderson’s family of stores includes two authorized Rolex dealers (in Omaha and Fargo), and each location carries a variety of timepieces such as Carl F. Bucherer, IWC, Omega, Tissot, Tudor, and NOMOS Glashütte.
And of course, there’s jewelry at a wide range of price points in all its iterations—rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, and earrings by designers such as Charles Krypell, Diabella, Kwiat, Picciotti, Sethi Couture, Messika, and Henri Daussi, among others. In addition to offering many of the same products and services that have kept the jewelry retailer a customer favorite for so many decades, the Heartwood Preserve retail space will offer a new array of jewelry previously unavailable in the Midwest, even in cities like Chicago and Minneapolis.
“Gunderson’s has, over the past five years, grown to where our buying relationships have allowed us access to brands previously only found on the coasts—or even recently exclusive to Europe,” said company president Breanne Demers, who also serves as a buyer for the jewelers. “Gunderson’s will be bringing that level of exclusive luxury to Omaha.”
“As the store grows, so too will the number of jewelry offerings,” added Cody Alwin, Gunderson’s Omaha Store Manager. “For example, there will be more men’s jewelry. We’re seeing a return to pieces like signet rings that were popular during the 1970s and ‘80s. We’ve always been a source of colored diamonds and gemstones, and our offerings will be on a whole other level at the new store. I’ve never seen another jewelry store like this—not at this scale.”
Alwin said the enhanced client services, which will include private salons for custom designs, will expand on services to individualize jewelry for clients. “People want something different, and our designers love to work with people to help them enhance what they already have while defining their own style.”
This is especially coveted for engagement rings where thousands of brands exist. Gunderson’s prides itself on offering couples the opportunity to create engagement rings through its custom design studio. “We work with them from the initial concept all the way through to the finished product,” Alwin explained. “It’s much like getting a custom-tailored suit or dress. Artists and goldsmiths work together and collaborate to create a unique engagement ring. Most work will be done right on site.”
“Rolex has very stringent demands about how watch service is carried out,” Alwin explained. “Not every Rolex dealer can do Rolex service and repair. For example, specific lab coats must be worn; specific air purifiers must be installed. This is a very honored partnership.”
Certified Rolex watchmakers will also handle Rolex watch maintenance and repair at the new Heartwood Preserve location, a major new service for Rolex watch aficionados, who currently must send their timepieces away for care.
“This is a perfect business to join ONYX at Heartwood Preserve,” he said. “ONYX clients know luxury, and we’ve already heard how much they’re anticipating the new Gunderson’s location.”
— TOM COLEMAN
Tom Coleman, marketing director at ONYX Automotive, sees the addition of Gunderson’s to Heartwood Preserve as an exciting complement to the luxury car dealership. “This is a perfect business to join ONYX at Heartwood Preserve,” he said. “ONYX clients know luxury, and we’ve already heard how much they’re anticipating the new Gunderson’s location.”
Gunderson’s, too, is looking forward to the upcoming move to the new luxury hub. “The energy surrounding Heartwood Preserve is palpable,” said Demers. “We couldn’t be more excited for the future of West Omaha—and what role Gunderson’s will play in that story.”
Alwin agrees. “We’re really excited to be part of the new epicenter of luxury in Omaha and be part of this community.
For more information, visit gundersons.com.
