Neil Dunwell has retired from the day-to-day running of Dunwell’s Jewellers, a store he founded on the Isle of Man in 2005.
Mr Dunwell told WatchPro earlier this year that he was planning to slow down, and confirmed the news over the weekend.
“Decided to hang up my suits and shirts and move into retirement at the end of May,” he writes on his LinkedIn feed. “Had a fantastic time …. mostly lol. Thank you everyone for your support over the years.”
Mr Dunwell has been involved in jewellery retail since joining H Samuel as a trainee manager in Scunthorpe after leaving college in 1973.
He became a branch manager of HS Grimsby in 1977 before switching to running Ernest Jones Jewellers in Doncaster and later Peterborough.
He became an area nanger for the Jewellers Guild and after that Next the Jewellers and later joined The Goldsmith Company as general manager of its Altrincham store for 6 years.
After a short stint at George Banks in Preston he moved to the Isle of Man and opened Dunwell Jewellers.
Although Mr Dunwell is hanging up his suit, he is expecting to keep an eye on the business.
“I’ve got a smashing team who’ve been with me for many years. They know how I work and how I think. It’s nice to be able to pass over responsibility but still oversee it. I still keep in touch with them daily and go in two days a week,” he tells WatchPro.
THE BIG INTERVIEW: Neil Dunwell on reopening and retirement for the Isle of Man jeweller
