Editor’s note: Publications are rife with lists of people who have notched impressive achievements before reaching certain milestone ages. If you miss out on 20 Under 30, you can hold out hope for 40 Under 40. After 40, though, sorry: You’re on your own. And we don’t think you should be. So, this month, we’re spotlighting local notables who are making inspiring contributions to our community — and who happen to be over the age of 70. Because precociousness is great, but so is perspective.
photograph by jamie harmon
The family trade was not a given for him, though now it appears that there was no other possible destiny. Before he became the fourth-generation jeweler to run his family’s business, Robert Mednikow’s drive had him exploring places, embarking on adventures, making friends around the world, and getting into trouble.
“Nothing malicious,” he promises, “but I was always in trouble.”
It was in his nature to find out why things happened, how people thought, which systems worked. Being bright, charming, and capable kept him from suffering the worst consequences of his mischief. For example, he was a young teen attending military school where he racked up almost enough demerits to get expelled while also having an excellent grade point average. “I was a 13-year-old rebel in military school,” he says.
But, as his grades showed, Mednikow was also a good student. A couple of years later, his father arranged for him to spend a summer in New York City working for a diamond cutter. “I got the basics for the business and developed a great love for the diamonds that we sell,” he says. “My father was very proud that I had not just learned diamonds, but learned quality diamonds.”
“I’ve run a business with integrity and I have a wonderful family. I wouldn’t want to turn the clock back on anything.”
— Robert Mednikow
Eventually, Mednikow got his degree in accounting and joined the U.S. Army in the mid-1950s, working as a finance officer. He was stationed in Germany and got his kicks exploring the continent. He acquired a sapphire blue 1955 Sunbeam Alpine roadster that not only took him around Europe but still takes him to work today.
Back stateside, he told his father he wanted to seriously get into the family business. At the time, Mednikow Jewelry (now Mednikow Jewelers) was little more than a mom-and-pop shop Downtown that sold good merchandise, but nothing too fancy. Robert Mednikow wanted to change that.
He worked closely with his father, but also had his own ideas. At one point, his parents visited Russia to look for long-lost relatives. The son promised changes when they returned, and his father expected a nice new paint job and carpeting. But Robert had hired an architect, gutted the store, and remodeled it with a Swiss design like jewelry stores he’d seen in Europe, with large show windows, new signage, and an unmistakable air of elegance.
His father was nonplussed, but people were telling him the store was gorgeous and, most importantly, they started buying merchandise they’d never bought before. Soon, all was forgiven.
Mednikow would eventually take over the enterprise, get involved in civic activities, and moved to new locations as the marketplace required. But he always maintained the ethical practices his father had taught him.
He also found romance and married a customer. He speaks lovingly of Betty: “This country girl, from a farming family who went to Stephens College, changed me from a totally uncivilized, sky’s-the-limit, unexpected person, into what I have become today. I’ll always remember that if it weren’t for her, I would’ve gone to a totally different place in life.”
He deftly managed the business and still goes into work although he’s turned the enterprise over to his son, Jay. And he reflects on his life with satisfaction. “I visited virtually every major city in Europe,” he says. “I took my discharge from the Army there. I traveled to Israel, worked my way back. I worked my way through college. I’ve run a business with integrity and I have a wonderful family. I wouldn’t want to turn the clock back on anything.”
