12 RETAILER HALL OF FAME 2026 Continued on page 15 and selling the ethics and selling what they stood for. It really shaped part of my vision of being able to story tell at J.R. Dunn,” Sean says. After a year at Ben Bridge, Sean returned to Florida and became vice president at J.R. Dunn Jewelers. FROM HOUSE OF GEMS TO J.R. DUNN JEWELERS The story of J.R. Dunn Jewelers started before Sean was born. His parents, James (Jim) Robert Dunn and Ann Marie Pelliccia, were co-workers at IBM. Jim was a sales representative, and Ann Marie was a secretary. The two fell in love and married in 1969, the same year they decided to use their savings to open a jewelry store in Hanover, Massachusetts. They called it House of Gems because it was in a small house that had been converted into a store. “They always enjoyed traveling and one of their traditions wher- ever they were was to stop into jewelry stores. They would pick up a memento for their trip,” Sean says, a habit that sparked a passion. Ann Marie, who immigrated to the United States from Italy at age 10, always had an appreci- ation for the craftsmanship and beauty of jewelry, her son says. Jim bought a microscope during his time at IBM, took some classes at GIA, and fell in love with anything to do with geology and gemology. During the first year House of Gems was open, burglars broke in and stole every piece of jewelry in the store, including repairs. Unfortunately, the burglary happened while they were between insurance policies, Sean says, and his parents had to pay out of pocket to cover the losses. The Dunns soon outgrew the small space in Hanover and moved the business into a mall in South Weymouth, Massachusetts. That is when they became J.R. Dunn Jewelers, a move made to better communicate that it is a family-owned, family-run jewelry retailer. In 1978, Jim and Ann Marie moved from Massachusetts to Florida with young Sean and Ann Marie’s parents. Along with the J.R. Dunn Jewelers store up north, Jim ran Oro International, which focused on wholesaling imported Italian jewelry. It operated from the J.R. Dunn in Massachusetts and a small by-appointment showroom also under the J.R. Dunn name in Lighthouse Point, Florida. Jim was flying back and forth keeping the other store going, Sean says, while Ann Marie focused on the Florida business and raising Sean until they found a buyer for the J.R. Dunn Jewelers location in Massa- chusetts. It was also at this time that the Dunns brought Ann Marie’s youngest brother Robert Pelliccia, who was 18 years old at the time, on as a bench jeweler. Pelliccia, who has won numerous awards for his one-of-a- kind designs, works as the store’s in-house designer to this day. In the mid-‘80s Jim bought a building down the street from the joint Oro International office and J.R. Dunn Jewelers showroom on Federal Highway after Ann Marie saw that the furniture store that occupied the space had closed and the building was for sale. This 6,000-square-foot space became the J.R. Dunn Jewelers that is known today, though orig- inally the retailer only occupied about 30 percent of the building, and the rest was rented out to Coldwell Banker. The Dunns worked together as a team of three. Ann Marie’s exceptional taste made her the buyer. Jim was involved in all areas of the business, but he focused on the store’s marketing and finance, while Sean looked for ways to modernize the business. “My dad was a schmoozer, but my mom was the business end of the deal. That was the dynamic between the two of them, and I very much followed right down the middle,” Sean says. They ran the business togeth- er until Jim’s death in 2021 at age 78. Jim is remembered as a char- itable man who treated everyone at J.R. Dunn as family, from his employees to his customers. Above, Ann Marie and Jim Dunn on their honeymoon in Italy. At left, Sean cutting the ribbon with his parents to celebrate the opening of the first J.R. Dunn Jewelers showroom in Florida. At right, Sean with his parents Ann Marie and Jim. Below, Robert Pelliccia at the bench with his son Matt, who now works at the store too, in the background. SEAN DUNN 2026 Inductee
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