Interview by Abernathy Cochran intern and Gainesville High School senior Donangelo Marshall

Meet Cidmon Dimo! Cidmon is the owner of Dimo Fine Jewelry, a jeweler specializing in luxury timepieces, bridal jewelry, custom pieces, and designs. He is a father and husband and originally from Istanbul, Turkey. Mr. Dimo moved to the United States in 1995.

We want to thank Mr. Dimo for spending time with us recently and telling us more about his life and love of Hall County.

Question: Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.
Answer:  “I started my business in Istanbul, Turkey, about 55 to 60 years ago with my father. From being in the trade so many years from manufacturing, retail and wholesale, I have a lot of experience in the business. I’ve covered every part of the jewelry industry, from buying raw materials to selling finished products.  As a family run business I think family ties are what makes us really successful.”

Q: What inspired you to led you to your current career?
A: “Actually my uncle and my cousin were in the business for a long time, so when I moved from my original town in Turkey (Istanbul), I wanted to learn the business because of the family ties when I started having my kids. I love being around customers and meeting new people. You know, having a retail store you get to meet with all sorts of people– it’s very people friendly. But I have passion for the business because I’ve been doing it from a young age.”

Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County, and what do you like to get there?
A: “I like Luna’s and the Atlanta Highway Seafood Market. The owner is a good family friend of ours, and we like Mediterranean seafood.”

Q: How long have you lived or worked in Hall County?
A: “Since ’95 I believe. Gainesville was the first town we went to when we moved from Turkey, and since we moved to the United States in ’95 we never lived anywhere else.”

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?
A: “I don’t mind going back to my hometown; I have an old history there, and all my friends still live in Istanbul, it’s a beautiful city–it’s one of the nicest cities in the world. You know we travel a lot and we have relatives all over the world, so Istanbul would be my place to visit.”

Q: What is your favorite movie? What is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
A: “‘The Passion of the Christ’; it’s the only movie I’ve seen in the movie theater, and I’ve seen it twice. It’s about Jesus, and it’s a Mel Gibson movie.”

Q: What advice would you give to a crowd of people?
A: “As I said, we are very family-oriented, so know the value of your family– you need to understand how important it is to have your family around you. All my kids have always been with me, and we’ve always lived very close by each other because at the end of the day they are the ones that are going to support you no matter what happens, so I would just say be very supportive and close to your family.”

Q: What is the largest diamond that you’ve ever seen in person?
A: “I’ve seen larger diamonds, but I actually handled a 68 carat diamond at a trade show. One of our vendors had it on display and we got to look at it.”

Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “So far, I’ve kind of established what I’ve wanted to establish. A good reputation in town, a good name, my kids are successful, so you know at this age I have accomplished everything I wanted to, I don’t have much on my bucket list, I just want to stay healthy.”

Q: What is your favorite music or three bands that you would like to see (dead or alive)?
A: “I like Earth, Wind, and Fire. I actually met them in Vegas at a trade show. We had a private party that one of our watch vendors invited us to, and we met them at a party, and I really enjoyed their music a lot. I really listen to a lot of Turkish music– the Turkish country type of music.”

Q: What current/former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County?
A: “I would say probably the square. I hope they won’t change it much because it has a history behind it. Green Street also– we lived on Thompson Bridge for many, many years, currently, we live on Browns Bridge, but we love driving home, going towards Thompson Bridge on Green Street, and seeing all the houses. We really enjoy that old part of the town, it has a nice historical and American culture feel, and we really like it a lot. Christopher’s is one place that has been there for a long time and makes me feel nostalgic.”

Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative, with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would you meet for this lunch?
A: “Probably, Donnie Smith is a good friend of mine and I don’t mind going to lunch with him. But mainly when we go to lunch, my wife is a great cook, so she mostly brings food to the store. If I’m going out to lunch, most of the time I go to Phuong, it’s right across the street and easy access. We also have a lot of sales representatives from different brands that come to see us during the day; sometimes I take them out and bring them to lunch over there at Atlanta Seafood Market. Sometimes we take them out to lunch or they will take us out. The thing about lunchtime is that being in a retail store it is very busy for us so we don’t get to leave the store very often for lunch, but when I get the chance, I usually like to go to the Seafood Market.”

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about Hall County?
A: “It’s actually that everyone knows each other. It’s a small enough town where everyone gets to know each other, all my brothers and all my family lived in Atlanta for many years. However, we didn’t really choose Atlanta because it was too crowded and it felt like you didn’t have a relationship with your customers, but in Hall County is easy to become friends with your customers. You become a lot closer than just a customer– it’s very personal. It’s big enough but small enough to have a personal relationship with your clients. We have the lake, mountains, and we are close enough to Atlanta; it’s a great location to start a business or have a business.”

Q: Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
A: “Hopefully, we grow a lot in Gainesville, we never know what’s going to happen in the future, but I don’t really want to expand the business and have multiple stores because, as I said, I like to keep my family under one roof and we are doing wonderful as it is. We just updated our building and showroom. As long as the business stays the same and health-wise, hopefully, everyone will stay healthy and this pandemic vanishes, we will be perfectly fine. We don’t need to expand any more than what we have now.”

Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: “I don’t have anything that’s not really known. I just like to work– I’m a workaholic. Doesn’t matter if it’s a small job or a big job. I guess one thing customers don’t know about me is that I’m like a clean freak. I love to mop the floors and clean the cases.”

Q: What two words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
A: “Family and comfort. All day you work on your feet, so when you go home, you want to be very comfortable.”

Q: If you could have a full-time staff member that is fully paid for, who would you choose? Chef, housekeeper, driver, coach, personal fitness trainer, or nanny?
A: “I would say a housekeeper. I like everything to be clean and neat. I would rather have someone to keep everything neat.”