Ken K. Thompson opened the first Ken K Thompson Jewelry store in 1935 with one small watch display case and a skilled hand for watch repair.  For several years, he focused on repairing and servicing pocket watches for railroad conductors as they passed through town on the railroad. Ken K Thompson gained recognition for his quality watch repair craftsmanship, and that success eventually followed him to Bemidji, MN where the store expanded into selling, servicing, and designing beautiful jewelry.

Ken K Thompson jewelry opened in 1935 in the small town of Cass Lake, MN and was primarily focused on watch repairs and sales for booming railroads of the area. Unlike most young men during the Great Depression who took up professions involving physical labor, Ken took a different approach and became proficient in watch repair. It was widely known there was no watch or clock Ken couldn’t repair and no watch part he couldn’t make at his watch bench.

Building on the success Ken had with watch repairs, Ken K Thompson Jewelry made the move to Bemidji, MN in the mid 1950’s and introduced the 2nd generation of family ownership into the business, Dewain Thompson. Dewain expanded the business with new services and additional jewelry, and Ken K’s reputation continued to grow for highly personalized service and trust in the area. The first little store in Cass Lake had transitioned into a prominent downtown location in Bemidji with a full service jewelry department, expert watch repair, engraving and awards, and giftware that was hard to find anywhere else in northern Minnesota. Then in 1980, Ken K’s added a second location in the Paul Bunyan Mall, further adding to the success of the downtown location. The present day Ken K Thompson Jewelry relocated in 2012 and is equipped with the latest in jewelry fabricating and customization tools.