Shane Company or Shane Co. is the largest privately owned

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabrica ...

in the United States. The company is a direct

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called ...

, and

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sa ...

importer that operates 20 retail stores across the US, as well as their website, ShaneCo.com. The company was founded in 1971, and is based in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. The company promotes their retail locations and website through radio commercials that prominently feature the company’s CEO Tom Shane and the tagline "Now you have a friend in the jewelry business."

History

Tom Shane graduated from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

in 1970 with a degree in business administration. In 1971, he founded modern-day Shane Company, although his family has been in the jewelry business since

the Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. His grandfather, Charles Shane, launched the family into the jewelry business in 1929 when he purchased his first jewelry store in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Richard Shane, Tom Shane's father, joined his father and brother, Claude Shane, in the business after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Several years afterward, Richard and Claude split their business interests into two large jewelry chains in the Midwest, opening the first stores with the name Shane Company. Throughout the following decades, Tom Shane grew Shane Co. from a one-store operation into a jewelry store chain with 20 locations in 13 states.

Bankruptcy

Shane Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 12, 2009 and closed three locations in Orlando, Florida;

Morrow, Georgia Morrow is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Its population was 6,445 at the 2010 census, up from 4,882 in 2000. It is the home of Clayton State University. History The community was nam ...

; and

Tukwila, Washington Tukwila ( ) is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located immediately to the south of Seattle. The population was 21,798 at the 2020 census. Tukwila is a community of communities, with residents of many diverse origi ...

, on February 15, 2009. On August 11, 2010, Shane Co. filed a Plan of Reorganization to repay 100% of all debts, placing debts to Tom Shane as the lowest priority. The bankruptcy judge called it "the ideal Chapter 11". On December 21, 2010, Shane Co. emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In popular culture

Tom Shane was depicted in an episode of '' South Park''. The episode, titled " Guitar Queer-o", originally aired on November 7, 2007. He was portrayed at a party among notable local Colorado celebrities such as Jake Jabs from American Furniture Warehouse, and

Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Van ...

, former quarterback of the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

. Shane Co. is known for their radio advertisements. A typical radio advertisement will contain a marketing message and the often quoted culmination of the spot, the company’s tagline, “Now you have a friend in the diamond business.” The company has aggressively defended the tagline. The tagline and Tom Shane's delivery have been the subject of humor; the ''

Atlanta Business Chronicle The ''Atlanta Business Chronicle'' is a weekly newspaper covering business news in Atlanta, Georgia, published by American City Business Journals. The paper has both a weekly print edition and an online edition. History The ''Atlanta Business ...

'' noted, "the ads have all the flash and flare of a public service announcement", remarking on his "relentlessly earnest tone". The ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' said, "for the past 35 years, Shane has bored radio listeners with his earnest, monotone delivery". The company states the radio advertisements are the longest-running continuous campaign in the history of the medium of radio. The commercials were freshened up with the help of the

Grey Global Group Grey Group is a global advertising and marketing agency with headquarters in New York City, and 432 offices in 96 countries, operating in 154 cities. It is organized into four geographical units: North America; Europe, Middle East & Africa, A ...

advertising agency, which used the tagline "He might be dull, but he's brilliant" in 2006. The commercials remain a cornerstone of the company's advertising efforts to this day.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shane Company 1971 establishments in Colorado Online jewelry retailers of the United States American companies established in 1971 Retail companies established in 1971 Companies based in Denver Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009