or shane co. is the largest privately owned jeweler in the united states . 1 the company is a direct diamond ruby and sapphire importer that operates twenty retail stores across the united states and their website shaneco.com . the company was founded in 1971 and is based in centennial colorado . 2 the company promotes their retail locations and website through radio commercials that prominently feature the company s founder and ceo tom shane and the tagline now you have a friend in the diamond business . contents 1 history 1.1 bankruptcy 2 references in popular culture 3 references 4 external links history edit tom shane graduated from the university of colorado 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 . his grandfather charles shane launched the family into the jewelry business in 1929 when he purchased his first jewelry store in cleveland ohio . richard shane tom shane s father joined his father and brother claude shane in the business after world war ii . 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 twenty locations in thirteen states . bankruptcy edit shane company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on january 12 2009 3 and closed three locations in orlando florida ; morrow georgia ; and tukwila washington on february 15 2009 . 4 5 on august 11 2010 shane co. filed a plan of reorganization 6 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 . 7 references in popular culture edit 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 former quarterback of the denver broncos . 8 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 . 9 the tagline and tom shane s delivery have been the subject of humor ; the atlanta business chronicle noted the ads have all the flash and flare of a public service announcement remarking on his relentlessly earnest tone . 10 the san francisco chronicle remarked for the past 35 years shane has bored radio listeners with his earnest monotone delivery . 11 the company states the radio advertisements are the longest running continuous campaign in the history of the medium of radio . 10 the commercials were freshened up with the help of the grey global group advertising agency who used the tagline he might be dull but he s brilliant in 2006 . 11 the commercials remain a cornerstone of the company s advertising efforts to this day . references edit barry tom 2002 02 18 . tom shane understands the importance of being earnest . the denver post shane co. seeks bankruptcy protection 12 jan 2009 . denverpost.com . 2009 01 13 . retrieved 2014 01 07 . davis joyzelle 2009 01 12 . shane co. files for chapter 11 after dismal holiday season . rocky mountain news . denver colorado . retrieved 2009 04 02 . shane co. closes three stores . national jeweler . 2009 04 01 . retrieved 2009 04 02 . shane company chapter 11 petition pdf . pacermonitor . pacermonitor . retrieved 6 june 2016 . shane co. files plan to exit chapter 11 . nationaljewelernetwork.com . retrieved 2014 01 07 . shane co. emerges from chapter 11 . bizjournals.com . 2010 12 21 . retrieved 2014 01 07 . husted bill 11 november 2007 . south park drops names takes jabs . the denver post . retrieved 28 may 2011 . mcgaw renee 17 april 2008 . shane sues california jeweler over slogan . denver business journal . retrieved 28 may 2011 . a b barry todd 18 february 2002 . tom shane understands the importance of being earnest . atlanta business chronicle . retrieved 28 may 2011 . a b saracevic alan 22 january 2006 . our friend in the diamond business dull no more . san francisco chronicle . retrieved 28 may 2011 . external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title shane company & oldid 743656680 categories jewelry retailers of the united statesretail companies established in 1971companies that have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages edit links this page was last modified on 10 october 2016 at 16 08 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view