Serengeti Company

Jim made my husband’s and my rings 10 yrs ago and did a beautiful job. He saved us about $ 3−4K off retail.
A few years later, my husband jammed his ring finger playing basketball and his ring had to be cut off. We took it back to Jim and he fixed for a nominal fee. The ring looks flawless, and you would never know it was cut open.
We’ve recommend him to at least half a dozen friends who have also been happy with their purchases.
Thanks, Jim!

Jim at Serengeti was referred to me by a good friend for a custom engagement ring. He helped me with my design and made an amazing ring. He has been involved in 3 ring upgrades all of which are absolutely gorgeous and completed in a timely manner. I refer Jim and Serengeti to all of my friends. He’s our «Ring Guy» for LIFE!

This is the place to go if you want some custom jewelry made. Jim is great– no pressure– really nice guy… Helps you make the right decisions as far as how to design what you have in mind. My wife loves the engagement ring I had made here. Can’t recommend highly enough.

I AM IN LOVE WITH MY ENGAGEMENT RING!
My fiancé and I had been searching for the perfect 3-​stone cushion cut with trilliant sides for almost a year. We only found one other place in LA that had what we were looking for, Serengeti was able to create the same ring but even more beautiful at a way better price. The color and clarity is stunning! Seriously glows even in the dark.
I am SO in love and SO happy! Thank you thank you thank you!

When my then boyfriend and I were talking about getting engaged, I asked my friends and co-​workers if they had any recommendations for a jeweler to use. My co-​worker has been married more than 20 years and she still remembers going to Serengeti and having an amazing experience. With that solid recommendation, I called Serengeti and made an appointment (they were really flexible and were able to make an appointment around my work schedule).
We worked with Jim who was incredibly knowledgeable and kept us in the loop throughout the entire process (he even contacted me over President’s Day weekend when his office was closed). Not only was Serengeti ¼ of the price of other jewelers we had initially received estimates from, but the ring turned out even better than I had pictured it! Without question, I will definitely recommend Serengeti to all of my friends and family!

My fiancé proposed to me with the most beautiful diamond from Jim and Gene. Seriously this rock couldn’t have sparkled more. We then worked with Jim to design an amazing setting (micro pave halo set low so I could wear gloves at work =]) which came in way faster than I expected and turned out beautiful! We are now currently working with Jim for my wedding band and the process couldn’t be smoother. I would highly recommend the Serengeti Co to any one looking for fine jewelry and can’t wait to work with them in the future when the hubby wants to get me sparkly things ;) Jim and Gene you’re the best!

They claim to appraise estate pieces, but they just dumped my Grandmother’s jewelry onto a scale while explaining to me how ‘tough’ the market is right now. I wanted the pieces appraised on the value of the work of the pieces, that they are vintage etc. If I wanted ‘cash for gold’ there are plenty of those joints around. Don’t waste your time like mine was wasted.

Definitely As Good As It Gets!!! My ring came from this company and, as a bride-​to-​be, I am FULLY SATISFIED!!! It is 100% original and genuine. No «Jareds» or «Kays» or «Zales» could have matched this stone and setting! I have a certificate of my stone from the GIA and supposedly my fiancé said he went to the aforementioned jewelers and they couldn’t deliver on the quality OR the price of the entire set that the Serengeti Company offered!
Ladies — tell your man — Serengeti is the place to go =)

The Dente’s, who own Serengeti, are amazing. Jim Dente told me to find a ring that I liked and bring in a photo. After searching at every jewelry store in San Diego, from Tiffany’s to Kay Jewelers, I finally found the one. My partner and I had Serengeti make the ring for thousands of dollars cheaper than retail (this is possible because they don’t have the overhead of normal jewelers — no advertising, no fancy showrooms, etc). They made my rings (engagement and wedding) on Auto CAD, emailed me the drawings, and I made a few changes. Then then «printed» my ring on a 3D printer and had me come in to look at the setting. I then choose my center diamond from a bunch they picked out for me, and they set the diamonds (with the side diamonds matching color, clarity of the center diamond I’d chosen) in the setting.
These guys are AMAZING, so friendly and honest. They are also very «family» friendly!

If you need to purchase jewelry or an engagement ring, this is your place! It just doesn’t get any better then Serengeti. My dad and I have been using Serengeti for years.
My dad & I both used Jim @ Serengeti to purchase engagement rings and the price was 55−60% of what some other big name places were quoting. They took the time to educate me on diamonds, what to look for, what to be careful of. Provided the certificate for the diamond.
They are located downtown in the Jewelry exchange wholesale building, only a few of these places sell to the public and if your down there Serengeti is the best place.
If your looking for something special, just send them a photo and they can make an exact match. Really, they are good. There is a reason they have been in business for 20 – 30 plus years!

I JUST GOT ENGAGED LAST FRIDAY! And Serengeti made the beautiful ring with which I proposed (see pictures).
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Serengeti is an old (since 1977) San Diego family (Dente) owned business and they offer a level of personal care that goes WELL BEYOND what you will find at any department or chain jewelry store.

LOCATION NOTE: Serengeti is in the Jewelry building downtown and this building has something like 70 individual jewelry shops/​boutiques. To get to Serengeti’s shop take the elevator to the 5^th floor. When you come to the elevator take a left and the shop is right there (I don’t remember if it says Serengeti or not on the glass but rest assured this is the place).
BUYING AN ENGAGEMENT RING SIDE NOTE (skip ahead if you aren’t interested in this process specifically):
When I began seriously shopping for an engagment ring I spent hours online researching everything there is to know about diamonds and getting an «e-​ring» online (as they call it in internet geek speak) versus getting one from a B & M (brick and mortar store).
The best website I found for this was
. If you are thinking about getting engaged, GO HERE FIRST and spend a few hours on their website. One of the features of their website is they have a list of local jewelers whom they recommend. Well, Serengeti turned out to be one of only two they recommended here in San Diego.
Knowledge is power in the ring-​buying process and more importantly it’s peace of mind.
One last piece of advice, if you don’t want to look at rings ahead of time with your girlfriend, DON’T just guess what she will want. Talk to her sisters, mother, aunts etc… because I guarantee they will at least be able to give you a ballpark area from which to start (ring size, white gold or platinum, solitaire or sidestones etc…). Obviously, your girlfriend will love whatever you give her, but the fact that you took her likes/​dislikes into consideration will certainly mean a lot to her.
BACK TO OUR REGULARY SCHEDULED REVIEW:
I had looked at numerous rings with my then girlfriend Emily E (now FIANCE!) in the months prior to the engagement and I knew the ones which were her favorites. However, some of these (especially those in Tiffany’s and Nordstrom’s High End jewelry section) were ridiculously overpriced. In other words, you are paying for the name vice the content.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If the name/​brand is important to your girlfriend, BY ALL MEANS pay for it, but in my case, it wasn’t. And don’t let anyone tell you that your engagement ring (or the diamond in it) is an investment! It isn’t, it should be a token of your love and commitment!
However, I was able to show Jim (the guy I worked with at Serengeti) pictures of Emily’s favorite ring and he was able to create it! First they create a Computer Animated Drawing (CAD) of it. From here you make changes/​corrections and once this version is smooth, they create a 3-​d wax mold of the ring for you to actually look at and hold (see pictures). From this mold they create the ring.
Throughout the entire process Jim was reliable and upfront with me about the costs and the timeline. I bought the center stone from him as well and there was no smoke and games when it came to pricing (we talked and compared the last Rappaport listings, among many other considerations. Go to
if you don’t know what these ‘other considerations’ should be). And his prices were just as good as those I could find online.
The only thing that sucks about buying from a store is that you have to pay tax on it:(But I looked at this way, I am just doing my part to support failing flawed businesses like AIG and the Detroit dilettantes… woohooo
So, give them a call and set up an appointment when you are ready to get engaged. I read a ton of reviews on Unilocal when I was looking at where to get my ring, and LET ME BE CLEAR, there is NO better place in San Diego to get an engagement ring made!