gemstone facts

Considering a romantic holiday proposal this winter?  A colored gemstone engagement ring may be a great option for someone looking for something different, and these stones often make affordable alternatives to diamonds. Day's can help you create the ring of your dreams by combining a mounting with a loose colored gemstone of your choice, or select a finished ring from our in-house collection. Keep a few things in mind when you're shopping for a colored gemstone engagement ring: The “wear-ability” of the stone is crucial.  Center stones that are recommended as engagement rings should have a hardness of 7.5 or higher on the Mohs scale. This includes: Sapphires or rubies. Corundum has a hardness of 9.0 and is the hardest of all colored gemstones. Sapphires are a great option as they come in a variety of colors, including blues (in various hues), blue/green, pink, purple, green, yellow, and peach/orange. ...

December has arrived, and with it, our New England winter begins to truly roll in. December’s birthstone, tanzanite, is the perfect gemstone to go with the chill settling into the air, with its rich violet tones and glimmering shimmer.   ...

Is there a gemstone as enchanting as an opal? You’d be hard pressed to find one! Opals have a magical quality called opalescence, giving them a shimmery, rainbow-like appearance when turned in a beam of light. This play-of-color is part of what makes opals so valuable and sought-after, and the color combinations within an opal are endless. Some stones are primarily white with a rainbow play-of-color across the surface; some are gray with blue and green sparkles, some red with fiery sparks of yellow and orange. The color options are endless and unique. It’s this rainbow of possibilities that make opals so enchanting; every color combination that can be imagined can be found across the spectrum of opals, making this October birthstone a special one indeed.Opal jewelry comes in a variety of different shapes and sizes, as well. Doublets and triplets are commonly seen in a variety of jewelry. Dou ...

As lab-grown diamonds become more prevalent in mainstream jewelry, there’s still a lot of mystery surrounding the gems. The phrase “lab-grown,” "synthetic," or "lab-created" brings to mind scientists stirring a vat of mysterious liquid that somehow results in something similar to a diamond being created, but that’s not quite the process. Let’s review a few of the burning questions that may be on your mind when it comes to lab-grown diamonds. Photo courtesy of Lightbox Are they real?In short, yes, lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds. They have the same physical, chemical, and optical properties that natural diamonds do; the only difference between l ...

When one thinks of royalty, one thinks of sapphires. These magnificent blue gems have long been a favorite of royals and even steals the show in Princess Diana’s engagement ring. But the beautiful rich blues that are most commonly associated with sapphires aren’t the only shade these gems come in. Sapphires are available in a rainbow of colors- pinks, reds, oranges, yellows, greens, the ever-popular blues, and purples, and each color comes in various hues and tones. The range of sapphire colors means there’s a sha ...

August is here, and with it comes a true blast of summer weather. For those of you who dread winter, this is the season to shine! Gardens are blooming with fresh produce, the beach calls, and cookouts are in high demand, and Day’s has the perfect accessory for all your summer activities. Peridot is the official birthstone for August, and its bright olive-green shades are great for capturing the essence of summer. Peridot belongs to the olivine family, and forms within the Earth’s mantle. Lava flow brings the gems to the surface, where they can be mined. Peridots can also be found in meteorites! ...

If you aren’t wearing larimar this summer, ask yourself why?! This fabulous gemstone is a rare blue variety of pectolite, found only in the Dominican Republic. Its Carribean roots give larimar the ultimate summer vacation vibes, and typical larimar is similar in appearance to turquoise. Beachy-blue larimar has a white effect marbled within the stone, giving larimar the appearance of sunlight shimmering on a crystal-clear ocean floor.  ...

  This February let's channel the late musical icon, Prince, and celebrate Purple Rain! Purple "Reign", that is! Per Pantone, the 2018 Color of the Year is Ultra Violet, and here at Day's Jewelers we are ready to "rock" the color purple. Of course, there is no greater month to for us to embrace Ultra Violet than February when birthstone Amethyst dominates the jewelry world. If you haven't already, very soon you will be seeing Ultra Violet everywhere. From furniture to hair color, candy packaging to cosmetics, clothing to vehicles, so I'm ...

"It's bad luck to wear opal if it's not your birthstone." This is something that we hear from our guests on a regular basis. Where does this superstition come from? Frank, from Parle Jewelry Designs/Idaho Opal and Gem Corporation let us in on history of this well-known belief: In 1829, Sir Walter Scott published a novel titled, Anne of Geierstein (or The Maiden of the Mist). This according to Frank, was the Harry Potter of its time! In this novel. The Baroness of Arnheim wears a talisman made of Opal bestowed with magical powers. When holy water is splashed on the opal, it loses its colors and the Baroness becomes a pile of ash. It is because of this fictional scene that people started to associate opals with bad omens. Long before Sir Walter Scott's fantastical tale, the ancient Greeks and Romans thought the opal was a symbol of good luck and fortune. Due to its many colors, the opal was a symbol of hope like the rainbow. It was often given as a gift to bring protection ...

What a great question to be asked! Also one that is hard to answer without confusing the guest. I can remember my first discussion on this when I began in the jewelry industry and I remember thinking that it simply did not make much sense. It took a few more times discussing the terms and asking many, many questions before I fully understood it, so I can relate to those struggling with these concepts. Here it goes, I am going to try to make this as simple and easy to understand by first defining, then giving examples of how the terms are used. Read along remembering one thing: Do not lock any gemstone into one definition...2 or 3 may apply to it. Keep that in mind and it should be a little easier to follow. What exactly is a genuine(natural)gemstone? This is the easiest of the definitions. Simply put: A genuine gemstone is one that was produced in the earth through natural processes. ...