Jewelry Facts
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May 12, 2023
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a public benefit nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California, and the world’s foremost authority on gemology. Founded in 1931 by Robert M. Shipley, GIA is powered by its goals to educate, research, and protect the gem and jewelry buying public by setting global quality standards. Since launching the first gemological education program in the country in 1931, GIA has served more than 350,000 students with the pinnacle of gemological education. Students of GIA receive in-depth education on diamonds, colored gemstones, and pearls, among offerings on the many facets of the jewelry industry. Learning how to distinguish natural gems from treated, synthetic, or imitation gems is a crucial part of the learning experience. As the universally trusted source of gemological knowledge, GIA often customizes its c ...Read more » -
April 07, 2023
Diamond Council of America is a non-profit organization which offers opportunities for affordable professional jewelry education. Founded in 1944, DCA has offered courses designed to enhance the expertise, confidence, and professionalism of those working in the fine jewelry industry all over the world. The organization has over 350 members representing thousands of jewelry stores in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. An affiliate of leading jewelry trade organization Jewelers of America, DCA provides distance courses available for certification in fine jewelry sales, gemology, and diamontology. These courses provide a kaleidoscopic view of the world of fine jewelry, covering basics like the four C’s of diamonds and background and industry information, as well as providing in-depth overviews of topics like mining standards and processes, how to properly clean and present diamonds, a ...Read more » -
February 10, 2023
How times change. Thirty years ago, selecting a wedding band was a simple choice. You could have gold (white or yellow), and maybe choose a pattern and some diamonds. Today, however, is another story all together. Tungsten, cobalt chrome, platinum, titanium, and palladium have all been added into the mix. So, how do I pick the metal that is right for me, you might ask? It's not as hard as you might think. An examination of the properties and pricing of the metals should clear up, or at the very least, narrow your choices down a bit. There are two basic groupings of metals used in wedding bands; precious and alternative. Precious refers to valuable metals such as gold, platinum, and palladium. Alternative is everything else. That was easy, right? Now for the slightly harder part: looking at what each of these metals has to offer. We will start with the precious metals. ...Read more » -
June 10, 2022
Summer is here, and as the days are getting warmer, we’re all gearing up to plan our summer vacations! So, whether you’re going on a bachelorette trip, a romantic summer getaway, or a fun family trip, this is your one-stop-shop for all 2022 summer jewelry trends, jewelry packing travel tips, and your vacation must-haves. Of course, traveling with jewelry is not always the easiest. Tangled necklace chains, missing earring backings, and having to take off every ring you’ve ever owned at the airport are things we all dread. My favorite rule for traveling with jewelry is SIMPLICITY. ...Read more » -
November 30, 2021
This holiday season, you may be thinking of purchasing diamonds for a loved one. Diamonds are a meaningful, sentimental gift that can be enjoyed by anyone at any age or walk of life. With the Day’s Jewelers diamond stud upgrade program, a beautiful pair of diamond earrings can become the annual gift that keeps on giving! When you buy a pair of stud diamond earrings at Day’s Jewelers, the earrings are automatically enrolled in our diamond earring upgrade program. This means that even if you already own a pair of Day’s diamond earrings and you were unaware of the program when you purchased or received the earrings, your earrings are still eligible for participation! The program works so th ...Read more » -
September 10, 2021
(Image: Portland Day's on Main Street) For many of us, falling in love is the beginning of a lifetime journey of experiences and adventures. For Robert Corey, and the future of the Corey family, there was no way of knowing just how true this would become. After returning from military service and making his way to Caribou, Maine to open and manage the most recent expansion store in the ever growing Day’s business, Robert met Enid Sleeper. Standing at just 5’ ¾” (“and mom never let you forget that ¾ of an inch”, her son, Jeff, says) she was a strong and empowered woman of the business industry; what Jeff Corey calls “a feisty Lebanese woman and a true merchant”. As a lover of t ...Read more »This entry was posted in: Jewelry Facts -
August 06, 2021
(Image: Waterville Day's location ~1945) The Day’s story is a story of family and of love, it’s a story of patience, hard work, and perseverance. Most importantly, it’s a story that spans generations of families dedicated to the love of the jewelry business. This series, Back in the Day’s, is the exciting, heartwarming, and beautiful journey that Day’s Jewelers, and its owners and employees, have taken to be the beloved and accomplished company it is today. The Day's dream was born in 1914 when Captain Harry Davidson was forced to abandon his lifelong journey as a seaman and began the journey of a jewelry business that would soon become the largest in the state. After opening his first Day’s pawn shop, the Day’s business began to grow in popularity and he partnered with his sons in order to ensure that the business would grow even past his retirement. Soon, Day’s P ...Read more »This entry was posted in: Jewelry Facts -
November 14, 2017Like a new car, new jewelry eventually requires maintenance. This isn't a suggestion, it's a fact. When you love your jewelry, you wear it (as you should). When you wear it, you damage it. This fact is not so much about quality craftsmanship as it is about wear and tear. When you drive thousands of miles on your car, it is not the car's fault the tires need to be replaced. The same concept can (and should) be applied to jewelry. Under elements of normal wear and tear your metals should last you the following number of years without requiring prong or shank maintenance. Yellow Gold - 5 Years White Gold - 8 Years Platinum - 20 Years This is under normal wear and tear. Below, I have created a list of activities that unintentionally kills jewelry. If you want to maximize the life of your jewelry and delay repair work as long as possible, please be (unofficially) advised to ...Read more »This entry was posted in: Jewelry Facts
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March 24, 2017Choosing a necklace chain can be a trial; with so many different styles and so many different names, how do you choose? And what do these styles look like? Day's is here to answer those questions. Take a look at this blog post to get an idea of what each chain looks like and a bit of the history behind each style. When you're done, Day's has an extraordinary selection of chains to fit all your needs, so read on for more information! ANCHOR CHAIN: Is characterized by uniformly sized repeating oval links which are arranged alternatively ...Read more »This entry was posted in: Jewelry Facts
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December 04, 2014What 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. Mankind may treat them to enhance their beauty, but had no hand ...Read more »This entry was posted in: Jewelry Facts
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