Denney Jewelers :: Diamonds and Fine Jewelry in Springfield, Illinois

The Amazing Asscher

michelle — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:55:02 +0000

The Asscher Cut was developed by Joseph Asscher, who was commissioned by the Royal Family to cut the world’s largest diamond in history; the 3,106ct Cullinan diamond, after which he invented the now-famous Asscher cut. This cut reached its peak of popularity in the 1920′s in very limited production. Up until 2001, the Asscher cut was a hard to come by commodity and available mostly in antique shops or from art deco jewelry dealers. In 2001, the cut went through considerable research and development and was re-launched with new specifications and additional facets for a more brilliant shine. Asscher cuts are in demand more than ever. Almost 100 years after Joseph patented the original Asscher cut, Edward and Joop introduced the Royal Asscher cut in 2001 (named for the company from which it hails). The Royal Asscher cut has an extra break on the diamond’s pavilion, giving the diamond 74 facets, compared to the original Asscher’s 58 facets. It is known for superior light performance when compared to other step cut diamonds. This beautiful ring featuring an Asscher cut is by Tacori and available at Denney Jewelers.

From Soldier to Soldier

michelle — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:03:35 +0000

A Fashion Statement with a Conscience

The ‘From Soldier to Soldier’ bracelets are a stylish fashion statement with a conscience and a powerful fund-raiser in honor of our veterans. The bracelets are made in the USA and $20 from each sale is donated to Homes For Our Troops, and other organizations assisting wounded veterans and their families.

In the field, these bracelets are braided by the soldiers with parachute cord. They are known as survival bracelets, because they can be unraveled and the paracord can be used for many purposes in a pinch. They are also exchanged among soldiers as friendship bracelets. Often, a uniform button is sewn on and used as the clasp. The button clasp symbolizes the uniform. The clasped bracelet symbolizes the bond among the soldiers that can never be broken. To some, each knot in the bracelet symbolizes a fallen hero. The designer version carried at Denney Jewelers has a sterling silver clasp shaped like a uniform button and is tightly braided. Sterling silver and gold plated sterling silver heart clasps with a small diamond are also available. Special Edition versions with 14k gold clasps are available on request.

Most Romantic Couple 2012

michelle — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:40:06 +0000

Denney Jewelers is pleased to congratulate Casey and Jeremy, our Most Romantic Couple 2012. Read Casey and Jeremy’s engagement story and don’t forget to Share the Love by submitting your romantic story of an engagements, anniversary, new baby, birthdays, holidays and all the other magical moments made more memorable with the gift of jewelry.

Denney Jewelers Named Best Jewelry Store!

michelle — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:25:03 +0000

Thank you to everyone voted to select Denney Jewelers as the SJR Reader’s Choice for Best Jewelry Store for the second year in a row!

Denney Jewelers was founded in Jacksonville in 1954 by Ray Denney who believed in the pride of fine workmanship. Shane and Cathy took over the business when Ray retired in 1993 and moved the store across the street to a much larger showroom. When their children, Brian Denney and Matthew and Michelle Dearing entered the business in 2005, the family decided to expand again, this time to their current location in Springfield.

The Denney Jewelers team includes four on-site jewelers and two graduate gemologists in addition to a knowledgeable and friendly staff. With their state-of-the art jewelry design and repair, every aspect of jewelry design is done in-house from computer-aided design and modeling to casting, and finishing. Denney Jewelers also has one of the largest jewelry showrooms in the Midwest and carries the top designers in the industry including Tacori, Verragio, Roberto Coin and Peter Storm and Mont Blanc.

The staff includes Shane and Cathy Denney, Brian Denney, Matthew Dearing, Michelle Dearing, Bruce Lauer, John Daum, Bruce Helton, Doug Harp, Donna Lauer, Erika Daum, Cori Stewart, Christopher Bailey, Keith Altevogt and Steve Sutter who all share the same expectations for excellence in their work.

“We care about our product, we care about our customer and we care about our community; we think this is a winning combination for Springfield and so do our customers. All of us at Denney Jewelers are extremely thankful to everyone who voted us Best Jewelry Store in Springfield and we look forward to serving you for many years to come.” Shane and Cathy Denney said.

Now in their seventh year in Springfield, Denney Jewelers is pleased to have been selected as the Best Jewelry Store in Springfield.

Valentine Ball 2012

Matthew T. Dearing — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:53:17 +0000

Join us for our Second Annual Valentine Ball on February 11, 2012 from 6 – 9 pm at Denney Jewelers!

It will be another perfect “date night” with many complimentary treats including a Valentine Serenade from Nathan Carls as a preview of his performance at the Hoogland and Tango dance lessons from Grace Nanavati of Springfield’s Dance Arts Studio. We’ll also be serving h’oeuvres and drinks — featuring delicious Belgium chocolates from our last diamond-buying trip — and have a free professional photo session from Heather Reed Photography to capture the evening with your special someone.

The winner of our “Most Romantic Couple 2012″ contest will be announced and all of our nominees and finalists will be featured during the evening.

If you would like to be in the Most Romantic Couple contest, there is still time to submit your story! Visit our “A Little Bit of Romance” blog and send in your story of your romantic jewelry presentation along with a photo or video that represents your story. Stories are selected by a panel of judges and may include input from comments posts on the website and facebook, so be sure to share our site with your friends.

Good luck to all of our Romantic Couple participants, and we look forward to seeing everyone at the party to enjoy an evening of love!

The Denney Diamond

michelle — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:58:36 +0000

The Denney Diamond is secure in its new home at the corner of Veterans and Wabash.

With 10,000 square feet of jewelry, we needed a sign that reflects who we are: We appreciate art. We appreciate diamonds. We appreciate beautiful things. We think we hit the mark with this brilliant cut diamond.

Guinness World Records is researching whether the gem — illuminated with 2,000 LED lights — can claim the title as the world’s largest diamond.

Read more about our new sign here http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x890736525/Jewel-of-a-sign-created-for-Springfield-business or better yet, come and see it yourself. The newest Springfield landmark is filling the sky with sparkle.

Join us for our 2011 Holiday Party!

michelle — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:15:18 +0000

Our 2011 Holiday Party will be held Thursday, November 17th from 5-9 pm.

We look forward to celebrating our 57th year with refreshments, friends, and Brendan Finnell on the piano.

Come and fill out your wish list and try on all the new sparkles just in for the holidays.

We’re also excited to once again have Peter Storm Jewelry presenting during the party!They have a gorgeous line of fine jewelry, and this is a special chance to experience everything they have to offer.

September Sapphires ~ A Royal Stone

Matthew T. Dearing — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 18:57:01 +0000

Sapphire is the traditional stone for the 45th wedding anniversary and September birthstone. Ever the stone of royalty, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge’s engagement ring is a stunning 18 carat oval sapphire encircled by diamonds once worn by Diana, Princess of Wales.

Sapphire comes from the Greek word for blue, sappheiros , and this gem provides the most beautiful blues of the gem kingdom. The ancient Persians believed the earth rests on a giant sapphire. Its reflection, they said, made the sky blue.

Sapphire is the original “true blue”: the gem of fidelity and of the soul. In ancient times, a gift of a sapphire was a pledge of trust, honesty, purity, and loyalty. This tradition makes sapphire a popular choice for engagement rings.

But sapphire doesn’t have to be blue to be beautiful. Sapphire also comes in beautiful pinks, yellows, oranges, and peach and violet colors. These other colors are often referred to as fancy sapphire. In fact, sapphire comes in every color but red, because a red sapphire would be a ruby: both are the mineral corundum.

The most south-after color of fancy sapphire is the rare and beautiful padparadscha sapphire: a pink-orange corundum with a distinctive salmon color reminiscent of a tropical sunset . Found mostly in Sri Lanka, these ultra-rare, ultra-expensive stones are among the most coveted gems in the world.

Pink sapphires are a current fashion favorite. Jewelry designers are setting sapphires in bubblegum and powderpuff hues in platinum or white gold in exquisite styles adorned with pave diamonds.

As designers have delighted in pink sapphires, they have also begun to discover related hues such as violet, purple, and a bright reddish-orange some call “papaya.” With earth tones now featured in clothing, jewelry manufacturers have begun to explore corundum’s extensive range of yellow, golden, and orange shades.

Sapphires are found in Kashmir, Burma, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Thailand, Cambodia, Australia, Tanzania, Kenya, and the United States.

Sapphire with fine color is so desirable that producers take an extra step after mining and before cutting to make sure that a sapphire has the best hue possible. Most blue sapphires are heated almost to 2,000 degrees which can intensify the color. Sometimes dark sapphire can be lightened by heat but this process often doesn’t work. Fancy colored sapphires are also often heated to develop the best possible color. Some sapphires are heated to improve clarity as well as color. Heat enhancement is stable, routine, and does not require special care.

If you want a sapphire whose color is natural, insist on a report from a recognized gem testing laboratory like the AGTA Gemological Testing Center indicating the stone shows no evidence of heat alteration. But also be prepared to pay a premium for the privilege.

It is also recommended that you ask for lab verification of origin for any sapphire purported to be from Kashmir, Burma, or any other prestigious country of origin. Stones proven to be from certain localities command a premium based on that fact. AGTA’s lab also offers respected origin reports.

Sapphire occurs readily in sizes up to 2 carats, and yet, it is not unusual to see gemstones in sizes of 5 to 15 carats. Sapphires are most common in cushion and oval shapes. Other shapes, including rounds, emerald cuts, princess cuts, and trilliants are readily available in sizes under a carat.

Peridot for August Birthdays

Matthew T. Dearing — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:47:08 +0000

The fresh lime green of peridot is its distinctive signature. The color of most gems is caused by traces of other elements but the color of peridot is an integral part of its structure. If you love citrus tones or earth tones, you’ll find that peridot is an integral part of your jewelry wardrobe. Its spring green color also is ideal with sky blue.

The beauty of peridot, the gem form of the mineral olivine, is a result of extreme conditions. Peridot is found in the rocks created by volcanoes and even in meteors that fall to earth. A few samples of extraterrestrial peridot have even been faceted into gems. Peridot is formed deep within the earth under tremendous heat and pressure.

Peridot is treasured in Hawaii as the goddess Pele’s tears. The island of Oahu even has beaches made out of tiny grains of peridot. Although hawaii’s volcanoes have produced some peridot large enough to be cut into gems, virtually all peridot sold in Hawaii today is from Arizona, another state with extreme geology.

Today most peridot is mined, often by hand, by Native Americans on the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona. Peridot found here is beautiful in color but relatively small in size. Faceted peridot from Arizona is rare in sizes above five carats.

Fine large peridot are found in Burma and large quantities of peridot are also mined in China. In 1994, an exciting new deposit of fine peridot was discovered in Pakistan, 15,000 feet above sea level in the far west of the Himalaya Mountains in the Pakistanian part of Kashmir. Beautiful large crystals of peridot were found, some that cut magnificent large gemstones.

The ancient Romans called peridot “evening emerald,” since its green color did not darken at night but was still visible by lamplight. Peridot was mined in ancient Egypt on an island called Zeberget. Mining was done at night because legend said that peridot could not be easily seen during the day. The island was infested with serpents who made peridot mining a very dangerous occupation until one Pharoh finally had them all driven into the sea.

Peridot later was also often used to decorate medieval churches, probably carried back to Europe by the Crusaders. Large peridots, more than 200 carats in size, adorn the shrine of the three magi at the Cologne Cathedral.

Small cut peridot smaller than three carats are very common and affordable. Gemstones over 5 carats begin to climb in value. Those above 10 to 15 carats are rare, but provide a big and bold look for an affordable price.

Peridot, the birthstone for August, and is said to bring the renewal of springtime to its wearer.

Ruby Fireworks for July

Matthew T. Dearing — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 18:39:58 +0000

Throughout most of recorded history, ruby has been the world’s most valued gemstone. Even diamond was considered common in comparison to the supreme beauty and value of this glowing red gem. Named from the Latin word for its hue, ruber, ruby is the epitome of the boldest of colors: the gem of desire, passion, courage, and emotion.

In the ancient language of Sanskrit, ruby is called ratnaraj, or “king of precious stones.” In the Bible, only wisdom and virtuous women are “more precious than rubies.”

Early in the eleventh century, Persian sage al-Biruni was only conveying the popular wisdom of the time when he wrote that ruby has “the first place in color, beauty and rank” among all gems.

Nine centuries later, British author Max Bauer, in his 1894 Masterpiece Precious Stones, writes: “A clear, transparent, and faultless ruby of a uniform red color is at the present time the most valuable precious stone known.”

Granted, the value of fine ruby relative to other highly prized gems wasn’t as extreme in Bauer’s day as it had once been. Around 1550, Italian goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini reported that the finest one-carat ruby cost eight times more than a comparable-quality one-carat diamond. By Bauer’s time, the same ruby was only two times as expensive as its diamond equivalent.

Nevertheless, a 2:1 value ratio between fine rubies and diamonds is impressive. Certainly, ruby’s status as the most valuable gem of the age helps to explain why England took the rather drastic step of invading and annexing Upper Burma in 1885 when it learned a French company would begin mining of this gem at the famed Mogok ruby tract—the most celebrated source for ruby ever known and still the most important today.

Although certain color tones are associated with different country’s mines: Burma, now known as Myanmar, with pure reds, Vietnam with vivid pinkish rubies with exceptional clarity, Sri Lanka with more pastel softer pinkish reds, Thailand with dark red to burgundy, Kenya with translucent stones with juicy pure reds, Madagascar with pure transparent reds, color alone cannot tell you where a stone was born: a laboratory report may be required. When confirmed, stones from Burma’s famed Mogok mine command a premium, particularly if the color is natural.

Ruby is most common in oval and cushion shapes. Other shapes may be difficult to find in sizes above a carat. Rubies above five carats are extremely rare and valuable.

Ruby, like sapphire, is the mineral corundum, one of the most durable minerals, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide. Corundum has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale and is also extremely tough. In its common form, it is even used as an abrasive. As a result, rubies are the most durable of gems. Ruby is the traditional birthstone for July and the symbol of the 40th wedding anniversary.