catseye alex is fun & reasonably cheap-moonstone is very pleasing to look at-star sapphire can b had for starting $200.00 and up-stones that r fun to watch-cheap thrills-steve

thegemtrader has a nice cateye alex

I love them both, but would be a little intimidated by the treatments out there - I see a lot of perfect looking star sapphires and know they are likely synthetic or have been treated. That has been enough to steer me away, because I didn't want to go through the hassle of verification. I don't know what the case is for cat eye alex.

catseye alex is not to hard to see in the flesh-the stone should show green color in daylight & purply/red in incandecent with a catseye in stone center-visible under either light source-once established one can upgrade to better stones or different stones-the seller should b comfy around this material to answer any questions one might ask-do a little homework so u know what to ask & look for-i have several & they show pretty well in the natural state-steve...

No, I guess I wasn't clear - I was saying I didn't know about the pitfalls of treatments/synthetic for cats eye alex, since it seems that we all have been duped at least once by synthetic/treated stones...

Thanks all. Sorry I couldn't get back till now.

Thanks for the heads up on the Gem Trader. I'm definitely considering it. So true about the great possibility of treatment that is out there.

I believe Making the Grade has a nice star sapphire that got me thinking a little along these lines.

Thanks Sonoma!

My star sapphire is out being set right now with Sally. I have to say, I really really love that stone, it's really hard to capture how mesmerizing a nice translucent star or cat eye stone is with a photo. And the Linde stones that they put in class rings look so dead and heavy by comparison. But in person, the star or eye looks like it just floats and shimmers over the surface of a clear gem cab, and if the light catches the rutile at the right angle, sometimes the stone just glows. It's a totally different kind of beauty than a faceted stone.

The gem trader gets really nice star sapphires from time to time. I'd keep an eye out there.

I think it's a shame stars aren't more readily available, I think they are beautiful. Most of the CS vendors known to PS tend to specialize in precision faceting, but I'd also love to know if anyone has found good sources for stars.

Though cats eyes are very interesting I favor the six ray stars of Sapphire and Ruby. Many cats eyes and asterism stones are untreated even in this day of many treatments. Stars were always untreated in years past but only recently have they figured out that low heat can clean up a star so many are now routinely heated at low temps, sometimes with Borax, sometimes with no additives, and in the case of African stars they often add leaded glass. The good thing is that the undesirable leaded glass leaves tell tale signs that can be seen with a simple 10x loupe. Too high of heat will melt the inclusions that cause the star, dealers of faceted stones often use this treatment as a faceted Sapphire often brings in more money than a star, quite a shame. Bottom line is that many stars are still unheated, untreated.
Shop carefully to avoid diffused stars, which can be in either natural or synthetic Corundum. So many are fooled by the diffused star as they want a star that can seen easily in any light and natural stars are usually more shy than the brazen diffused star.
If color is not a major consideration then look to a silver gray Sapphire with a white star from Mogok Burma for the sharpest star for the money. Second without the consideration for color is the black Sapphire from Bankacha Thailand, sharp natural stars for reasonable prices, usually a yellow colored star. Thailand stars can even be orange on a black base, quite exciting.
I could go on and on about stars as I love them, whether it be the stars of the black sky or stars in gems, they both get me stirred up. Best regards, Lee

From Tapio, I agree with Lee Little. Both are beautiful, but my preference is a star corundum (sapphire/ruby/ some other colours). Lee little is correct that most stars are natural. I would always insist on a GIA/AGTA/Gueblin,etc cert. ALWAYS. Good stones with excellent clarity/hue/saturation/colour are very expensive. Count on it. Also, make sure the star is centred, travels around the stone nicely and all six legs are present. This is a tall order. Quite often stars are opaque (no clarity/you can not see through them). I entered a BIG NAME store recently, looked around and the only natural stone they had was a star sapphire: opaque, very light blue, rutile needles sort of there and they had no cert. for it. They wanted 20K. No way. I almost purchased a 23 carat star ruby, but when I had it sent to GIA they reported it was lead filled. The seller was horrified, but took it back no questions asked. I waited till an approved GIA stone came up. This is a really tricky market niche. My favourite star is a small pink I had placed into my engagement ring. It is perfect in all respects; and its a little 0.65 treasure. Most excellent stars are facetted because they fetch more being cut. So even before the big name buyers get there the stars are gone. There are a couple of very reputable sellers of stars on the internet. Some of them are on this forum. Be prepared: big good stars with cert. are going to cost you tens of thousands of dollars minimum. But, when you find one -- I find they can not compare to any facetted gemstone - especially in the sun. It is just like capturing a piece of heaven permanently in a stone. Helen of Troy and Sir Richard Burton (the British explorer) always carried one for good luck. They are also very difficult to photograph - good luck. Tapio

Until MTG's blue, I didn't know they could be so translucent. MTG's is almost like a drop of water - how cool is that? I know folks have flirted with buying from an ebay dealer with a name something like starruby (surprising, huh?), but I have not dealt with them. TGT's stones always intrigue me, but be ready to hit the buy button the minute you see one.

good example of catseye alexandrite-reasonably cheap untreated & available-steve...

Attachments

003.JPG (27.07 KiB) Viewed 995 times

What a great thread. Thanks all for the wealth of knowledge and the awesome photos.

MTG: Mind if I put up a link to your star (if I can find it)?

(Sorry to be quick but I've got a cold and my poor little nose is running like crazy & etc.)

Thanks, Sonoma

I got my cateye chrysoberyl from the gemtrader. It can go up against any star stone (except the delong star, and that one mary pickford had).
Here is the thread about it:

http://www.pricescope.com/forum/colored-stones/cat-eye-chrysoberry-t152522.html

Sure, no problem!

Here's the link to my star sapphire, it was actually sitting on TGT for awhile, I guess the color didn't tickle a lot of people since it doesn't have the level of saturation that is ideal. But the transparency is amazing, so I jumped on it.
http://www.pricescope.com/forum/colored-stones/violet-star-sapphire-photos-t150649.html

Also, here is a link that I used when looking to buy a star sapphire, written by Edward Bristol of Wildfish Gems. Just scroll down to the Stars section.
http://articlesadv.com/jewelry/star-sapphires-and-rubies-aRtIQutJ.html

Here's the summary:

Summary:
The most important quality of a star sapphire, ruby (or any other variety) is its asterism.
The main criteria of asterism are lucidity, completeness, position and travel.
Lucidity and completeness are possible to judge online.
Position and travel are not conclusive by photo only, but need the sellers input.
Asterism and color together determine the value of a star gem.
Strong colors in transparent stones are highly priced but extremely rare.
Some fogginess/silkiness is necessary in every star.
Colors may vary depending on the type and intensity of the spotlight.
Watch out for over-weight bottoms.

Here's some photos of my star, can't wait to see it again in 2 months, lol.

VL- beautiful & great setting ! Who did that setting, can I ask?

MTG: Ah, thanks so much. I love that stone. Thanks so much. OK, copied this from your link as it kept making me laugh:

Watch out for over-weight bottoms.

Just cause I'm someone who always has to battle with my weight.

oh Sonoma, you are too kind! That's not really set, just sitting in the seat of a ring I was hammering up out of a piece of a silver bullion coin, but I did something really stupid and broke the setting. Great learning piece though.

VL: "a ring I was hammering up out of a piece of a silver bullion coin"

Darn - really ! ? ! I love the rustic style. It so fits that stone, also. Sorry on the breakage, though.

Written by sonomacounty » January 16th, 2011, 7:59 pm:VL: "a ring I was hammering up out of a piece of a silver bullion coin"

Darn - really ! ? ! I love the rustic style. It so fits that stone, also. Sorry on the breakage, though.

Here is the thread on that.
http://www.pricescope.com/forum/colored-stones/a-fanta-garnet-from-tan-and-ring-project-t148654.html

I agree that a cat’s eye alexandrite is fun because of the double phenomena of being a colour changer AND also a cat’s eye. It’s not terribly expensive either as a cabochon. I’ve only shopped for those from Brad and they are gorgeous, if not, a little smallish. In terms of easier to buy? It’s probably a star sapphire as they are more easily found than a cat’s eye alex.

I also love the ruby star (is this the good name?). They are rare and really beautiful!

Don't know if this one is suppose to be beautiful but I like it!

http://cgi.ebay.com/HUGE-Red-STAR-RUBY-SAPPHIRE-Round-2-50-CTS-GEMSTONE-Gem-/400066758712?pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item5d25d64838

Attachments

red_star.jpg (50.74 KiB) Viewed 880 times

Inexpensive 8.96ct opaque untreated star ruby - not all of the 6 legs are strong or complete at all angles, but occasionally you get a glimpse - LOL. I lightened the third picture so you could see the legs a bit better. It is actually prettier than the pictures, but they give you an idea.

Attachments

star ruby9.JPG (17.82 KiB) Viewed 874 times

star ruby7.JPG (64.43 KiB) Viewed 874 times

star ruby.JPG (40.41 KiB) Viewed 874 times

Written by colorluvr » January 18th, 2011, 12:17 am: not all of the 6 legs are strong or complete at all angles, but occasionally you get a glimpse - LOL.

It was from a seller I've bought a lot of stones from and I had just won another stone from him that I wanted, so when I saw no one else had bid on this one and it was under $5, I figured, what the heck.

Stci,
Other than the stone not being translucent enough, I don’t have a good feeling about the star ruby you linked to. The legs are too straight, sharp and perfect, and the strength of the star is very strong.

Hi Stci,
That is a very impressive star but I am with Chrono about being leery of it, even if it is just because of the toolhaus record of the seller. Best regards, Lee

have you checked this guy? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330457822619&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT I think he may have been mentioned before.

granted the prices are kind of up there but will say at least most of the stuff I have on my wish list has a real cert and not some in house made up b.s. Saw quite a few of his stars having AIGS certs with them. i DO plan on buying one of his in the future, I have a ton saved to my watch list. I did purchase a pretty vivid red/pink stone from him. More on that when I get the darn thing.

He's also got cats eye stones too. I wasted quite a few hours there...lol

-A