Star129 info

[tbux22]

I have been doing a lot of research and have read several post in regards to the star129.
I am curious to know if anyone has any recent experience, pics, numerous compliments, complaints, etc.
Thanks

 

[ame]

I have LOTS of input! I have owned several Star129s. I currently own and wear a 1.15 ct stone purchased from GoodOldGold.com. I purchased this stone two years ago from GOG, and prior to that had a couple others also from GOG with the exception of one of which was stolen that I got from a local jeweler that I refuse to recommend to anyone. My hope has been for a while to create a 3stone with all three being star129s but so far budget and supply of smaller stones have not worked out in my favor.

Here is a link to my current diamond:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/4904/

Here's a couple links with pics of my ring.
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-gizmo-coming-for-my-iphone-to-take-macro-pics.170120/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-gizmo-coming-for-my-iphone-to-take-macro-pics.170120/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/some-pics-of-my-set-i-took-today.167573/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/some-pics-of-my-set-i-took-today.167573/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/big-mouth-shows-the-bling-finally.164595/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/big-mouth-shows-the-bling-finally.164595/[/URL]

Here's some of this stone in the old setting from when I first got it.





this has some pics of my old one, and one that I no longer have.
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-friends-upgrade-from-gog.127588/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-friends-upgrade-from-gog.127588/[/URL]

This has pics of my stolen ring:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/you-can-kiss-oh-my-new-rings-are-here.33935/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/you-can-kiss-oh-my-new-rings-are-here.33935/[/URL]

I think the cut is awesome, and the fire is insane.

If I had to give any complaints:
1) they don't cut smaller stones much anymore, though I'm told there might be a change in that coming soon. I want to make a 3 stone with Star129 side stones and I can't find them small enough for my desired ratio.

2) they don't buy or cut rough that's anything above an SI1 unless it's "accidental". I had a great SI2 before it was stolen and I haven't found an SI I was happy with since. My current is a VS1. I am very particular on my clarity apparently, but for the majority of people, an SI1 or Si2 would be great.

3) there was some inconsistency in pattern back in the transition from the original cutters to the current cutters and there is a difference in cutting style in that transition time. Now they're great, and before the were great. But whatever happened in that middle was not ideal to my eyes, so it's important that you see the stone in at least good photos before you pull a trigger. There are a few that I personally didn't care for the patterning in and rejected. Jon at GOG usually will pick what he carries, and will show you pics/videos of the stones he calls in for you and can go over that with you.

 

[Amys Bling]

Great advice and input ame!

 

[tbux22]

Hi Ame,

I was hoping that you would reply because I have gone through almost all of your post. I actually live in Connecticut and was thinking of taking a drive to GOG.

What do you mean by the patterning? I saw in one of your pics the flower look, is that what you are refering to?

Have you compared the Star129 to the Solasfera and Eighternity?

I looked on GOG website and have been using the specs in the Holloway CUT Advisor (https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca). Do you think this helps?

What specs would you recommend I look at if I am deciding between a handful of Star129's?

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[ame]

Hi Ame,

I was hoping that you would reply because I have gone through almost all of your post. I actually live in Connecticut and was thinking of taking a drive to GOG.

What do you mean by the patterning? I saw in one of your pics the flower look, is that what you are refering to?

Have you compared the Star129 to the Solasfera and Eighternity?

I looked on GOG website and have been using the specs in the Holloway CUT Advisor (https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca). Do you think this helps?

What specs would you recommend I look at if I am deciding between a handful of Star129's?

Any help would be much appreciated

My pleasure! I think it's DEFINITELY worth a drive to GOG. If you call and set up anappt with Jon in advance and give him a budget, he can get some stones in for you. Even if you end up looking into other cuts, it's good to see what they have, and what you like. I have found people eitherl ove this cut or don't. Most people seem to love it, but wouldn't wear it themselves.

I have compared the Star129 to the Solasfera and Eighternity, I actually flew up there last year to do that in person before I was sure about this specific stone. I liked just about everything I saw, and my husband was liking the August Vintage stones a lot. I've worn a Star129 for a little over 8 years now, and I love the pattern and fire so it was hard to really leave it behind, even for a really gorgeous cut like the Solasfera and Eighternity. I actually almost bought an Octavia instead!!! THOSE are neat in person. But the way the Star looks is something I love, and why we fell in love with it the first time. When my previous ring was stolen, I IMMEDIATELY called Jon and we started looking for a new one.

Specs I recommend for them are G-H-I color and Si1 clarity, and see what is available in your budget. We almost bought a D originally and sometimes I think my husband wishes he had gotten that one. Side by side you can see a difference but individually not. That D was amazing, it had flor, but it was bigger than we planned to get, and more than I was comfortable with us spending at that time. I've had several Hs and one I, I believe, I considered a J but it wasn't my definition of eye-clean. The color was great though. The way the cut reflects light they look whiter than average to the eye. Also they look bigger to the eye because of edge-to-edge whiteness that its unusual in even many ideal cuts. Jon can get a listing of everything available and bring it in for you to see in person. This cut is a little pricier than an H&A but maybe not as much as a Solasfera/Eighternity, so you might not get as high a color/clarity OR as large of a stone because of that. If size or higher color/clarity is very important it might be something to reconsider or see if Jon can have a custom cut.

As far as patterning: yes, the flower/sunburst look. Some are better than others, and some of the table facets are bigger in others and I find that I prefer the smaller tables (55-57) to the larger ones. The larger table definitely looks different, almost gives it a weird darker ring in the middle look sometimes. My husband couldn't tell a difference though in person, but I could. Since I've had so many and a lot of time with this cut, I can tell when the transition happened.

The HCA did work fine on all of the stones I looked at and have owned and every stone I have owned has been in the 0.5-1.8 range IIRC. The issue I found, if this is really an issue, was that the SARIN was harder to do because of the faceting. Sometimes it was hard to get the right numbers because the machine isn't used normally for a cut that's this modified. The way it was explained to me and it seems pretty accurate is that they take a "standard" H&A Ideal Cut and then "slice and dice the bottom".

I hope I answered all your questions! I will be glad to help!

 

[farmer gal]

I don't know what size your looking for but I saw this one on JA yesterday

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Very%20Good-Cut-Round-Diamond-1397575.asp

 

[tbux22]

Thanks Ame and Farmer Gal for your help, I appreciate it a great deal.

My budget is probably half of that Farmer Gal, I am a poor student looking to spend around 3500-4000 for the stone.

Ame, do you think a smaller stone would look as good. Something around .65 - .75? From what I have been reading the Star129 may not look so good when it is smaller carats.

 

[ame]

The first one I owned was a .86. My husband picked that over the .6-.75 range I picked out. I saw some as little as 1/3 ct that I thought looked great.


ETA: Wonder when James Allen started selling Star129 or if this was a tradein.

 

[tbux22]

Thanks Ame for your help, I will contact them and see if I can schedule a time to go down to GOG and take a look.

 

[farmer gal]

I think it was probably a trade in I've seen stars on their website before

 

[SweetAsscher]

This one is in your budget. I actually used to own this stone, but I recently upgraded to a larger stone.
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/8829/
When I was shopping for a setting I had many many jewelers comment on the unique cut and almost every single one was surprised to learn it was a J because of how white it looked. I have pics in my threads and handshots. I wear a size 7 and it didn't look too small and you could still see the beautiful Star pattern in that size.
I definitely recommend looking in person. This cut is very different and you kinda have to see it in person to really appreciate how beautiful it truly is.
Good luck!

 

[tbux22]

Thank you SweetAsscher. What are your thoughts on having the EGL report instead of the GIA? It seems as if they have a few of the star129's that are more carats but are graded by GIA, would you happen to know why?

I like the 4 prong setting you had in your pics, that is what I am thinking of going with.

 

[tbux22]

Also, can anyone tell me what type of lighting I should ask to see the stone under when I go to the store. It seems to me that I should view it under a different lighting than the showroom lighting?

Thanks

 

[SweetAsscher]

I didn't care too much which type of report it came with because I trust GOG and I had Charles from their diamond lab look at it and give me his professional opinion on color and clarity. Also GOG will price it fairly according to the true color and clarity vs market price based on what the report says.
I really have no idea why some stones have GIA and some are EGL. I think that is up to Star129 where to send the stones. But I would buy based on Jon's recommendation not just on the report. When I was looking for a Star129 I had him call in a few stones for me and there was one that he rejected right away and would not want to sell to me.

As far as lighting, GOG is awesome and will of course show you diamonds in all lighting. You are so lucky to be able to go in person! You'll get to look at all the different types of cut styles! I'm jealous



I love my setting! So much that when I upgraded I got the same setting!
It was a little hard finding one that showed the whole side of the diamond and didn't have the side bar but was also cathedral and tapered. If you don't care about the side bar then you have more options.

 

[ame]

Thank you SweetAsscher. What are your thoughts on having the EGL report instead of the GIA? It seems as if they have a few of the star129's that are more carats but are graded by GIA, would you happen to know why?

I like the 4 prong setting you had in your pics, that is what I am thinking of going with.

The new cutter usually goes with GIA, the old cutter usually went EGL USA (USA is the operative). As far as I am aware, and Jon will need to chime in here, EGL-USA is faster and cheaper to get a report from than GIA is.

While they may be favorable for speed and cost, they're also slightly "looser" than GIA is, though mine is graded on par, if not harsh on clarity. My appraiser was shocked it was "only" a VS1. Mine was the old cutter IIRC. The diamond number and inscription usually tells me which cutter did it. The new cutter I believe uses STAR129-xxxxx for the number. The old one did SDG-xxxxx.

When you pick a setting get one as open on the sides as you can. The faceting on the bottom is super neat.

Also, can anyone tell me what type of lighting I should ask to see the stone under when I go to the store. It seems to me that I should view it under a different lighting than the showroom lighting?

Thanks

You'll see it under a lot of conditions in the store. He has a lot of equipment set up by a window, so there's a lot of natural light to view it in, as well as the store lighting and his lighting machines. I am not sure if the sun enters the store there, because it's set back a bit from the street, but I'd imagine at the right time of day you could definitely get sunlight. You're not going to be able to go outside with it for insurance reasons though.

Also--when you go, make sure you have Pizza next door. My husband is still craving that place. He giggled because someone said sometihng about going to Bread Co that's on the other side of the store, and we were like "hell no, that's local to us in STL, we can get that anytime!"

 

[tbux22]

Thanks again guys for all of your input. I think you guys have to be the biggest advocates for the Star129, I hope I select it although I haven't seen it in person as of yet. I saw a smaller Solasfeera from GOG that seemed to be excellent in the 4 HCA categories and scored below a 1. So, I wonder how it looks and person and whether or not I would like it more than the Star129.

One last question, were you guys going for a really low number on the HCA Visual Performance scale 0 - 1 or was your decisions mainly based on seeing the stone up close and not the numbers?


Thanks

 

[ame]

I can't wait to see what you like when you go see stones in person!!!

For me: my selection is based on 1) pics/in person viewing and 2) plot of the inclusions (apparently!) The HCA came in only after I liked the first two options. I really only ran the numbers on stones I liked the table percentages of.

 

[SweetAsscher]

I didn't use the HCA when selecting my stones because I was advised on another post that the HCA is only for traditional rounds, and not modified cuts. Solasfera and Star129 would both fall into modified cut category.
When I was considering upgrading I did compare my Star129 to a Solasfera. The look is somewhat similar but still very different. I guess I would say that Solasfera is closer to Star129 than closer to regular H&A. It's kind of like the in between step.
Let us know how your visit to GOG goes and what your thoughts on the stones are!!
Good luck!

 

[ame]

hey there, any plans to visit GOG?

 

[tbux22]

Hi Ame,

I just arrived back home from GOG. The place was everything you said and more. I met with Sarah for over 2.5 hours and now know more than I ever thought I would know about a diamond. Sarah was very very helpful and very very very nice and patient

I am 99.9% sure I am going to go with the August Vintage. I was torn between the AV and Star129, but I love the look of the AV.

I had the pizza next door!!

 

[Amys Bling]

Hi Ame,

I just arrived back home from GOG. The place was everything you said and more. I met with Sarah for over 2.5 hours and now know more than I ever thought I would know about a diamond. Sarah was very very helpful and very very very nice and patient

I am 99.9% sure I am going to go with the August Vintage. I was torn between the AV and Star129, but I love the look of the AV.

I had the pizza next door!!

glad you had a great experience!

 

[ame]

is it not awesome pizza?! OMG!

I am so glad to hear about your experience! I cannot wait to see what your finished product is. Those AVC/AVRs are amazing in person.

 

[tbux22]

Amazing Pizza!

I am now torn between the August Vintage round and the Star129. I like the look of the AV, but the fire ans scintillation of the Star129 is amazing. Have to do more thinking. Maybe take one more trip for the pizza, I mean diamond.

 

[ame]

Oh I think that's absolutely a necessity. Try another flavor, er cut.

My husband LOVES the star129 but when he saw that August Vintage Round that changed everything. I think he was slightly disappointed that I stuck with my beloved Star.