Mona (Instagram: moissy_diamond_jewelry) formerly fr. Starsgem

[tpl001]

Update with my OEC!

So as some of you know, I wasn't very happy with my colorless OEC. I ended up taking it to a jeweler near my work. I didn't go to my regular guy since I expected the stone to be a dud and I just wanted a quick opinion before I decided to list it for sale. The jeweler I went to was super nice and told me the stone was pretty and that I should set it. I was a little unsure, but he and his wife explained that it would look good in a prong setting. I chose an antique stuller setting I'm yellow gold and because I bought from him, he didn't charge me a setting fee!

I just picked it up today and ahhhh, I'm so happy with how it turned out! And it was less than $100...plus I have an old gold chain so I didn't need to buy a necklace.

I'm glad I kept it and I almost regret not putting it into a ring.

Here is my new cutie!

It is very pretty. I can see all the petals in the stone. I am glad you got a good deal and found a good jeweler out of it too. Win win situation

 

[tpl001]

Okay - they're here! My 6 mm H&A studs arrived this afternoon. I'm very pleased with the settings and the stones are beautiful and very sparkly.

I will try to take some photos in different lighting environments and upload them tomorrow.

They are so sparkly. Congrats!!!

 

[sd_flp]

It is very pretty. I can see all the petals in the stone. I am glad you got a good deal and found a good jeweler out of it too. Win win situation

Thank you! And I know, I met another great jeweler out of it! I still like my original guy and I’ll mostly go to him but this other one is a great back up. I don’t think my main jeweler has a Stuller account since he mostly does custom design.

Plus I don’t know how commonplace this is, but I’ve been to multiple jewelers in my town who still charge setting fees if you buy a regular Stuller setting from them so I was happy this one didn’t.

 

[baileydare16]

Hi everyone! I’m planning on buying an ACC after my ring with starsgem did not go over so well (long story short they gave me a refund). I’ve been gathering quotes and Mona has quoted me significantly less (more than $150) than Tianyu, Starsgem and Provence. I also see Mona has worked before on the exact ring I want. My problem is I’m having trouble deciding what size stone I should go with. I have huge fingers (size 12) even after losing 150lbs. I’m thinking either 9x10 or 9.5x11. What do you think would look best? It’ll be my engagement ring.

 

[lovedogs]

Hi everyone! I’m planning on buying an ACC after my ring with starsgem did not go over so well (long story short they gave me a refund). I’ve been gathering quotes and Mona has quoted me significantly less (more than $150) than Tianyu, Starsgem and Provence. I also see Mona has worked before on the exact ring I want. My problem is I’m having trouble deciding what size stone I should go with. I have huge fingers (size 12) even after losing 150lbs. I’m thinking either 9x10 or 9.5x11. What do you think would look best? It’ll be my engagement ring.

If a solitaire then the bigger one. If you are putting In a halo then maybe smaller one

 

[lovedogs]

Edit. I take that back. I like the more elongated shape so I think the bigger one no matter what

 

[baileydare16]

Edit. I take that back. I like the more elongated shape so I think the bigger one no matter what

It’ll be a solitaire. I got burned with my halo mishap with SG and the entire situation has turned me away from halos lol. I just hope the 9.5x11 isn’t too big. It’s just so hard not seeing them in person beforehand haha

 

[poppins]

Hi ! I need some expert help from fellow PSrs with these CADs for studs. I just got these and I wonder what would make them feel a bit more swoopy even if the size is relatively small? I can't put my finger on it myself, but feel a lack of something? Tell me if I am wrong, too, reading CADs is difficult...

 

[sd_flp]

Hi ! I need some expert help from fellow PSrs with these CADs for studs. I just got these and I wonder what would make them feel a bit more swoopy even if the size is relatively small? I can't put my finger on it myself, but feel a lack of something? Tell me if I am wrong, too, reading CADs is difficult...

I think your earrings look fine to me, but then again, I like simple studs so I am probably biased. You can always add earring jackets after the fact if you want to spice them up a bit and change the look.

@baileydare16 I don’t see a huge difference between the two, so I pick the larger one, lol.

 

[MeowMeow]

Update with my OEC!

So as some of you know, I wasn't very happy with my colorless OEC. I ended up taking it to a jeweler near my work. I didn't go to my regular guy since I expected the stone to be a dud and I just wanted a quick opinion before I decided to list it for sale. The jeweler I went to was super nice and told me the stone was pretty and that I should set it. I was a little unsure, but he and his wife explained that it would look good in a prong setting. I chose an antique stuller setting I'm yellow gold and because I bought from him, he didn't charge me a setting fee!

I just picked it up today and ahhhh, I'm so happy with how it turned out! And it was less than $100...plus I have an old gold chain so I didn't need to buy a necklace.

I'm glad I kept it and I almost regret not putting it into a ring.

Here is my new cutie!

Wow Stuller makes some nice settings! Looks beautiful!

 

[sd_flp]

Wow Stuller makes some nice settings! Looks beautiful!

Thank you so much! I am planning on wearing this today and possibly taking some pics, haha.

 

[sd_flp]

A couple photos indoors. Hard to take outdoors with it on, but I freaking love it.



Compared with my other moissy pendant, I love this one much more.




BTW, it looks a bit green because I'm wearing a green dress.

 

[lovedogs]

It’ll be a solitaire. I got burned with my halo mishap with SG and the entire situation has turned me away from halos lol. I just hope the 9.5x11 isn’t too big. It’s just so hard not seeing them in person beforehand haha

I really don't think it will be too big IRL.

 

[poppins]

I think your earrings look fine to me, but then again, I like simple studs so I am probably biased. You can always add earring jackets after the fact if you want to spice them up a bit and change the look.

@baileydare16 I don’t see a huge difference between the two, so I pick the larger one, lol.

Thanks for chiming in! I message Mona about possible rounder edges, I think maybe that is what bothers me. Or it's on the CAD the edges look sharp and "flat" . I am happy to see your lovely oec pendant as I now took the plunge and ordered oec studs!

 

[pierrotlunette]

Your OEC looks so beautiful! It looks so light and airy in that setting, too.

A couple photos indoors. Hard to take outdoors with it on, but I freaking love it.



Compared with my other moissy pendant, I love this one much more.




BTW, it looks a bit green because I'm wearing a green dress.

 

[pierrotlunette]

I'm not certain if this is exactly what you're looking to change, but if you want a style that is slightly more rounded (esp. in the way the prongs cup the stone), these are quite lovely:

https://www.jamesallen.com/earrings...VOIKS0bkZFN7eGt4Fy8pMXOt7x2s4rLxoCYgoQAvD_BwE

Hi ! I need some expert help from fellow PSrs with these CADs for studs. I just got these and I wonder what would make them feel a bit more swoopy even if the size is relatively small? I can't put my finger on it myself, but feel a lack of something? Tell me if I am wrong, too, reading CADs is difficult...

 

[sd_flp]

Your OEC looks so beautiful! It looks so light and airy in that setting, too.

Thank you!!! I love how dainty it is, too! I hope you love your earrings and have been wearing them!

 

[pierrotlunette]

sd_flp: Thank you! My only problem with the earrings is that I now want Mona to make about five more things for me. I've always been a super ideal diamond devotee, but the high performance of these stones has really surprised me. I had a not-so-great experience ordering from Tianyu last summer (the stone I received was milky and poorly cut), so this process - from Mona's customer service to receiving such well-done earrings - has been excellent from beginning to end.

I wrote her this a.m. to get a quote on a 5-stone band. If it fits the budget, I'm sure I'll post that here in a few weeks, too.

 

[poppins]

I'm not certain if this is exactly what you're looking to change, but if you want a style that is slightly more rounded (esp. in the way the prongs cup the stone), these are quite lovely:

https://www.jamesallen.com/earrings...VOIKS0bkZFN7eGt4Fy8pMXOt7x2s4rLxoCYgoQAvD_BwE

Thank you for the tip ! I asked Mona about sloping the garland inner edges somewhat (where the bow is) because in this CAD they are completely straight as far as I can tell and I think that is what gave me my first impression. I'll see what she says tomorrow.

Your studs look great, by the way!

 

[sd_flp]

sd_flp: Thank you! My only problem with the earrings is that I now want Mona to make about five more things for me. I've always been a super ideal diamond devotee, but the high performance of these stones has really surprised me. I had a not-so-great experience ordering from Tianyu last summer (the stone I received was milky and poorly cut), so this process - from Mona's customer service to receiving such well-done earrings - has been excellent from beginning to end.

I wrote her this a.m. to get a quote on a 5-stone band. If it fits the budget, I'm sure I'll post that here in a few weeks, too.

I feel you with Tianyu. I think they're just average. So when I worked with Mona I was just taken aback by her good communication and friendliness. I've been itching to ask her to make me something, but I keep changing my mind with all these ideas spinning through my head, ha!

Glad you turned to the dark side of moissanite, lol. Five years ago I was a hardcore natural stones only person but I had a change of heart after seeing advances with moissanite and other lab gemstones.

 

[FutureChocolateMLK]

I’d love to order some H&As from Mona because I’ve heard so many wonderful things about her. I’m just worried they aren’t as “on point” with the cut like Tianyu.

Does anyone have an opinion one way or another? Clear close up shots of the stones might sway me though!

Did I read somewhere she won’t be offering near-colorless moving forward though? I’m wanting GH or maybe even IJ since it’ll be a round and that can camo out some of the warmth.

 

[baileydare16]

I took chunkyfacetlover’s CAD as a base to show Mona what I would like and went ahead and made some changes. What do you guys think of the cathedral type design? I love the basket but would love to have the cathedral type profile as I’ve always loved them but I’m not sure how it would look with such a tall stone. Any opinions?

 

[pierrotlunette]

Took some more photos, but none are very good. Both are indoors: the first is under the recessed lights in my dining room, the second is under regular old (literally) incandescents. I'm wearing a Whiteflash ACA as the center stone in the second picture to compare with the Mona stone(s).The color is very similar - just a nice hint of creamy warmth.

 

[FutureChocolateMLK]

Took some more photos, but none are very good. Both are indoors: the first is under the recessed lights in my dining room, the second is under regular old (literally) incandescents. I'm wearing a Whiteflash ACA as the center stone in the second picture to compare with the Mona stone(s).The color is very similar - just a nice hint of creamy warmth.

Thank you for these! It’s good to know they aren’t stark blinding white (something I don’t prefer, personally) and have just a bit of warmth to them. What color is your ACA if you don’t mind my asking?

 

[sd_flp]

I’d love to order some H&As from Mona because I’ve heard so many wonderful things about her. I’m just worried they aren’t as “on point” with the cut like Tianyu.

Does anyone have an opinion one way or another? Clear close up shots of the stones might sway me though!

Did I read somewhere she won’t be offering near-colorless moving forward though? I’m wanting GH or maybe even IJ since it’ll be a round and that can camo out some of the warmth.

Yeah, I was disappointed hearing about her ceasing to sell GH/IJ stones. I'll try and ask her tonight because I still prefer warmer colors for antique stones.

I think Mona's H&A is very splintery like Starsgem. I wouldn't say it's bad, but if you are looking for thicker arrows, Tianyu would be your best bet. I actually gave her a photo of an Amora stone as to how I wanted my H&A to be cut, but it still looked splintery. Then again, I didn't give her a clear, *real* photo of an Amora stone; I just gave her the loupe image of it. For whatever reason her cutters (I'm assuming they're the same as Starsgem) try very hard to emulate the standard Round Brilliant. I think if I were to go about it again, I would have tried to find an actual, real life photo and highlight the thick arrows so that her cutters can understand how they should cut their stones.

Having said that...I still think her stones are WAYYYYYY better than my Indian one, and I have thought about just keeping my Mona stone so I could throw out the Indian one I have set in a pendant. That one is an actual round brilliant and it looks dark in multiple lightings; at least my Mona one faces up white and bright all the time.

I took some pics just now. Both my Tianyu and Mona are DEF color. I think @pierrotlunette was one of the lucky ones to score some GH H&As, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[sd_flp]

Here are the photos. The Tianyu one is in my Ivy&Rose setting (right) whereas the Mona one is unmounted (left).



Personally, I find Mona's round to be very pretty and I don't dislike it. I just listed it on DB because I was going to give it to my mother but she didn't want it. I may just end up keeping it for myself, though...

 

[sd_flp]

I took chunkyfacetlover’s CAD as a base to show Mona what I would like and went ahead and made some changes. What do you guys think of the cathedral type design? I love the basket but would love to have the cathedral type profile as I’ve always loved them but I’m not sure how it would look with such a tall stone. Any opinions?

I wish I could help you with CADs, but I am not experienced. Maybe you can post this on Starsgem and ask swaye could help you? I don't think she looks at this thread, unfortunately.

 

[FutureChocolateMLK]

Here are the photos. The Tianyu one is in my Ivy&Rose setting (right) whereas the Mona one is unmounted (left).



Personally, I find Mona's round to be very pretty and I don't dislike it. I just listed it on DB because I was going to give it to my mother but she didn't want it. I may just end up keeping it for myself, though...

Thank you so much! I agree with you that the Tianyu stone is preferred. I’m trying to decide between 2 options. 1.) Well cut Moissanite now that I love and keep, or 2.) Less expensive Moissanite or even CZ for now and upgrading to lab diamonds eventually. I keep waffling. Story of my life! I’m basically the most indecisive person ever.

And I think you should absolutely keep it! It’s beautiful! For the price, I say swap it out for the Indian one in your pendant

 

[pierrotlunette]

Thank you for these! It’s good to know they aren’t stark blinding white (something I don’t prefer, personally) and have just a bit of warmth to them. What color is your ACA if you don’t mind my asking?

Just realized I didn't post that! It's an H, but faces up whiter, imo. The stones I ordered from Mona are GH.

 

[sd_flp]

Thank you so much! I agree with you that the Tianyu stone is preferred. I’m trying to decide between 2 options. 1.) Well cut Moissanite now that I love and keep, or 2.) Less expensive Moissanite or even CZ for now and upgrading to lab diamonds eventually. I keep waffling. Story of my life! I’m basically the most indecisive person ever.

And I think you should absolutely keep it! It’s beautiful! For the price, I say swap it out for the Indian one in your pendant

Objectively speaking, I would hold out for the lab diamonds, although I think it will take a while. I know AV has their own line of lab diamonds and Amora is developing their own but they are still very expensive (to me, at least). I'm hoping that after lightbox makes their 1 carats more available their competitors will be driven to make good stones at affordable prices. I made a comment this morning about Lightbox/DeBeers and their silly little games...I was kinda interested in getting one of their one carat stones but not anymore. Plus I'm not very keen on the color as the ones lightbox has are F/G and I'd rather have something D or E in a modern round. I know I'm weird in that I like super colorless for modern cuts whereas I like to go warm for antique cuts!!!

I don't regret my AV Ideal Round, though, and I have toyed with the idea of getting another AV...gah, first world problem. I know for sure I'd never sell my AV or replace it with a lab diamond because it's just too pretty...although I don't know if I'd sell my Tianyu or Mona ones, either because I get very sentimental with my jewelry. But anyway, I don't think you should get an AV or any other higher priced moissy if you are thinking about lab diamonds. And believe me, I love my AV! But for my wedding ring? I'm going with a lab diamond.

You know, I think I will end up keeping my Mona round! It still has a few weeks on it on DB, but once the listing closes, I'm not going to bother to relist it.