Why We Chose It
The Bonham Conclusion
The Stargazer cast iron skillet earned the Bonham Gold Label for the rarest credential in cookware: a named, independent lab result. Lead Safe Mama, LLC (Tamara Rubin) XRF-tested the Stargazer pan and found it free of lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic. In a market where "non-toxic" is usually a slogan, Stargazer is one of the only skillets on earth with published third-party numbers behind it.
It is also exactly what a healthy pan should be: bare, heavy-gauge American iron with oil seasoning — no enamel, no synthetic coatings, no brass hardware. One metal, proven clean, built to be handed down.
Who They Are
Stargazer — Modern American Cast Iron
Stargazer makes cast iron the way it was made a century ago, with modern precision. The pans are cast in American foundries from controlled, known-chemistry iron and finished in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where each cooking surface is machined smooth like the prized vintage skillets collectors hunt for. The design is deliberate: a flared, drip-free rim, a long stay-cool handle, and heavy-gauge walls for even heat.
There are no decorative flourishes — and that is the point. No enamel colorways, no brass accents, no coatings. Just iron, machined and seasoned.
Claims & Certifications
What Stands Behind This Pan
Independent Research & Lab Testing
The Test Results — and the Honest Caveats
What was tested: Lead Safe Mama, LLC XRF-tested the Stargazer skillet and reported it free of lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic — the four heavy metals that matter most in cookware. Read the full report at Lead Safe Mama.
The honest caveats: Cast iron naturally leaches small amounts of iron into food — neutral to beneficial for most people, but those with iron-overload conditions such as hemochromatosis should consult their doctor. And like all bare cast iron, the pan asks for simple care: hand-wash, keep it seasoned, skip the long soaks.
"Almost every cookware brand says non-toxic. Almost none can hand you a lab report. Stargazer can."
Independent testing cited from Lead Safe Mama, LLC. We report established findings honestly; we are not a laboratory.
The Broader Picture
Why Bare Cast Iron Wins on Health
Strip away the marketing and the healthiest cookware is the simplest. Nonstick coatings are wear items with open chemical questions. "Ceramic" sprays thin out within a few years. Enamel is only as clean as its pigments. Bare cast iron sidesteps all of it: the cooking surface is iron and oil seasoning that you renew yourself, forever. It sears, bakes, and fries as well as anything made — and when the seasoning wears, you don't throw the pan away, you re-oil it.
The only real question with cast iron is whether the iron itself is clean — and that is exactly the question Stargazer answers with independent testing instead of a slogan. That is what the Bonham Gold Label exists to find.
