Anyone shop in Japan recently?
- Thread starter mushietushie
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Was in Tokyo few days ago, visited 3 VCA with 1 appt & no alhambra bracelets but had vintage necklaces, and grab Carnelian sweet necklace for a friend. Now in Osaka had appt in Takashimaya also the same but they have lucky springs collection bracelets (SA Miho Araki) Heading to Kyoto next week & booked appt. If anyone needs SA
Vancleef&Arpels Kyoto Diamaru
Yuko Yoshikawa
If by any chance you have any trusted Japanese friend, get them to order for you as if & when there is any cancellation, the locals get priority & for Tourists it seems like they only showcase high end pieces. As for preloved, I found BrandOff have better VCA stocks than Komehyo- visited both branches in Ginza, Tokyo
Hope this helps someone else.
Vancleef&Arpels Kyoto Diamaru
Yuko Yoshikawa
If by any chance you have any trusted Japanese friend, get them to order for you as if & when there is any cancellation, the locals get priority & for Tourists it seems like they only showcase high end pieces. As for preloved, I found BrandOff have better VCA stocks than Komehyo- visited both branches in Ginza, Tokyo
Hope this helps someone else.
Thanks for this.
Sigh, looks like the Onyx Alhambra bracelet will remain a pipe dream for now...
Do you recall seeing any VA or sweets earrings in Tokyo? Thanks for your update!
Not on display, they seem to display only the high end ones and you would need to check if they have in stock. However if you are exploring preloved, BrandOff m Komehyo on Ginza does have a better stock than boutique itself.
Not in Tokyo but Kyoto 10 m WG Guilloche, While in Osaka had one sweet Carnelian necklace available
I was at the Tokyo Ginza Maison store today and saw many VA necklaces on display. I was mainly shopping for earrings… They have YG MOP VA earrings, onyx VA earrings, red carnelian VA earrings, onyx Sweet earrings, and carnelian Sweet earrings.
No sweet butterfly earrings, turquoise earrings, or Magic earrings.
No 5 motif bracelets of any kind. SA said they sometimes receive one Ginza Edition necklace every few months.
No sweet butterfly earrings, turquoise earrings, or Magic earrings.
No 5 motif bracelets of any kind. SA said they sometimes receive one Ginza Edition necklace every few months.
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Fair warning — a long post is coming up haha!
I was at the Tokyo Ginza Maison on Tuesday too, and none of my wishlist items (Ginza Edition pendant; onyx 5-motif bracelet; MOP 5-motif bracelet) were available either. They were completely sold out of all the 5-motif bracelets across Tokyo.
But I hit it off really well with one of the SAs in the Maison, and had such a lovely time chatting to her and exploring other options. I started considering the Onyx Alhambra ring, as well as the Onyx Vintage pendant.
Between the two, I was leaning towards the ring, given that I can enjoy seeing it more than the pendant…
My new S.A. put the ring on hold for me, but given that I was in Tokyo till Saturday, I decided to hold off from pulling the trigger just yet.
The best part about that day other than hitting it off with the Ginza Maison S.A. was also meeting a new friend from TPF who lives in Tokyo! We had such a lovely time exploring Ginza, and I am ever so grateful to her for such great company during my solo trip!
We then went to try another two VCA boutiques in the Ginza area, in Ginza Six and Matsukoshi.
At both boutiques, they didn’t have availability either, but I spoke to an S.A. at each boutique and got their contact details too. They said they’d keep their eye out for the 5 motif bracelets during my trip as well, but they didn’t seem hopeful either.
But I was supremely impressed with the Ginza Maison S.A. who kept in touch with me every day unprompted to update me with inventory levels!
Finally it came to my final day in Tokyo with no success thus far. I had an appointment at the Ginza Maison before my flight that evening, to get the ring as my consolation prize, and as my souvenir for my Tokyo trip, which had been full of such wonderful memories thus far.
My S.A. took me to the second floor, and brought out the ring for me to try on again. However, she then whispered to me that they had received a batch of inventory, and she had seen an Onyx 5 motif bracelet available among some other 5-motifs, but that the staff were still cross-checking all the new arrivals.
She couldn’t promise me anything, but asked if I wanted to come back later to see if it was available for me. I told her I was happy to wait in the boutique if she didn’t mind, so that I wouldn’t have to rush back if there was indeed any success.
She also advised me that they had carnelian, white MOP and a WG guilloche 5 motif as part of that day’s batch. I told her that I would go for the white MOP if the onyx bracelet went to someone else.
We continued to have a lovely conversation, and she asked me about my trip thus far, being really excited that it was my first time in Japan.
She periodically disappeared to check on the status of the inventory, she basically wanted to make sure she was ready to pounce the moment it was available, especially given how heaving the store was with people queuing up hoping to be seen without an appointment.
She left me again, and then suddenly reappeared with the biggest smile on her face!
“I got it for you!!!” Honestly she was as excited as I was!
It was love at first sight, and there wasn’t any doubt I was going to pick this black beauty!
She told me I couldn’t choose between the travel pouch and the box, and given how special the purchase was to me, I wasn’t going to make a fuss, and I chose to go for the box instead.
I might consider asking the Singapore boutique if they would let me have a travel pouch before I fly home.
But all in all, the Tokyo trip was a resounding success! I got my dream piece, and I couldn’t be happier.
Funnily enough, I think Saturday was a bumper crop of inventory, as I then got two successive messages from the Ginza Six and Mitsukoshi boutiques advising me that they had the same bracelet in stock. I wasn’t expecting the other two S.A.s to get back to me, so that was a pleasant surprise! But I’m gonna be loyal to the Ginza Maison!
Thanks for reading another bout of verbosity from me! Hope it wasn’t too tedious! Haha!
Wishing everyone heading to Japan all the success in getting your dream pieces!
I was at the Tokyo Ginza Maison on Tuesday too, and none of my wishlist items (Ginza Edition pendant; onyx 5-motif bracelet; MOP 5-motif bracelet) were available either. They were completely sold out of all the 5-motif bracelets across Tokyo.
But I hit it off really well with one of the SAs in the Maison, and had such a lovely time chatting to her and exploring other options. I started considering the Onyx Alhambra ring, as well as the Onyx Vintage pendant.
Between the two, I was leaning towards the ring, given that I can enjoy seeing it more than the pendant…
My new S.A. put the ring on hold for me, but given that I was in Tokyo till Saturday, I decided to hold off from pulling the trigger just yet.
The best part about that day other than hitting it off with the Ginza Maison S.A. was also meeting a new friend from TPF who lives in Tokyo! We had such a lovely time exploring Ginza, and I am ever so grateful to her for such great company during my solo trip!
We then went to try another two VCA boutiques in the Ginza area, in Ginza Six and Matsukoshi.
At both boutiques, they didn’t have availability either, but I spoke to an S.A. at each boutique and got their contact details too. They said they’d keep their eye out for the 5 motif bracelets during my trip as well, but they didn’t seem hopeful either.
But I was supremely impressed with the Ginza Maison S.A. who kept in touch with me every day unprompted to update me with inventory levels!
Finally it came to my final day in Tokyo with no success thus far. I had an appointment at the Ginza Maison before my flight that evening, to get the ring as my consolation prize, and as my souvenir for my Tokyo trip, which had been full of such wonderful memories thus far.
My S.A. took me to the second floor, and brought out the ring for me to try on again. However, she then whispered to me that they had received a batch of inventory, and she had seen an Onyx 5 motif bracelet available among some other 5-motifs, but that the staff were still cross-checking all the new arrivals.
She couldn’t promise me anything, but asked if I wanted to come back later to see if it was available for me. I told her I was happy to wait in the boutique if she didn’t mind, so that I wouldn’t have to rush back if there was indeed any success.
She also advised me that they had carnelian, white MOP and a WG guilloche 5 motif as part of that day’s batch. I told her that I would go for the white MOP if the onyx bracelet went to someone else.
We continued to have a lovely conversation, and she asked me about my trip thus far, being really excited that it was my first time in Japan.
She periodically disappeared to check on the status of the inventory, she basically wanted to make sure she was ready to pounce the moment it was available, especially given how heaving the store was with people queuing up hoping to be seen without an appointment.
She left me again, and then suddenly reappeared with the biggest smile on her face!
“I got it for you!!!” Honestly she was as excited as I was!
It was love at first sight, and there wasn’t any doubt I was going to pick this black beauty!
She told me I couldn’t choose between the travel pouch and the box, and given how special the purchase was to me, I wasn’t going to make a fuss, and I chose to go for the box instead.
I might consider asking the Singapore boutique if they would let me have a travel pouch before I fly home.
But all in all, the Tokyo trip was a resounding success! I got my dream piece, and I couldn’t be happier.
Funnily enough, I think Saturday was a bumper crop of inventory, as I then got two successive messages from the Ginza Six and Mitsukoshi boutiques advising me that they had the same bracelet in stock. I wasn’t expecting the other two S.A.s to get back to me, so that was a pleasant surprise! But I’m gonna be loyal to the Ginza Maison!
Thanks for reading another bout of verbosity from me! Hope it wasn’t too tedious! Haha!
Wishing everyone heading to Japan all the success in getting your dream pieces!
Congratulations. The 5-motif onyx looks great on you. Glad that the SA came through.
@Prada Prince, Congratulations to you!!!🖤🎉 what a story - you tell the best stories, and that piece looks marvelous. Indeed new stack level unlocked. So glad you got exactly what you wanted (and made your flight) as a remembrance of your time in Tokyo. It’s a gorgeous piece 🖤
Congratulations! Twins on the Onyx 5-motif.
