Different shades of yellow gold for vintage alhambra hammered gold

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K

kura

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May 24, 2021
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#1
Hello! I recently purchased the vintage alhambra 5 motif bracelet in hammered gold and yellow gold to match with my 2 yr old vintage alhambra pendant in hammered gold and yellow gold. I noticed that my pendant is more yellow gold (more towards my liking) whereas the new bracelet has a lighter shade of yellow gold.

Is that expected? I asked my SA and he said it is due to the different combination of elements to make the yellow gold, hence making the jewellery truly handcrafted, etc. Another SA mentioned it is because my necklace has oxidised hence making it more yellow in nature.

Anyone else have the same experience as me?
 
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#2
I’ve seen two hammered yellow gold in different shades, like the vintage size is more “yellow” than the magic.
Really depends on the batch I think, although I agree it’s a little annoying that you might not be able to match the shade of you existing collection.

Hammered gold is hard to come by, so I’m not sure if you would like to return. visually it might not make a huge difference between a pendant and a bracelet. But if u were to buy earrings you might want to match better.

Enjoy your new piece.
 
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#3
ashton said:
I’ve seen two hammered yellow gold in different shades, like the vintage size is more “yellow” than the magic.
Really depends on the batch I think, although I agree it’s a little annoying that you might not be able to match the shade of you existing collection.

Hammered gold is hard to come by, so I’m not sure if you would like to return. visually it might not make a huge difference between a pendant and a bracelet. But if u were to buy earrings you might want to match better.

Enjoy your new piece.
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Thank you for letting me know. It’s my first time seeing 2 different shades and I thought I got a defective product.

It’s going to be difficult to return in my country so I am keeping it. I have been waiting for it for some time too.
 
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#4
I just purchased a pair of onyx yellow gold vintage Alhambra earrings to match my other onyx yellow gold vintage Alhambra pieces.
I noticed the same lighter yellow tone of the new piece right away!! I thought I was imagining it but it is quite noticeable.
I have to bring it into the boutique because of other issues but I was going to ask them about it.

Thank you for sharing. I thought I was going crazy!
 
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#5
littleming said:
I just purchased a pair of onyx yellow gold vintage Alhambra earrings to match my other onyx yellow gold vintage Alhambra pieces.
I noticed the same lighter yellow tone of the new piece right away!! I thought I was imagining it but it is quite noticeable.
I have to bring it into the boutique because of other issues but I was going to ask them about it.

Thank you for sharing. I thought I was going crazy!
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I asked my SA immediately after he took it out and he told me is due to different batch of gold.

After so many years of buying gold, this is my first time seeing a brand unable to maintain the standard of colour of their 18K gold. I was quite surprised but I guess it means either they are replacing some materials to reduce cost or they just suck at maintaining their standard. Kind of inline with their packaging change. I still like the design so I just bought it.
 
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#7
sassification said:
Oh yes, this is not my first time hearing about different batch of gold having diff shade, and also different brand will have diff shade of gold due to their materials used

Chaumet is the other one
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Different brands can use different colours of 18k gold. That is completely understandable and common. What’s weird is that the same brand in the same line having 2 different shades of gold.

Oh, I didn’t know Chaumet have this issue too.
 
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#8
kura said:
Different brands can use different colours of 18k gold. That is completely understandable and common. What’s weird is that the same brand in the same line having 2 different shades of gold.

Oh, I didn’t know Chaumet have this issue too.
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I understand the explanation but I am surprised too at the inconsistency of shades.
Especially for a big brand with long history like Van Cleef.

Interesting that this was never brought up as an issue before. I have purchased many VCA yellow gold pieces over the years and this is the first time that I noticed a difference in the shades of gold.
Very annoying…
 
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#9
littleming said:
I understand the explanation but I am surprised too at the inconsistency of shades.
Especially for a big brand with long history like Van Cleef.

Interesting that this was never brought up as an issue before. I have purchased many VCA yellow gold pieces over the years and this is the first time that I noticed a difference in the shades of gold.
Very annoying…
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May I know which pieces are different from other pieces for your case as compared to your onyx earrings?
 
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#13
littleming said:
Sorry.
:smile:

As compared to 5 other onyx vintage Alhambra bracelet, ring, necklace, MOP earrings and even the holiday pendant that’s yellow gold.

All my yellow gold pieces prior to this purchase were all the same/similar.
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Oh! So it means that VCA recently changed the formulation of their yellow gold. Please let us know what your SA explained.
 
#14
My hammered yg bracelet has definitely changed color over time, whether oxidation or too much copper alloy. Maybe they got complaints. I still love my bracelet, but I think it would be a great thing if they changed the gold alloy to be something that doesn't look tarnished. I have other designer 18k yg that does not do this. I've kind of wanted a 20 but was wary about doing it if my yg isn't going to maintain the color as new.
 
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#15
DS2006 said:
My hammered yg bracelet has definitely changed color over time, whether oxidation or too much copper alloy. Maybe they got complaints. I still love my bracelet, but I think it would be a great thing if they changed the gold alloy to be something that doesn't look tarnished. I have other designer 18k yg that does not do this. I've kind of wanted a 20 but was wary about doing it if my yg isn't going to maintain the color as new.
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Oh my! I was not expecting this from a high end jeweler. I’ve had Love bracelets that are beat up and worn in for many years but I expected the color change from RG to more of a YG as it oxidized, so I’m surprised to hear VCA YG also changes color. If you are comfortable would you mind showing how your YG hammered changed? Did it turn darker? I wonder if they would be able to restore the color without a harsh polish, say with just a good cleaning cream of some sort?

Some of my Cartier RG bracelets were able to be restored in color using a “special cream” as the boutique manager put it, but of course it oxidized again to more YG over time. It was nice to know the RG color can be restored if I wanted it though, even if I had to bring it back often every time the color oxidized.

I have to say I’ve been wearing my RG sweet bracelet for a number of years every day now and I’m impressed how rosey it remains compared to Cartier’s RG which oxidizes quite quickly. It must contain much more copper.
 
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