Different shades of yellow gold for vintage alhambra hammered gold

[kura]

That’s an interesting point… I have not noticed as much tarnising with the Guilloche YG. So maybe it’s because the Hammered is made matte with some kind of different layer on top that makes it more prone to tarnish?
Some pieces are more matte than others. Maybe they don’t polish them as much?
The Perlée bracelets are polished.

I don’t think it is tarnish. I have compared it with the photos I took when I first have the necklace and in the same lighting and colour temperature. It is the same shade to me.

I don’t know about others’ necklaces. It might really be tarnish for them.

 

[kura]

Have you asked your SA about it? I will ask mine this weekend when I’m in the boutique to get my piece resized and keep you posted

Yeah, my main SA mentioned that it is due to different gold batch. He did not say it is due to tarnish. He said the gold formulation will change because it is a different batch of gold being used…

 

[vivilisa]

Just got my new Vintage Hammered YG necklace and compared it with my Cartier Love necklace. The VCA YG is much lighter than Cartier’s…

 

[lonelyphoton]

In case it’s helpful to anyone, cleaning jewelry with pressurized steam seems to remove the inevitable buildup of oxidation to visually ”equalize” the tone of the gold between pieces, assuming the base alloy was the same to begin with (e.g. pieces purchased at different times but from the same jewelry house). This works even better after ultrasonic cleaning!

 

[AnaBeavTheOG]

In case it’s helpful to anyone, cleaning jewelry with pressurized steam seems to remove the inevitable buildup of oxidation to visually ”equalize” the tone of the gold between pieces, assuming the base alloy was the same to begin with (e.g. pieces purchased at different times but from the same jewelry house). This works even better after ultrasonic cleaning!

Do you have a steam cleaner you'd recommend? It seems like every one I've researched, people always complain that it leaks. Not sure if it's due to user error, but it's enough to deter me for the time being.

 

[TeochewLady]

Riding on to this thread ~ I bought my VCA vintage Alhambra bracelet in 2021. I haven wear it for quite awhile since covid and recently when I check the bracelet, it has oxidise/tarnished to a reddish tone. Unbelievable. This is the only VCA pc that has oxidise/tarnished like this comparing to the rest of my collection.

I just went to the store to check and they offered to send the bracelet in to HQ for a special cleaning and that will cost Sgd 200++. I find it unacceptable especially when u’ve paid so much for a luxury item and the quality is akin to costume jewellery.

Customer service in VCA can’t really explained, SA just say because you’ve kept it in the box and it will cause oxidation ( what?!). I’m based in Singapore.

 

[kura]

Riding on to this thread ~ I bought my VCA vintage Alhambra bracelet in 2021. I haven wear it for quite awhile since covid and recently when I check the bracelet, it has oxidise/tarnished to a reddish tone. Unbelievable. This is the only VCA pc that has oxidise/tarnished like this comparing to the rest of my collection.

I just went to the store to check and they offered to send the bracelet in to HQ for a special cleaning and that will cost Sgd 200++. I find it unacceptable especially when u’ve paid so much for a luxury item and the quality is akin to costume jewellery.

Customer service in VCA can’t really explained, SA just say because you’ve kept it in the box and it will cause oxidation ( what?!). I’m based in Singapore.

May I know which store is it? I thought we are paying for fine jewellery and not costume jewellery. Their response is unacceptable.

 

[lonelyphoton]

Do you have a steam cleaner you'd recommend? It seems like every one I've researched, people always complain that it leaks. Not sure if it's due to user error, but it's enough to deter me for the time being.

Hi! This is the model I have: https://www.elma-ultrasonic.com/en/...nology/elmasteam-45-basic#tabs|p3134:features

I bought one used from a jewelry store that upgraded to the larger model of the same line. I’ve had it for a few years now and omg I love it, especially for pieces with diamonds! It‘s so well-built and it makes me happy every time I use it. There is nothing like steam cleaning to bring back the gleam and sparkle (an ultrasonic bath followed by steam cleaning is the ultimate shiny!). No leaks in my experience, and the seals are replaceable when they wear out. Highly recommend if you can find one!

 

[AnaBeavTheOG]

Hi! This is the model I have: https://www.elma-ultrasonic.com/en/...nology/elmasteam-45-basic#tabs|p3134:features

I bought one used from a jewelry store that upgraded to the larger model of the same line. I’ve had it for a few years now and omg I love it, especially for pieces with diamonds! It‘s so well-built and it makes me happy every time I use it. There is nothing like steam cleaning to bring back the gleam and sparkle (an ultrasonic bath followed by steam cleaning is the ultimate shiny!). No leaks in my experience, and the seals are replaceable when they wear out. Highly recommend if you can find one!

Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[bsufku]

Riding on to this thread ~ I bought my VCA vintage Alhambra bracelet in 2021. I haven wear it for quite awhile since covid and recently when I check the bracelet, it has oxidise/tarnished to a reddish tone. Unbelievable. This is the only VCA pc that has oxidise/tarnished like this comparing to the rest of my collection.

I just went to the store to check and they offered to send the bracelet in to HQ for a special cleaning and that will cost Sgd 200++. I find it unacceptable especially when u’ve paid so much for a luxury item and the quality is akin to costume jewellery.

Customer service in VCA can’t really explained, SA just say because you’ve kept it in the box and it will cause oxidation ( what?!). I’m based in Singapore.

Same thing happened with my Alhambra bracelet purchased at end 2018. Not worn many times and during Covid lockdown period I noticed it had darkened to a horrible orangey colour. I have a pair of Alhambra earrings (stored in the same manner as the bracelet) from 2012 that hasn’t had any noticeable change.

Different stores and SAs had different reasons for the oxidisation - one said I didn’t wear it enough, one said it happens from wear, one said I might have gotten hand sanitiser on it (the last one also doesn’t make sense because I might have gotten a drop of sanitiser on it but the whole bracelet is uniformly discoloured), and the store in Singapore said it had to be polished, it’s gone back to the original yellow colour after but I haven’t worn it since and waiting to see if the colour changes again. I’m very hesitant to purchase anymore gold Alhambra items now, particularly since each piece can only be polished 3 times in its life

 

[TeochewLady]

Same thing happened with my Alhambra bracelet purchased at end 2018. Not worn many times and during Covid lockdown period I noticed it had darkened to a horrible orangey colour. I have a pair of Alhambra earrings (stored in the same manner as the bracelet) from 2012 that hasn’t had any noticeable change.

Different stores and SAs had different reasons for the oxidisation - one said I didn’t wear it enough, one said it happens from wear, one said I might have gotten hand sanitiser on it (the last one also doesn’t make sense because I might have gotten a drop of sanitiser on it but the whole bracelet is uniformly discoloured), and the store in Singapore said it had to be polished, it’s gone back to the original yellow colour after but I haven’t worn it since and waiting to see if the colour changes again. I’m very hesitant to purchase anymore gold Alhambra items now, particularly since each piece can only be polished 3 times in its life

I did not send it in for polishing. I just did basic cleaning and it still look very much the same. Also, is it just me but I feel their standard of service have dropped drastically here in Singapore.

The entire experience really bought a bad taste to my mouth and considering you are paying so much for their products. My other YG pcs like Cartier and Tiffany doesn’t have such issues at all.

 

[vivilisa]

Does anybody have any updates on the difference in color? My 2 SAs seem to be giving contradicting explanations. The YG color of my alhambra necklace and bracelet in YG does not match.

 

[littlecollector]

Does anybody have any updates on the difference in color? My 2 SAs seem to be giving contradicting explanations. The YG color of my alhambra necklace and bracelet in YG does not match.

My yellow gold earrings and necklace didn’t match at first. I’ve had the necklace for a year and got the earrings recently. My SA cleaned the necklace in store and the yellow colour are closer. They are not a perfect match, but not noticeable unless I examine them carefully. Over time, I’m hoping that their colour will become closer as I wear them.

 

[basicandorganic]

I’ve noticed there is a lot of variation too. Similar to the stones being very different in colour but not as noticeable (for example the carnelian is widely variable…) I am glad I am not alone in this.

I don’t mind too much, because I find that it’s not noticeable in YG which I stick to, unless you’re wearing everything on one wrist or multiple necklaces and the difference is obvious. But most of my pieces I can’t even tell the difference, only my first one there’s a slight darkening.

I think in RG it’s very noticeable, I’ve seen some very pink ones and some almost yellow gold ones. It does worry me a little bit because it makes it unpredictable. I know that eventually the copper is lost and fades, but you can’t predict when that will happen. I don’t own any RG pieces yet but this is my main concern.

I wish I could force myself to like white gold because I find it is more consistent and predictable in general… but it doesn’t look good on me

 

[Sonnny]

Hi all.... I have been reading through all the posts... it's so very annoying when all you want is to buy a lovely piece, have a good experience and love your purchase. But when you get home and really examine your purchase and find it's not exactly right it's so disappointing. I really wish that luxury sales assistances would read all these posts and understand that the last thing we want is to go back to the store and have to "waste" their time and ours to get the right piece for us! Dipped my toes into vca only recently, bought the sweet mop alhambra necklace loved it then went to buy the vintage onyx alhambra necklace to stack only to find that the two yellow golds are so very different.... I've got Cartier, Tiffany & Co and local jewellery store 18k gold and it's all in the same yellow gold hue as was the vca sweetie alhambra mop necklace, but I've noticed that the alhambra onyx necklace chain is a warmer gold to the actual gold around the pendant and visually different to all my other necklaces which is not acceptable and I don't care for any explanation except to say it's faulty and they will rectify the problem! But NOOOO here I am stressing out about going back to the store and looking like a fool trying to explain the situation, only to probably get "eye rolls" behind my back and then second guess myself whether to exchange or keep the one I purchased! Sorry for the rant but it shouldn't be so hard to expect to get what you paid for!

So after all that my question is, should I keep my vca vintage alhambra onyx pendant and just enjoy it, or go back to the store and check out others!? 😓