Before I knew what VCA was, I got a bracelet at a local jewelry store that I now know is basically a knockoff. I had not heard of VCA at the time and while I now have a nice collection, I still wear that bracelet on occasion. I have had people who don’t know the brand as well (beyond just knowing the alhambra) assume it is was real. To an “untrained eye” I’m sure a lot of these bracelets look real.
Does anyone feel like VCA is everywhere now?
- Thread starter gg1014
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I think wearing inspired or even knockoff pieces are fine, as long as it fits one's budget and make them happy. But just don't be all nasty about it & then proceed to claim that it's just as good as the authentic pieces.
Agree. Most likely these people have never seen them in real life to actually compare.
I’ve posted in another thread that VCA did not succeed in obtaining IP protection for Alhambra. With many jewelers having the ability to create CAD computer generated exact replicas, if one wants authentic VCA, I would strongly recommend only buying from the boutique.
Wow! This is very insightful, thank you for sharing. It actually makes a lot of sense too. To be honest, I’ve avoiding buying pre loved jewelry for this very reason.
Very good point. I have a family friend who's in the jewelry business & have said the guilloche is easy to replicate by using 3D printing, but it's the stone versions (aside from onyx & mop) that are much more difficult to replicate because they'd have the source the raw materials with very similar look & feel which is not an easy task to do.
Based in NY, I see plenty of Alhambra pendants and bracelets in real life. Within my circle of friends who are not big collectors, majority have at least one Alhambra piece.
The fake ones are everywhere even in high end stores pretending to be vca.
I responded before but it keeps popping back up so I'll respond again (then go see if my opinion has changed lol)
I was at Dallas' highest end mall today (BV, YSL, Bal, LV, Gucci, Prada, NM, )and didn't see one VCA piece. In all fairness, I don't look, but I rarely see or notice them. My friend group is pretty affluent and none of them own any. A few friends own maybe 1, max 2 Cartier pieces, and no one I know owns Bulgari either.
I was at Dallas' highest end mall today (BV, YSL, Bal, LV, Gucci, Prada, NM, )and didn't see one VCA piece. In all fairness, I don't look, but I rarely see or notice them. My friend group is pretty affluent and none of them own any. A few friends own maybe 1, max 2 Cartier pieces, and no one I know owns Bulgari either.
I’m guessing NorthPark Mall? I don’t see anyone wearing VCA there at all. I’ve seen people wear VCA at Highland Park Village or in Houston’s River Oaks, otherwise I’ve never seen anyone wear VCA. I’ve never seen anyone, besides the employees at VCA, wear the more expensive from VCA (e.g. Perlee Clover, 10 motif, 20 motif, etc.)
Yes, but I don't really see it at HPV either lol
I just don't see it much IRL to be honest
Saw this TikTok. I think it’s funny, but also because I never saw any content like this 6 years ago with VCA being a pop culture reference.
Also saw this. Which is more guys wearing van cleef, in general. I should screenshot the amount of times I see male influencers wearing VCA now.
Just watched it. He called it a “sick little brand”. Dying…. Hope it’s a phase that will pass for them.
I think “sick” means good. It’s slang, I believe. I’m definitely over people buying VCA as a trend though, because these people hype up a brand and then tear it down. It’s exactly how people are now anti over consumption because it’s trending, whereas a few years ago it was trending to have high consumption. The fact that consumption is trending is so bizarre, I thought it was common knowledge to buy quality over quantity.