Help me decide...gold Rolex or VCA

S

skykim

Member
Nov 20, 2010
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25
#1
Hey lovelies of TPF - help me decide which item to get. I will be making my first big jewelry purchase to mark my 30th birthday + career milestone.

Right now I am considering between two things:

1. Rolex YG datejust presidential in 31mm


2. VCA vintage alhambra diamond pave earrings in WG

I can only choose one at this time. My fine jewelry collection is pretty small at this time. I have a vintage ladies Rolex two-tone datejust passed down from my mother, and the sweet VCA Alhambra earrings in onyx.

Here are pics of the items I mentioned on me for reference. The Rolex I would choose would have a white dial not green. 84D5264F-43A2-460D-9CC1-22FB3DE03FA9.jpeg2923044E-8412-4993-8834-4BFECD1317C5.jpeg
 
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#2
My husband has the YG DayDate with that green dial and it is gorgeous but white is also nice. I would not buy a PM Rolex unless preowned because they don’t hold value well if that is a consideration. VCA seems very popular right now but I’m wondering why you wouldn’t consider a piece that isn’t something you basically already have especially since you say your jewelry collection is small. You already have a Rolex and vCA earrings. Why not consider bracelets, pendants, long necklace or totally different earrings?
 
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#7
Out of your two options I would get the VCA earrings at this time, not the Rolex because to me, the VCA pave earrings kind of fill the role of studs, ie classic staple everyday earrings. You already have a lovely watch that goes with everything since it’s two tone. I do love this watch, and I think you should get it eventually, but I think the earrings should come first.

That being said, I do agree with a previous poster that perhaps you could expand your universe of items a bit and get something different or maybe even unbranded? Your collection is small at the moment and your options are essentially the same as your current pieces. For 12k (roughly the price of the VCA earrings) you could get a killer pair of diamond studs (probably 3-3.5ctw would be my guess), or a beautiful tennis bracelet (in the range of 8-9ctw), perhaps even both (2ctw studs and 5-5.5ctw bracelet would be my guess) if you don’t want a very big size for either.

If you want to stick to branded options, you could probably swing a love/JUC bracelet and an Alhambra necklace. The onyx VA 10motif necklace is $7.4k, the Magic onyx pendant is $5.75k, the VA onyx pendant is $2.4k, the VA pave pendant (for sparkle) is $7.5k, and the sweet pave pendant (a bit small for me, but if you like delicate pieces and like to stack, it can work) is $3k. For Cartier bracelets (my personal preference): the regular love no diamonds is $6.3k, the thin is $4k, the cuff is $4.5k. JUC: regular is $6.8k, thin is 3k, regular with diamonds around the head is $12k. If you still really want branded earrings, and the sweet size isn’t too small for you, VCA sweet pave is $5.25k, so again, you could get something else with it for your budget to make it stretch further and expand it into other pieces.

Sorry if all of this is unhelpful btw, I just wanted to show you other options you may not have considered!
 
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#8
Thank you so much everyone for their advice!
Really helpful (such as going the preloved route for pm Rolex vs. buying new)

The reason I wanted to chose between the two items above was because I really like wearing stud earrings (wanted to rotate beyond pearl studs and the sweets) and prefer watches to bracelets.

It is really refreshing to hear the different perspectives!
 
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#9
Gourmetgal said:
My husband has the YG DayDate with that green dial and it is gorgeous but white is also nice. I would not buy a PM Rolex unless preowned because they don’t hold value well if that is a consideration. VCA seems very popular right now but I’m wondering why you wouldn’t consider a piece that isn’t something you basically already have especially since you say your jewelry collection is small. You already have a Rolex and vCA earrings. Why not consider bracelets, pendants, long necklace or totally different earrings?
Click to expand...

Thank you again for your advice! I'm not too familiar with the preowned market - do you have any recommendations for good sellers / considerations if I were to go this route?
 
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#10
MagpieInTraining said:
Out of your two options I would get the VCA earrings at this time, not the Rolex because to me, the VCA pave earrings kind of fill the role of studs, ie classic staple everyday earrings. You already have a lovely watch that goes with everything since it’s two tone. I do love this watch, and I think you should get it eventually, but I think the earrings should come first.

That being said, I do agree with a previous poster that perhaps you could expand your universe of items a bit and get something different or maybe even unbranded? Your collection is small at the moment and your options are essentially the same as your current pieces. For 12k (roughly the price of the VCA earrings) you could get a killer pair of diamond studs (probably 3-3.5ctw would be my guess), or a beautiful tennis bracelet (in the range of 8-9ctw), perhaps even both (2ctw studs and 5-5.5ctw bracelet would be my guess) if you don’t want a very big size for either.

If you want to stick to branded options, you could probably swing a love/JUC bracelet and an Alhambra necklace. The onyx VA 10motif necklace is $7.4k, the Magic onyx pendant is $5.75k, the VA onyx pendant is $2.4k, the VA pave pendant (for sparkle) is $7.5k, and the sweet pave pendant (a bit small for me, but if you like delicate pieces and like to stack, it can work) is $3k. For Cartier bracelets (my personal preference): the regular love no diamonds is $6.3k, the thin is $4k, the cuff is $4.5k. JUC: regular is $6.8k, thin is 3k, regular with diamonds around the head is $12k. If you still really want branded earrings, and the sweet size isn’t too small for you, VCA sweet pave is $5.25k, so again, you could get something else with it for your budget to make it stretch further and expand it into other pieces.

Sorry if all of this is unhelpful btw, I just wanted to show you other options you may not have considered!
Click to expand...

This was actually super helpful- thank you!! I felt like you partly read my mind - I will probably end up getting both, but I was torn on which one to get first - the earrings probably will get more wear....Also the Cartier bracelets were something I considered - however, I realized I prefer wearing one watch vs. watch + bracelets. So many choices!!!
 
#11
skykim said:
This was actually super helpful- thank you!! I felt like you partly read my mind - I will probably end up getting both, but I was torn on which one to get first - the earrings probably will get more wear....Also the Cartier bracelets were something I considered - however, I realized I prefer wearing one watch vs. watch + bracelets. So many choices!!!
Click to expand...

Great, happy to help! If you’re not a bracelet person then feel free to ignore that bit, haha. Do you have/want classic diamond studs btw? If you love studs then to me, personally, there is nothing that is as much of a wardrobe staple than classic diamond studs (perhaps with one or many removable jackets, so that you can dress up your plain stud in a myriad of ways - diamond halo, coloured stone halo, pearl drop jacket, diamond drop jacket, coloured stone drop jacket - the options are limitless and you can use the jackets with your pearl studs too). If, and only if you aren’t in love with the VA pave, that is (I don’t want to suggest that you go in a direction that you don’t love, but I also want to keep throwing options out there so that you really get the most bang for your buck!) You also didn’t mention your stance on rings - maybe a branded ring (Perlee/Alhambra/Love/JUC/Trinity) or an eternity/half eternity/5 or 7 stone band? Depending on how you mix and match and how big you go on the studs you can get some branded bling and an unbranded staple in the same price range. But that’s only if any of these options appeal to you as much or more than the VA pave does.

Sorry for throwing so many options at you :biggrin:
 
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#14
What I am not understanding is your budget for this purchase. A solid gold Rolex is going to cost a LOT more than the VCA pave alhambra earrings (I would think a used one would be higher, as well). So I'd suggest settling on a budget first and then we can better advise you.

Naturally a Rolex is a desirable purchase, but I think we are headed into a time where people don't wear watches as much due to having our phones most of the time. Or some people go to Apple watches as an extension of their phones. I have a Cartier watch that I really rarely wear, so I would think hard about the watch idea. But if you go for it, I would definitely go for a neutral dial such as white or mother of pearl or even light gold. Rolexes don't keep perfect time, either, so there's that to consider, too.

I am a big VCA fan and have the pave vintage alhambra earrings and pendant. I think it's an outstanding choice. They have much more presence than studs. I do like studs, but mine are 1.3 cts each (2.6ctw) and cost a whole lot more and are smaller than the VCA VA. So you do get more bling for the money and have an iconic, timeless piece of jewelry!
 
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