Totally agree. I was at the Ginza Six boutique couple years back, the SA was very cold and unhelpful.
Magic Alhambra Rose Gold Mother of Pearl - Ginza exclusive
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Usually if you wait in line outside the store you'll eventually get to go in, but I was just passing by the GINZA SIX location few days ago on a weeknight and noticed they had a sign saying appointment required. Not sure why the VCA boutiques are so busy right now, the Cartier and Bvlgari boutiques next to VCA were empty by comparison, I took a gander at the newly opened Bvlgari boutique there and the SA was super nice and helpful.
I was planning to go wait in the line but then I got an appointment at Ginza Maison. I had made an appointment for after Christmas and in the comment box I had written that I am free on only one day week before Christmas and I was hoping they can give me an appointment. Didn’t expect a response but then I got an email with appointment confirmation
I'm going to Japan in Feb and I was wondering which location is the duty free one? Is it Ginza Six or the Maison location? I'm hoping to get the vintage alhambra in gold + onyx - do you guys think this is doable or should I just buy it now online? I was waiting to see if I could save a bit since the conversion rate works in my favor but I rather just buy it now if the chances of stock is low. Does anyone have an SA contact they are willing to share with me for either stores? Thank you!
All VCA stores in Japan offer duty free for those who can provide a foreign passport/for non-Japanese nationals and residents. The different prices are already on the price tags. It’s not one specific store/location so don’t worry about that. Moreover, they will do it for you in the store, hassle free, when you make your purchase. It’s a very easy process.
I would say there is no easy answer to your second question. No one here will be able to guess how stock will be at that time when you’re traveling to Japan. Over the past couple months, stock has been low. Could that change at any time? Sure it can. Is it guaranteed? No. Will you be majorly disappointed/ will it ruin your trip if you can’t get the piece you want? If so, I wouldn’t go through the hassle. I would just purchase it here and now if your heart is set on it. However, if you’re going there with an open mind and the kind of attitude “if I find something great, if not, it’s no big deal” then that’s a different story. It really just depends on you and your expectations going into it. We also can’t predict how the Yen will be compared to the USD. The Yen was very weak when I was there this fall.
I know when I purchased my GMOP vintage Alhambra pendant in Ginza Six in October they had low stock. She did,
however, show me two pendants and I picked one. I actually just went to the store without an appointment to see what would happen with no expectations and it happened to work out.
Shortly after I left Japan, there was a price increase for both VCA and Cartier to even out worldwide prices because with the weak Yen it made my vintage Alhambra pendant to be about 2,250 USD in Japan as opposed to 2,900 USD plus an additional 7% sales tax in the states (3100 USD.) As you can see, they were trying to even that out because it’s a big difference but I jumped on the opportunity when offered the piece.
Best of luck! I hope you find what you’re looking for xx
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I made an appointment for Ginza maison online on the Vca website and in the comments section I mentioned the pieces I was interested in. I got an email after that and I was told that they don’t have the limited edition Ginza pendant but they will have the bracelet ready for me. When I went for the appointment to buy the bracelet it was hardly 30-45 mins and the tax refund was a breeze.
Just fyi I put down deposit last may and was told it should be coming end of this month! So hopefully those who are traveling to Japan will be lucky and score!
Thought I would update with my experience. I made an appointment for the Ginza Six location and noted the 2 necklaces I was looking at (onyx and MOP). The SA I got was very nice and spoke English. She had both necklaces in stock and I also asked for the sweet MOP bracelet and she had that in stock too. She also showed me another charm bracelet which I think was a special edition with a charms of different stones. It was a bit clunky on me so I didn't get it. I ended up buying the onyx and the bracelet and saved roughly $400 on the necklace and $200 on the bracelet compared to buying in the US after taxes. I was also prepared to pay custom duties (4%) when I flew back but the customs agent didn't seem to care about the declared items I noted (I was honest about the cost of my purchases) and let me pass, sooo successful trip for me.
Thx for the update. I’m going to Japan soon, would you mind sharing the sa contact? Do you have to make appointment to come in or they can take walk-in?
I'll have to see if she left her card in the bag, but I think it's easiest to just make an appointment on the website. There is a comment box when you book the appointment and I just wrote something like I was traveling from the US and was hoping to purchase so and so and hoped someone would be able to help me out. I made sure to mention that I was coming from the US so they would assume I wasn't going to be fluent in Japanese. Also it seems like the appointment slots only open about a month in advance, so if your trip is far out, you may want to set a reminder to yourself to make the appointment. As far as I could tell, the Ginza Six location was appointment only. There wasn't anyone else in the store when I entered despite the mall being busy.
Thank you so much. I’ll try and set up the appointment before my trip. Did you get to see any of the Ginza edition rg mop pendant in store?
Does anyone happen to have an SA contact at Ginza six? I tried to contact them online, but wasn’t able to get a reply. Thanks much!