Share Your Latest VCA Purchase

[BigAkoya]

I agree! Serpenti goes better with lotus. Though the clover looks beautiful with lotus too. Gorgeous!!

Can I veto that? Just kidding. I can see this is the Lotus with Clover vs. Lotus with Serpenti Event of the Year!
I think to wear with Lotus, they both look great. You can also think of the Serpenti as the snake in the Lotus Garden of Eden. I think that's kind of a cool thought.

Since you love Serpenti so much, can you get both bangles? I see them as very different bangles... old world classic vs. contemporary. I would think you have other pieces to go with the Serpenti in addtion to Lotus.
You'll probably end up with both anyway, so just add them to your list.

By the way, on the two WG Clover thought... here are photos of what I was trying to explain.
With two of the same bracelets, the eye sees the same look, but it has more presence which is what I like.
Bracelets are often dainty to me, so I tend to purchase two of the same. Bracelets (not bangles) don't jingle, so I do stack bracelets, but only if they are the exact same. I think it adds more punch yet still keeps the look simple.

I think I posted these photos somewhere in forum. The first photo is a single WG MOP. The second photo is two WG MOP. I think two bracelets pack a bigger punch while still giving it a clean look that is not busy with different pieces. Hope this makes sense.

 

[sparclette]

I vote the 10 motif guilloche necklace. It’s a substantial piece and has the prettiest sparkle

thanks I returned the pure alhambra necklace- you guys were right. What decided it for me, is that it wouldn’t go with other VCA vintage pieces.

Purchased the MOP sweets earrings. Wavering on what to get with the rest of the money. Going to do a poll on another thread because you were all so helpful.

 

[BigAkoya]

Wear it in good health! It looks gorgeous on you! I know that you are not into stacking (like me) but my mind is wondering “how would clover pair with a WG blue agate or turquoise 5 motif”. They can also be on different arms, I get a lot of frozen vibe from this possible combination

Hi! My answer is a bit complicated, so I have to set this up for it to make sense...

My thoughts on stacking...
Stacking is pure personal preference, and it's an art which everyone has their own unique look. As a general statement, people stack because they want a bolder look. However, a bold look is different than a busy look, and this distinction is sometimes lost. For example, 5 little dainty uncoordinated chain bracelets is not a bold look, it's a busy look.

For me, I love bold looks, and I want the eye to focus and stare. I do not like busy looks.
The eye gets confused easily (it's the brain actually, we see with our brain, but everyone says eye, so we'll stay with the eye). If there are too many "themes" on an arm, the eye gets confused, it loses interest, so the eye (brain) does not bother stop to stare. It's human nature... when you see so much, you see nothing, you lose interest, and you move on.

I think stacking is best with coordinated pieces that have a theme. It makes the eye want to pause, to stare at and appreciate the beauty of each piece. For bracelets, I like bangles stacked with bangles. I like bracelets stacked with bracelets. I don't like the mixed categories as they compete, and the look is busy.

That said, to answer your question...
I love WG and blue (blue agate or turquoise). Blue and WG is crispy to me and pops. However, for me, I would not wear the Clover with the blue agate or turquoise 5 motif together. Why? Because...
A hard bangle competes with a soft link chain 5 motif bracelet, and now, neither is the star. When I wear a piece, I like for them to stand on its own. Also, because a bangle is now thrown in with a link bracelet, I feel like this has crossed the line from an elegant jewelry look to a logo jewelry look. It looks like one is just throwing on VCA pieces mainly to brag about VCA. It's perfectly fine to do that, and for some people, that's the look they want which is to pile on any style VCA to show off their VCA pieces. It's not me though. A coordinated "jewelry look" is more important to me than a "logo jewelry look."

An example of why I don't like wearing a hard bangle bracelet with a with a chain bracelet can be visualized using necklaces.
It would be similar to wearing a stiff wire choker necklace and then layering it with a soft chain necklace in the same length. Most people will say "it competes and it doesn't go together" which it doesn't. However, if VCA made a stiff choker, I am sure there are folks who would wear it over the 10 motif to create a "logo jewelry look." I hope you this example helps visualize.

As you can guess by now, for me, jewelry is not about piling on pieces, it's about creating a look. It's a subtle but important distinction to me. Hence an arm full of different unmatched pieces is not something I would do. I would pile on an arm full of matched pieces to create a specific look.

One final thought to share...
I think it is far more interesting and makes more of a fashion statement to rotate wearing different pieces of jewelry. I would not want to pile on everything and wear the same pieces everyday. The eye gets bored easily, and the look becomes the same. Jewelry is part of one's fashion look, and for me, I like to differently pieces and rotate them. Each piece will pop and be the star in its own way.

Whew... sorry for the long winded answer, but I felt an explanation is warranted to help with my rationale.
How a person wears jewelry is 100% personal preference. There is no right or wrong, and especially in the world of luxury pieces, everything is lovely. I would wear whatever combination you love and gives you an ear to ear smile.

Hope this helps. Just my thoughts for another point of view.

 

[BigAkoya]

Thanks guys- i think that’s why I’m hesitant because the pure necklace wasn’t a super deal, though vintage, I can afford to return to get the guilloche new from van cleef- or I found a good deal on the van cleef vintage MOP necklace, and I could get the earrings or matching bracelet for around the same price…

I think I’m going to return it because I did the same thing when I bought my Rolex- I don’t like to be really in-your-face designer, so I stripped it of the jubilee band, and the things that made it recognisably a Rolex, and now I wish I hadn’t haha.

I’d love your advice if I should get (1) a pre-owned small vintage 10 motifs MOP Alhambra + preowned MOP sweets earrings, (2) new guilloche 10 motif necklace, or (3) a new vintage bracelet either guilloche or stone…

the only VA I have now are sweets onyx earrings…

Hi! I'm glad you are returning it. Good decision.
Since you are new VCA collector, I think you should get new and get that bracelet you've been dreaming about for years.
If you love a 10, I would get a new YG MOP. As I mentioned before, I think the YG MOP is just stunning. I would not get pre-owned, especially for pieces that are still available currently. You ae not saving that much money. Getting pre-owned is tricky, and there are a lot of fakes out there. Plus, you can start/continue your relationship with a real SA who will help you with other pieces.

Good luck to you!

 

[rosebean]

I almost never post mod shots as I stink at taking photos and am on the shy side when it comes to photos.
That said, I just have to share a recent favorite item!
Some of you might know my love for striped tops with shorts. Well, striped tops are not only for the summer!
Below is my new favorite striped cashmere top. I wear it with skinny jeans. I love it so much, I ordered two!

But wait.. there's more... my new WG Clover arrived today.
It fits looser than I remember, and I love it! @glamourbag , I am so glad we talked about this, and I went with the medium like you. Thank you!

My arm doesn't look like a log as it did when I tried it on. If it does, I'm in denial as I love the bangle so much, I can't see my log arms. Who cares anyway as it's all about the bling! Here are photos of the bracelet with the Lotus and Frivole. I also did a closeup of the bangle to show how loose it fits.

View attachment 5334820View attachment 5334821View attachment 5334822

Big Congratulations to you! Well deserved. Your photos are stunning, I am sure they are way more bling in person. You wear them so beautifully with your cashmere and jeans. I am imagining your big ear to ear smile

 

[rosebean]

I took the Bouton d'Or necklace out for a walk today. Here's some modeling shots.

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Beautiful necklace, elegant and striking. I read your earlier post, learned that you switched, have to say, great decision. You know your gut feeling, your heart goes for the right piece!

 

[sakuraboo]

Just sharing my first vca purchase.. now considering my next bracelet.. this is more addictive than my orange boxes!

 

[lvmon]

Hi! My answer is a bit complicated, so I have to set this up for it to make sense...

My thoughts on stacking...
Stacking is pure personal preference, and it's an art which everyone has their own unique look. As a general statement, people stack because they want a bolder look. However, a bold look is different than a busy look, and this distinction is sometimes lost. For example, 5 little dainty uncoordinated chain bracelets is not a bold look, it's a busy look.

For me, I love bold looks, and I want the eye to focus and stare. I do not like busy looks.
The eye gets confused easily (it's the brain actually, we see with our brain, but everyone says eye, so we'll stay with the eye). If there are too many "themes" on an arm, the eye gets confused, it loses interest, so the eye (brain) does not bother stop to stare. It's human nature... when you see so much, you see nothing, you lose interest, and you move on.

I think stacking is best with coordinated pieces that have a theme. It makes the eye want to pause, to stare at and appreciate the beauty of each piece. For bracelets, I like bangles stacked with bangles. I like bracelets stacked with bracelets. I don't like the mixed categories as they compete, and the look is busy.

That said, to answer your question...
I love WG and blue (blue agate or turquoise). Blue and WG is crispy to me and pops. However, for me, I would not wear the Clover with the blue agate or turquoise 5 motif together. Why? Because...
A hard bangle competes with a soft link chain 5 motif bracelet, and now, neither is the star. When I wear a piece, I like for them to stand on its own. Also, because a bangle is now thrown in with a link bracelet, I feel like this has crossed the line from an elegant jewelry look to a logo jewelry look. It looks like one is just throwing on VCA pieces mainly to brag about VCA. It's perfectly fine to do that, and for some people, that's the look they want which is to pile on any style VCA to show off their VCA pieces. It's not me though. A coordinated "jewelry look" is more important to me than a "logo jewelry look."

An example of why I don't like wearing a hard bangle bracelet with a with a chain bracelet can be visualized using necklaces.
It would be similar to wearing a stiff wire choker necklace and then layering it with a soft chain necklace in the same length. Most people will say "it competes and it doesn't go together" which it doesn't. However, if VCA made a stiff choker, I am sure there are folks who would wear it over the 10 motif to create a "logo jewelry look." I hope you this example helps visualize.

As you can guess by now, for me, jewelry is not about piling on pieces, it's about creating a look. It's a subtle but important distinction to me. Hence an arm full of different unmatched pieces is not something I would do. I would pile on an arm full of matched pieces to create a specific look.

One final thought to share...
I think it is far more interesting and makes more of a fashion statement to rotate wearing different pieces of jewelry. I would not want to pile on everything and wear the same pieces everyday. The eye gets bored easily, and the look becomes the same. Jewelry is part of one's fashion look, and for me, I like to differently pieces and rotate them. Each piece will pop and be the star in its own way.

Whew... sorry for the long winded answer, but I felt an explanation is warranted to help with my rationale.
How a person wears jewelry is 100% personal preference. There is no right or wrong, and especially in the world of luxury pieces, everything is lovely. I would wear whatever combination you love and gives you an ear to ear smile.

Hope this helps. Just my thoughts for another point of view.

Dear BigAkoya, really appreciate your thoughts on this.

 

[marbella8]

I almost never post mod shots as I stink at taking photos and am on the shy side when it comes to photos.
That said, I just have to share a recent favorite item!
Some of you might know my love for striped tops with shorts. Well, striped tops are not only for the summer!
Below is my new favorite striped cashmere top. I wear it with skinny jeans. I love it so much, I ordered two!

But wait.. there's more... my new WG Clover arrived today.
It fits looser than I remember, and I love it! @glamourbag , I am so glad we talked about this, and I went with the medium like you. Thank you!

My arm doesn't look like a log as it did when I tried it on. If it does, I'm in denial as I love the bangle so much, I can't see my log arms. Who cares anyway as it's all about the bling! Here are photos of the bracelet with the Lotus and Frivole. I also did a closeup of the bangle to show how loose it fits.

View attachment 5334820View attachment 5334821View attachment 5334822

OMG- congrats @BigAkoya! It’s gorgeous on you !

 

[Deleted member 626500]

Dear BigAkoya, really appreciate your thoughts on this.

Re a hard bangle bracelet with a with a chain bracelet . . . may I add that wearing the two together will cause damage to both.

And, @BigAkoya makes a good point. There is a difference between bold and busy. Coco Chanel--who, may I add, was known for her stacking, had some good advice, "Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off."

IMHO Less is More. You don't want to look like a Christmas Tree or like you're wearing everything you own.

 

[nightbefore]

@BigAkoya Great view! I love your lengthy reviews, so please don’t say sorry You are totally right about the busy look. I love bold pieces and stacks on others but not on myself unfortunately. I even have a problem wearing my frivole earrings with my vintage pendant or my vintage earrings with my vintage pendant, I easily feel too busy to explain my comment on blue agate or turquoise, I think these two colours are often seen as part of a summer wardrobe but when combined with WG pieces and WG beadings I think they can easily belong to a winter wardrobe. Perhaps if you ever get the WG 20 turquoise or blue agate. All that blue and icy diamonds reminds me a frozen lake surrounded by the icy/snowy mountains with the blue winter sky… Maybe I am biased because I love to wear WG in winter and currently craving for an alternating blue sapphire and diamond eternity band

 

[rosebean]

Beautiful! Congrats!
I just placed an order for one in yellow gold which I need to wait for since there are currently none in all of North America

I * love* how it looks by itself so I’m hoping to love it stacked with my love bracelet!
Otherwise, guess we have two wrists for a reason….

Looking forward to seeing your lovely LOVE and Clover stack!

 

[BigAkoya]

@BigAkoya Great view! I love your lengthy reviews, so please don’t say sorry You are totally right about the busy look. I love bold pieces and stacks on others but not on myself unfortunately. I even have a problem wearing my frivole earrings with my vintage pendant or my vintage earrings with my vintage pendant, I easily feel too busy to explain my comment on blue agate or turquoise, I think these two colours are often seen as part of a summer wardrobe but when combined with WG pieces and WG beadings I think they can easily belong to a winter wardrobe. Perhaps if you ever get the WG 20 turquoise or blue agate. All that blue and icy diamonds reminds me a frozen lake surrounded by the icy/snowy mountains with the blue winter sky… Maybe I am biased because I love to wear WG in winter and currently craving for an alternating blue sapphire and diamond eternity band

Thanks. I am glad my post was helpful and didn't bore you to death.

I know exactly what you mean by the icy look. I love WG for the same reason, it's cool, crispy, and contrasts. I like to wear jewelry that contrasts and does not blend. I think if I could ever get a WG blue agate set, I would wear it in the winter, probably with black. For turquoise though, I'm brainwashed... I think of turquoise only as a summer stone. I have turquoise pieces from the Tiffany Elsa Peretti collection, and I only wear them in the summer. My turquoise never sees the light of day once I stop wearing shorts!

A sapphire and diamond alternating eternity band sounds lovely. I love sapphires. Sapphires are also quite durable to be worn as a full circle eternity ring. You can stare at your gorgeous sapphire ring all day long which is the reason why I love rings.

Another icy stone is aquamarine, so maybe take a look at those next time you go jewelry shopping. Aquamarines are a bit more fragile than sapphire, so I would not use aquamarines in a full eternity band as you will scratch/chip the aquamarine (aquamarine is a beryl, the same mineral family as the emerald). The aquamarine blue is a pale icy blue, and it goes perfect with diamonds and WG/platinum.

 

[lynne_ross]

Oh! Right... a yellow heart diamond and others to follow.
So... you know how I mentioned I don't do yellow sapphires? It's for the same reason, so I totally get it.
Which are your three rings? Noeud?
I am running out of ideas for big VCA rings (Cosmos oynx BTF is a no. Hellebore, which I truly loved, they cancelled my order, big disappointment. Out of ideas).

My 3 wish list rings are lotus, noeud and yg pave btf frivole. Gives me one of each gold (noeud is wg and rg) and a range of looks.
I think you should wait and see if vca releases any new rings as non of the current ones are right for you (besides hellebore, what a disappointment). They seem to release a few bold rings a year.Otherwise for sure try the two butterfly ring. The butterflies themselves are perfection. The portions of the wings are so elegant. They were the original design that drew me to vca but then I never actually looked into getting a piece from the line.

 

[lynne_ross]

Can I veto that? Just kidding. I can see this is the Lotus with Clover vs. Lotus with Serpenti Event of the Year!
I think to wear with Lotus, they both look great. You can also think of the Serpenti as the snake in the Lotus Garden of Eden. I think that's kind of a cool thought.

Since you love Serpenti so much, can you get both bangles? I see them as very different bangles... old world classic vs. contemporary. I would think you have other pieces to go with the Serpenti in addtion to Lotus.
You'll probably end up with both anyway, so just add them to your list.

By the way, on the two WG Clover thought... here are photos of what I was trying to explain.
With two of the same bracelets, the eye sees the same look, but it has more presence which is what I like.
Bracelets are often dainty to me, so I tend to purchase two of the same. Bracelets (not bangles) don't jingle, so I do stack bracelets, but only if they are the exact same. I think it adds more punch yet still keeps the look simple.

I think I posted these photos somewhere in forum. The first photo is a single WG MOP. The second photo is two WG MOP. I think two bracelets pack a bigger punch while still giving it a clean look that is not busy with different pieces. Hope this makes sense.

View attachment 5335222View attachment 5335223

Enabler!! I am trying to just get one bold wg bracelet to start. Hoping once I get that one any others will drop off my list.
I find that the clover on it’s own is bolder than 2 5 motifs worn together. Mainly since you only see 1 or 2 motifs at a time, otherwise it is just chain. Whereas the clover is metal, design and sparkle right across the arm. You don’t need two for a bold look but 2 will definitely give you a really bold look.