Van Cleef in action!
- Thread starter twigski
- Start date
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Agreed! If I didn’t know it was tiger eye, I’d have no idea.
Wow! I am way behind on here, and but to my luck I have opened this thread to see a bunch of new and magical looks. They are all so beautiful! @chiaoapple, @eternallove4bag, @AbottleofRed and anyone else I've missed.
I am so sorry. What are you planning to do? Did you show the receipt to the NYC store? Can’t they verify that the piece has been worked on per the records in The system? What did the seller say?
I showed them everything. The seller was with me in person as well. She had bought it from someone else 10 years earlier. Here is what the conclusion stated:
Our conclusion is based on one or more of the following:
Number isn’t in system
Components have been replaced or modified
The piece has undergone major modifications or modifications so that it no longer corresponds to a VCA creation
Piece does not present the characteristic of all the VCA creations
I don’t know what to do now. It looked real and it was polished at Place Vendome! Wouldn’t they have noticed it?
I never leave home without luck on my side. Have a wonderful day all!
That’s what I was thinking.
The high price the seller was asking was for an authentic piece. It a piece that they don’t make anymore.
She’ll probably sell it to another person for more money now, since that piece has gone up in $$$ since we met 6 months ago. She even had the authenticity card as well. The number was verified in the system at Place Vendome. So I’m wondering what they found during the authorization process that made them seem it not authentic.
That’s the risk you take with buying a piece from a reseller I guess.
There is a member here recently wanting to buy a raspberry ceramic piece from a seller. I hope she gets to read the story above.
I am so sorry this happened, but thank goodness you found out in time to cancel the purchase? What is the piece in question? For this particular piece, is it possible that it is authentic (so it was initially found in the system), but that it was modified so that it is no longer considered to be an original VCA item? Could a stone or component have been replaced by an outside jeweler?
That was me. So happy @mommafahionista was kind enough to share her story! Thankfully, I did purchase yet. I definitely will demand the piece be authenticated by VCA or no deal.
Yes, the seller will honor her agreement to refund
I truly think she thought it was authentic when she purchased. She was also taken aback and was wondering the same thing; what made the piece not authentic?The piece is a "unicorn, rare, coveted, (pick your choice word)" TQ piece. I guess, just because the piece is found in the system, doesn't guarantee the piece in your possession is that original one. Someone could have copied the number and slapped it on a super-fake. The seller never modified it. The original owner may have-just not through an authorized VCA jeweler, perhaps? Who knows. The authentication paperwork won't detail the exact reason(s) for the discrepancy in VCA craftsmanship, which is understandable to protect their design.
I learned that when a piece goes in for polishing, they specifically state on the receipt that this doesn't show authentication. So I would imagine that non-authentic pieces can slip through and get polished and be given a "recent receipt of cleaning" which can be used to falsely advertise "authenticity" to an unsuspecting buyer.
When a discontinued piece is sold at a premium price, that buyer is expecting that the piece is not only an original piece made by VCA, but also never altered. Just like any piece of art the value is in the original, unaltered design. Would you buy a painting for a premium price if it was altered by a second-rate painter?
@nicole0612 Anything repaired/replaced by an outside jeweler would deem the piece altered and it would lose its value. I would imagine even a polishing, if done incorrectly, could alter it as well?
Bottom line. A piece that looks authentic to the untrained eye, even with an authentication certificate that matches in the system, can still be considered unauthentic. It loses all value. It is then not worth more than a fake, imo.
It’s even possible that a fake was swapped out for the real one that was serviced previously. Who knows what happened but you must be relieved to know and get refunded