VCA Van Cleef & Arpels addiction - support group

[Jinsun]

I was just on another thread about jewelry regrets....

Do you think we will regret vca in a few yrs? When I first came across the vca thread a few yrs back I didn't necessarily think it was ugly but I just thought clovers, what's the big deal? Why spend so much on something that's not even diamonds? Within the past 2 years I caught the vca bug and now own two pieces. But I wonder if vca will fade and we will regret our purchases?

Anyone been buying vca for 5-10 yr + and still buying? Would love to hear your thoughts.

I know a lot of pple regret the Tiffany silver and DY pieces too

 

[Florasun]

I was just on another thread about jewelry regrets....

Do you think we will regret vca in a few yrs? When I first came across the vca thread a few yrs back I didn't necessarily think it was ugly but I just thought clovers, what's the big deal? Why spend so much on something that's not even diamonds? Within the past 2 years I caught the vca bug and now own two pieces. But I wonder if vca will fade and we will regret our purchases?

Anyone been buying vca for 5-10 yr + and still buying? Would love to hear your thoughts.

I know a lot of pple regret the Tiffany silver and DY pieces too

I was just wondering about this myself. I am trying to decide if I want to pull the trigger on the 20 motif necklace. Granted, it is a beautiful necklace, but I think if I really loved it I wouldn't be so ambivalent about buying it. Then again I am wishing I bought it a couple of years ago when it cost thousands of dollars less. So - looming price increase on one hand vs. possibly being tired of it in a couple of years.

 

[burberryprncess]

I was just on another thread about jewelry regrets....

Do you think we will regret vca in a few yrs? When I first came across the vca thread a few yrs back I didn't necessarily think it was ugly but I just thought clovers, what's the big deal? Why spend so much on something that's not even diamonds? Within the past 2 years I caught the vca bug and now own two pieces. But I wonder if vca will fade and we will regret our purchases?

Anyone been buying vca for 5-10 yr + and still buying? Would love to hear your thoughts.

I know a lot of pple regret the Tiffany silver and DY pieces too

Interesting. This crossed my mind as well. I got into VCA a little less than two years with four pieces from the alhambra vintage and magic collections in one year, then stopped suddenly thinking the same thing as you are thinking. Although I don't regret my purchases and am still enjoy wearing them, I hope the alhambra craze does not fade.

 

[pinktailcat]

Did anyone hear about the price-increase in the U.S.?

The price will be increased in Japan in the end of March according to my friend there...

 

[geminigal1]

Hi 628628, your malachite earrings are absolutely stunning! They are definitely worth the wait! Congrats!

I'm not sure if someone already asked this, but, are the earrings with rose gold or yellow gold? They almost look a bit pinkish on my screen.

I went through so many hoops to get this pair of Malachite earrings. After nearly one and a half years, they are finally with me. This pair was a part of London Selfridges' limited edition series for its opening back in 2011. I was so excited to hear about it, as I love emerald greens and want everything in emeralds. I had wired the deposit to Selfridges to secure a pair, as I was nowhere near London and had no prospects of going there any time soon. Since the deposit came in 3 payments, the British banking system alerted the authorities, and my deposit was frozen for several weeks! Finally, it went through and the pair was secured for me. It took another 9 months for me to be able to go to London, and I finally picked them up. Sadly, as soon as I arrived in the hotel, I noticed a crack in one of my the motifs. So I went back to Selfridges (Selfridges has exceptional customer service!) and they took it in for repair. They said that once the repair was done, it would be forwarded to my local boutique in San Francisco. I wait for many months, and the earring is still not returned to me. So I call Selfridges and they said the earring was back in London! LOL! Paris sent it back to London instead of forwarding to SF. Then there was this whole drama about how Selfridges can't mail it to me in SF because I would have to pay customs duties as high as $1000 USD. So it stayed in London, and now I have finally picked them up! I am a bit dismayed at the fact that VCA is going to release a new Malachite line universally after all, since I went through so much just to get my Malachite pair! But my baby is finally with me after a year and a half of hide and seek

 

[I'll take two]

I was just on another thread about jewelry regrets....

Do you think we will regret vca in a few yrs? When I first came across the vca thread a few yrs back I didn't necessarily think it was ugly but I just thought clovers, what's the big deal? Why spend so much on something that's not even diamonds? Within the past 2 years I caught the vca bug and now own two pieces. But I wonder if vca will fade and we will regret our purchases?

Anyone been buying vca for 5-10 yr + and still buying? Would love to hear your thoughts.

I know a lot of pple regret the Tiffany silver and DY pieces too

This is an interesting question.
I don't imagine me ever getting tired of my vintage or Magic VCA pieces particularly when I have 17 and 24 year old daughters who also love it .This to me suggests that it is ageless jewellery .
The other thing I love about these pieces are that a lot of people could just assume it is costume jewellery so that means it can be worn casually or dressy which adds to its appeal .
I don't imagine it will go out of fashion as it is of timeless design a bit like a Chanel jacket or a Kelly bag.
If it does it will be many many years down the line from now .

 

[anneclaudia]

I was just on another thread about jewelry regrets....

reply to Jinsun / AM I BUYING THE RIGHT PIECE OF JEWELLERY AND WHY?

Hello there ladies

I am french, 38 , living between London and Paris. i really like this forum.
like all u girls here, I enjoy jewellery and fashion and buying some beautiful pieces!

Your question JINSUN is very interesting as i am hesitating myself, right now, to buy a 16 Magic MOP or 11 magic or JUST NOT BUYING IT AT ALL ! i am not 100% convinced that this is my style to start with.

I have been hesitating for few years and the prices keep on increasing ! still am not sure if i really love it or if it is for another underlying reason ..you know, its a very highly recognisable piece that we saw everywhere: its like my hermes bag or my rolex watch or my diamond love bracelet, just an iconic piece which "you should have" as a classic- and i hate buying a 20 K mop necklace for that reason. just because its "popular" and very iconic.

i must admit that even if the quality of stones is impeccable, VCA alhambra has been now very demanded and more massively produced than ever before . they increase their price by almost 17% per annum ...they say its the gold price, yeah right , its also because every glamazon from the US/china/middle east want one.

European are not THAT mad about it - all my friends find it too classic, too boring, not sexy and most of them are saving for a SOCRATE or LOTUS RING. but not an alhambra. they find it pretty but thats all.

anyway, I really dont know if I should pull the trigger or not? ... on the other hand the magic YG MOP 11 or 18 is just very cool ...an i shoould have bought it a year ago.


anne

 

[OuiCestLaVie]

Yes! Most of the motifs are orangish, but not brownish! I am happy that I finally got my carnelian!

This is just gorgeous beyond words!

 

[Florasun]

I was just on another thread about jewelry regrets....

reply to Jinsun / AM I BUYING THE RIGHT PIECE OF JEWELLERY AND WHY?

Hello there ladies

I am french, 38 , living between London and Paris. i really like this forum.
like all u girls here, I enjoy jewellery and fashion and buying some beautiful pieces!

Your question JINSUN is very interesting as i am hesitating myself, right now, to buy a 16 Magic MOP or 11 magic or JUST NOT BUYING IT AT ALL ! i am not 100% convinced that this is my style to start with.

I have been hesitating for few years and the prices keep on increasing ! still am not sure if i really love it or if it is for another underlying reason ..you know, its a very highly recognisable piece that we saw everywhere: its like my hermes bag or my rolex watch or my diamond love bracelet, just an iconic piece which "you should have" as a classic- and i hate buying a 20 K mop necklace for that reason. just because its "popular" and very iconic.

i must admit that even if the quality of stones is impeccable, VCA alhambra has been now very demanded and more massively produced than ever before . they increase their price by almost 17% per annum ...they say its the gold price, yeah right , its also because every glamazon from the US/china/middle east want one.

European are not THAT mad about it - all my friends find it too classic, too boring, not sexy and most of them are saving for a SOCRATE or LOTUS RING. but not an alhambra. they find it pretty but thats all.

anyway, I really dont know if I should pull the trigger or not? ... on the other hand the magic YG MOP 11 or 18 is just very cool ...an i shoould have bought it a year ago.


anne

Hi annecludia - welcome to Purseforum! I find it very interesting that your European friends find the Alhambra stodgy, LOL. I would love a Socrate piece if I could afford one. Let us know what you finally decide.

 

[OuiCestLaVie]

So I have some interesting and pretty exciting update on Malachite, and I really hope that what I just heard can be confirmed by another SA or VCA boutique.

Some of you might remember that last week I was told I could special order a Malachite Vintage Alhambra pendant with diamond, just like the xmas limited edition ones from previous years, but it's going to take quite some time and also cost more than regular pieces. I never heard back from that SA again regarding the exact price and others in the same boutique said they haven't heard of this.

But I didn't give up and called another SA today, and she said that they just got briefed today and was told that this year's xmas limited edition would be malachite vintage alhambra pendant with diamond! She told me if that's the piece that I really want, I should just wait for its release around xmas time instead of trying to special order for it, which may end up taking the same wait time and costing a lot more.

Can someone please confirm this???

 

[Bethc]

I was just on another thread about jewelry regrets....

Do you think we will regret vca in a few yrs? When I first came across the vca thread a few yrs back I didn't necessarily think it was ugly but I just thought clovers, what's the big deal? Why spend so much on something that's not even diamonds? Within the past 2 years I caught the vca bug and now own two pieces. But I wonder if vca will fade and we will regret our purchases?

Anyone been buying vca for 5-10 yr + and still buying? Would love to hear your thoughts.

I know a lot of pple regret the Tiffany silver and DY pieces too

I don't think so, I have a few peices of the alahambra that I wear all the time, although I was lucky to purchase them a few years ago.

When I went to the VCA exhibit in nyc last year, I loved seeing all of the different pieces on display. The designs are so classic. The last peice of the exhibit that everyone was clustered around was Princess Grace's 20 motif in malachite, it was amazing. They will never be old fot me.

 

[anneclaudia]

hello Florasun - thanks

regarding our mutual hesitation , i was saying to myself that on the other hand, it's such an iconic range that they wont discontinue it. they will find new stones or limited edition like bois d'amourette ..(which makes me jump cos its basically just wood)

if you really like the 10/20 motifs you can find a lot on serious auction house like Christie's. You find real gems over there. VCA alhambra necklace /sautoir are very much appreciated and they sell beyond the estimate ..which is conforting in terms of long term investment.

I have always adored the turquoise vintage on yellow gold - 20 motifs - so classy and youthful. sadly they discontinued it because of poor quality of today's supply.

to finish on a positive note , look at what I have found for my girlfriend who find it boring and not very Rock and Roll!!

 

[beachy10]

I can't see myself getting tired of VCA because you don't see it everywhere and it's pretty timeless. I love all of the lines they carry and they mix well together.

 

[lubird217]

I got my first necklace, a 10-motif MOP/YG in 2007 and still love it and the collection can only grow!

It is pretty timeless with the alhambra line dating back to the 1960s and yet we still covet!

 

[lubird217]

Just for those that were following my Lucky bracelet purchase - I attached some pictures.

I didn't like the loose feeling of the dangling motifs at all, doesn't suit my purpose in wearing a bracelet. I literally unwrapped it, took some pictures, tried to stack it, and sent it right back. When it's VCA and not love at first sight, it cannot stay!

I did love the lapis motif and the star shape that we rarely see (although there were a few gaps that bothered me). I also love the colors (I swirled them with my other turquoise bracelet and chalcedony), but not for me.