What’s the preservation service? Do tell pleasePolishing is an option to avoid paying a lot for authentication. I wonder whether you could use their preservation service, the price is reasonable and it is good to make sure the stones are secure...
VCA ~ Van Cleef Arpels Discussion thread!
- Thread starter Swanky
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
Vca has become very strict about indirect authentications. Hope it all works out.
What a great idea! I just searched it up on the VCA site and it is indeed a good service to check indirectly. I’ll have to talk to my SA and ask. Thanks @Chanbal for the recommendationPolishing is an option to avoid paying a lot for authentication. I wonder whether you could use their preservation service, the price is reasonable and it is good to make sure the stones are secure...
Agreed. Things have changed .
My understanding is that VCA has also really increased the price of a “cleaning” or flat out won’t accept a “cleaning” if the item is clean already - and if they suspect you just want something authenticated that way they won’t accept -
Also heard if they do accept an item, the timeline is really long .... to discourage the practice.
Also heard if they do accept an item, the timeline is really long .... to discourage the practice.
I think the practice varies depending on the customer and the relationship, as with other brands. If one is a regular customer, cleanings and free repairs are accepted graciously. I am not a huge spender by any means, I just purchase somewhat regularly from my store and this has been my experience. I imagine for a drop-in customer the policy may be different.
I have shopped at two boutiques for over 10 years and have recently experienced some of these changes . If the piece was purchased at a boutique and the serial number is registered under your name , there are no issues . If it wasn’t , there may be issues and being a regular customer will help you work through the issues.
Exactly
This !!
I’ve never requested a cleaning myself but this was what I heard at my boutique -
Makes sense that they prefer to have repair time and resources go to regular clients rather than random requests for cleaning / authentication.
As always, for a good or consistent clients accommodations are made.
Agree especially if you bought the item there and it’s on your profile -
The drop in customer wanting an authentication or cleaning of an item may have more of a challenge -
It has also been the case for me with items like turquoise that I was not able to purchase from the boutique and were therefore not registered under my name. This is as recent as 1-2 weeks ago. However, when I have requested a repair or alteration for an item not purchased at the boutique I like to purchase an item around the same time. I’m not sure if that makes a difference, but it just seems fair to do so to show my appreciation for the good service. I have only needed one boutique-purchased item repaired, since I have only been buying VCA for a couple of years most are still in pristine condition. The purchase was older than a year, but the repair was free. For purchases not from the boutique it is about 50/50 whether I am charged for it and there doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason to this distinction. I am certainly not encouraging others to try to circumvent authentication and to abuse the system though, because then good customers will lose this benefit of patronage. The main reason I buy this brand is the lifelong aftercare guaranteed. I think it is important to show appreciation for any service provided by being a regular customer/strong purchase history with the boutique.
I would expect VCA to service their pieces independently of whether they were purchased directly from the store, pre-owned, or inherited. Obviously some fees may be waived for recent 'big spenders', but service should be graciously offered to all customers IMO.
I was told they can’t pull up past history if purchased before feb of 19 or 18. I can’t quite remember. My pave Alhambra earclip backing on one is loose and I called my SA and she said I could mail them to her for repair but she moved to another store in another state (quite far). So I called the store I purchased from in FL to see if it’s still cover under warranty and they said they couldn’t pull up my history bc of a new system. I’m not quite sure what he said bc of his harsh accent. So I’m in a runt. I purchased most of my VCA from FL and I’m scared to mail them in.
Are you close to a Neimans?
While I’ve purchased most of my vca elsewhere, I’ve had Neimans SA’s kindly offer to service my vca. They can send your earrings off to vca for service.
I’ve sent my items through mail to NY with no problem. I called the 5th Ave store and spoke to the ‘after’ purchase department. They gave me the address, called when received and sent overnight back to me on the West Coast. I did insure at the post office when I shipped and had delivery tracking added. I’ve done this 3 times with no issues at all. The ‘after’ purchase dept is amazing to work with. The post office is the best method for shipping. UPS doesn’t insure and if I remember correctly Fed ex was much more expensive. HTH. Take care.