VCA ~ Van Cleef Arpels Discussion thread!

[Anabunny]

I would make this fun and play up the butterfly theme with different colors of butterfly.
Butterflies are whimsical, and everyone knows butterflies come in different colors. No two butterflies are exact, they are all different; each butterfly is a beautiful and colorful unique work of nature.

I'm not a butterfly gal at this point, but if I were, I would be sure my butterfly earrings do not match!
I would want different butterflies on my ears. I think that's the beauty of this collection, and it reflects the uniqeness of butterflies and you. Two matching pave butterfly earrings are nice, but matching butterflies are a bit expected. Non-matching butterfly earrings are magical. Non-matching earrings would would also be consistent with the non-matching butterfly theme in your ring.

For earrings, I would get the Pave Diamond and Yellow Sapphire earrings. It will be a nice compliment to your Pave Diamond and Pink Sapphire ring. In both pieces (earrings and ring), one butterfly is diamond pave, and the other butterfly is a colored butterfly. It stays in the diamond/colored gemstone/butterfly theme.

The downside is if you did not like the pink sapphire on your ears, my gut is you will not like yellow sapphire either. Yellow stones can be hard to wear near the face.

If no yellow sapphires, then plan B...
I would SO earrings, but with one butterfly being the diamond pave (as in your ring) and the second butterfly being WMOP.
This would still follow the "one diamond butterfly, one stone butterfly" theme. Basically, I would ask VCA for the RG MOP and pave ring, but made into earrings. I would not get the all MOP version as I think it might be a bit boring when worn with your pave/sapphire BTF ring. I think you need bling in at least one ear. Plus, the rule is no matching butterflies... each butterfly needs to be unique!

Here are two photos to help visualize. The photo on the left is the RG ring, but visualize that as a SO made into earrings. The photo on the right is your ring.

The look will be butterflies floating around, each butterfly being different, as nature intended.
Just my two cents. I hope this was helpful. Good luck!

View attachment 5214400

I see your point about different butterflies ok Im more open to different butterflies now. But the one pair of butterfly earrings I really wanted is the tsavorite pave pair, and they discontinued it!!! I’m going to hold on to this decision until the next price increase comes around. If non of the different one works out, can we tolerate two Mop butterfly earrings with the pink sapphire pave ring?

 

[DS2006]

Hi everyone! I’m on the fence about getting the new holiday pendant that is out. I want a necklace to match with vintage pavé earrings in rose gold. I’m stuck between the following four choices:

1. SO a 10 motif in GMOP (rose gold) since I already have the 5 motif
2. Purchase the vintage GMOP pendant to match my 5 motif
3. Purchase the magic GMOP pendant
4. Purchase the holiday pendant since it’s rose gold and one of my favorite colors, pink

Any one have words of wisdom for me? In the past, I feel like I made a lot of mistakes with my VCA purchases and bought smaller pieces that I grew tired of quickly. So I am giving this decision a lot more thought. I absolutely love my pavé earrings and wear them nearly every day. So I want to feel the same way about my pendant purchase!

Of those options, I'd buy the long Magic GMOP pendant. It matches your bracelet and will be beautiful with the VA rg/pave earrings! I love that it can be worn long or short and has much more impact than a vintage size pendant.

 

[4LV]

Oh oh oh oh... this one is a no brainer for me! I want to chime in please!
For me, I would get the Frivole RG Pave Diamond BTF ring. It will complete your Frivole set of three of pieces. Wow.. how gorgeous will that be. You may already have the ring though. That ring just pops and is so blingy.

If you arleady have the Frivole pave BTF ring or don't like it, then if you love the pink sapphire butterfly, I would get it.
I buy multiples of things I love all the time, so it's not crazy at all. To me, it's a perfect decision! If you love it, you will wear it!
I love the Frivole pave BTF ring, and if that ring came in different colored gemstones (e.g. all sapphires, all rubies), I would collect them (and the matching earrings too)!

The one thing I do want to point out about the pink sapphire butterfly ring is that the diamonds are set in WG. However, your Frivole diamonds are set in RG, and while it's often called the pink sapphire Frivole, the pink sapphire is just one small stone. Most of the Frivole flower is diamonds, set in RG. Hence it may not be a great match with the WG butterfly ring which the diamonds are set in WG. I have not seen it in real life, and you may have and love it. If you love it, get it.

There is nothing wrong with buying repeats of the same/similar pieces. It's no different than buying the same bag or shoe in multiple colors (I am super guilty of this). If you love the butterfly BTF rings, go for it! Buy it because you love the ring. However, if you are thinking of buying it to match your Frivole, for me, I would skip it. I think the Frivole RG pave ring is a perfect match for your earrings and pendant.

Just my two cents. Hope this helps. I am so excited for you!

I know you would be the person who could analyze my situation for me. Lol

Thank you for taking your time!
Ok, here is what I have already, Frivole pave BTF in WG, single frivole pave in WG. Butterfis BTF in yellow sapphire and of course the LOTUS. I would have had the pink sapphire one if only they had it at the time I ordered mine. It’s only in production recently.
I love bling rings, so now my most favorite is the lotus ring. The pink sapphire butterfly ring is set in RG, so you don’t think it matches with the pink sapphire frivole? TBH, I don’t love rose gold. It looks copperish to me. The sapphire earrings are my second rose gold items with the first is the HK prince special edition of magic pendant. If I did not order the pink sapphire frivole earrings then that’s where my RG pieces end. But I love my earrings, now I want to have something to compliment it. Just bought serpenti pave brace in rose gold for arm, if I could have a ring that I love it would be perfect. Just try to make sense to myself that I need the ring, so I can sell the idea to my husband.
Hope all these make sense.
Thank you again!

 

[sammix3]

Hi everyone! I’m on the fence about getting the new holiday pendant that is out. I want a necklace to match with vintage pavé earrings in rose gold. I’m stuck between the following four choices:

1. SO a 10 motif in GMOP (rose gold) since I already have the 5 motif
2. Purchase the vintage GMOP pendant to match my 5 motif
3. Purchase the magic GMOP pendant
4. Purchase the holiday pendant since it’s rose gold and one of my favorite colors, pink

Any one have words of wisdom for me? In the past, I feel like I made a lot of mistakes with my VCA purchases and bought smaller pieces that I grew tired of quickly. So I am giving this decision a lot more thought. I absolutely love my pavé earrings and wear them nearly every day. So I want to feel the same way about my pendant purchase!

I know how you feel since I’ve bought some smaller pieces that I now wish I waited to get the pave version. I think these are all lovely choices but it also depends what your style is like. I personally find the vintage pendants very wearable but it needs to have some oomph to it (such as having diamonds or being a HP),otherwise I prefer the magic size. I personally have the 2015 and 2021 HP, and the WG magic mop pendant, which I love and wear. I would choose the magic pendant or the HP, but you mentioned you’re on the fence about the HP, can you please share why? Im personally not a fan of the 10 motif and would suggest the 20 motif as well like bigakoya did.

 

[880]

Ok i took a quick photo, excuse the crappy sweatshirt (about to do hmwk & dinner w my kids)
It glows a lot more in sunshine but cloudy today

I love LOVE this on you! So happy you got it! The color is perfect on your skin! Hugs

 

[880]

Hi everyone! I’m on the fence about getting the new holiday pendant that is out. I want a necklace to match with vintage pavé earrings in rose gold. I’m stuck between the following four choices:

1. SO a 10 motif in GMOP (rose gold) since I already have the 5 motif
2. Purchase the vintage GMOP pendant to match my 5 motif
3. Purchase the magic GMOP pendant
4. Purchase the holiday pendant since it’s rose gold and one of my favorite colors, pink

Any one have words of wisdom for me? In the past, I feel like I made a lot of mistakes with my VCA purchases and bought smaller pieces that I grew tired of quickly. So I am giving this decision a lot more thought. I absolutely love my pavé earrings and wear them nearly every day. So I want to feel the same way about my pendant purchase!

ITA with @BigAkoya re mistakes and going too small and regretting your purchase (if I have misinterpreted, @BigAkoya, of course, pls correct Unless you are sure that you are a pendant person, I would go with the ten motif. (though I personally agree with @BigAkoya that the 20 is a more carefree and casual look than the 10) IMO, the entire Alhambra collection is an everyday collection, esp if one does not do WG all pave. I also agree with @sammix3, that it’s sometimes better to wait and get the more expensive piece. Like @sammix3, I would prefer the magic size, but even the magic pendant looked kind of lost on my frame. For my first VCA piece, the YG six motif magic GMOP necklace, I decided I did not want pave, bc I wasnt sure that VCA or the Alhambra line was my style, and so I didn’t want to go up in price point to pave (I’m more Verdura Belperron or Bulgari serpenti — tubogas, not viper). JMO

I'm also in need of words of wisdom here: I got the pave pink sapphire two butterfly ring, and can't makeup my mind about which butterfly earrings to go with them. I don't like how the pink sapphire disappears on my ear, and I dont like the two diamond version because they look a bit heavy on me. I'm contemplating getting the MOP version or rose gold pave special order. Which pair do you think will go well with my pink sapphire ring? A million thanks.

IMO, it depends on your collection; your complexion; and, your level of bling everyday. Of your two choices, I would go with RG pave SO bc RG and pave are more every day than WG pave. But, I’m biased in that i think for the VCA premium price, regular MOP is a bit ordinary. For instance, I wouldn’t normally just wear non VCA MOP earrings (I’d rather wear large south sea or Tahitian pearls in my ears) I did buy a six motif GMOP Necklace for everyday, so maybe I’m being a bit hypocritical, IDK
I do understand that you would like to stick with butterflies, but I liked @4LV suggestion of frivole (though if pink Sapphire disappears on your ear, that’s another issue).

The one area where I might depart from the advice of @BigAkoya is that I thought yellow stones would be terrible near my face (for decades I didn’t wear YG Or PG or anything remotely yellow). But, I picked up an unbranded citrine earring From my independent jeweler that looks nice, go figure. so yellow would depend on complexion, IMO.

Are you set on getting butterfly earring? I have the dilemma reversed. I have the pink sapphire frivole earrings and pendant,
thinking of getting adding the pink sapphire BTF butterfly ring, but I have a yellow sapphire BTF butterfly ring already. What to do? Lol.
If you are not set on butterfly earrings then get the pink sapphire frivole earrings. That would be a match in heaven! as least to me.

I don’t necessarily see a problem with getting the same style in different colors.

but if you want to have something different, how about the frivole ring (I think @BigAkoya suggested this) PG pave would be very nice too.

I would love to see an action pic with the pink frivole earrings and yellow Sapphire BTF ring if you are so inclined. I mix jewelry but have not really gotten into mixing colored stones yet. . .

Necklaces and pendants are not the same, and each creates a different look and vibe. To me, a short pendant is more demure; it's basically a charm on a chain. Often times, short pendants disappear when seen on people in real life vs. looking at an online photo that zooms in right to the neck area, which is not real life. I think sometimes we stare online at mod shots all day long and forget how small a pendant really is. A necklace packs more of a punch, and since the 10 motif is on your list, I would get the 10 motif over a pendant. A 10 motif is gorgeous and has presence; you can't miss it. To your comment on smaller pieces you grew tired of, I think you will grow tire of VA GMOP pendant and find it lacking presence (just a gut feel here).

I totally agree with this re pendants. But this is also bc, in my family, jewlery is handed down, passed around, reworked, added to. . . And as a girl, I got a lot of pendants. As an adult, I tend not to wear them unless they have substantial presence on their own. But, I like wearing large pieces casually everyday. It’s my style. It’s nice that we are all so different

 

[eternallove4bag]

Hi everyone! I’m on the fence about getting the new holiday pendant that is out. I want a necklace to match with vintage pavé earrings in rose gold. I’m stuck between the following four choices:

1. SO a 10 motif in GMOP (rose gold) since I already have the 5 motif
2. Purchase the vintage GMOP pendant to match my 5 motif
3. Purchase the magic GMOP pendant
4. Purchase the holiday pendant since it’s rose gold and one of my favorite colors, pink

Any one have words of wisdom for me? In the past, I feel like I made a lot of mistakes with my VCA purchases and bought smaller pieces that I grew tired of quickly. So I am giving this decision a lot more thought. I absolutely love my pavé earrings and wear them nearly every day. So I want to feel the same way about my pendant purchase!

I totally hear you. I fethe same about my VA pave earrings in RG too! Since I wanted different matching/coordinating options I chose the following to go with my earrings:
1) the matching VA pave pendant (one of my fave combos to wear with the earrings)
2)the GMOP magic pendant in RG (goes so well with the earrings again. I am planning to get the GMOP pave 5 motif to tie the two pieces together)
3)the new HP pendant (I wore this combo out with the earrings and the two coordinate so well together)

The point is you cannot go wrong with any of the options. The question you have to ask yourself is what kind of pendant are you looking for? Blingy or not, magic or vintage size,
and what color of the stone would you wear the most, alone and combined so you get the max out of the purchase.

 

[eternallove4bag]

I'm also in need of words of wisdom here: I got the pave pink sapphire two butterfly ring, and can't makeup my mind about which butterfly earrings to go with them. I don't like how the pink sapphire disappears on my ear, and I dont like the two diamond version because they look a bit heavy on me. I'm contemplating getting the MOP version or rose gold pave special order. Which pair do you think will go well with my pink sapphire ring? A million thanks.

I would totally SO the RG butterfly earrings if I were in your place. Since you are set on butterfly, I think you can carry them off really well. If you don’t want to pay the extra 30% for the SO, the white mop butterfly earrings are also a great option. I am thinking about adding them myself down the line to match with my WMOP pave butterfly ring.

 

[eternallove4bag]

Ok i took a quick photo, excuse the crappy sweatshirt (about to do hmwk & dinner w my kids)
It glows a lot more in sunshine but cloudy today

I love the shades of carnelian and TE you chose! Absolutely beautiful on you.

 

[marbella8]

@Anabunny- I would purchase another thing not on your list over the holiday pendant- the RG-Pave pendant to match your earrings. That piece looks amazing on its own and amazing as a match.
That or SO the 10 motif. Otherwise I don’t think the rose gold on the pendants on your list will go with the earrings much, to be honest. The grey MOP is much darker, whereas your earrings because of the pave pop. GL!

 

[jenayb]

There is a 16 motif sweet on TRR right now. I know a lot of girls want this and inventory for this particular piece has always been pretty scarce. I wear mine ALL the time - it's def one of my favourites.

Anyhow, comes with cert which is pretty important... AND under retail.

https://www.therealreal.com/products/jewelry/necklaces/station/van-cleef-arpels-16-motif-sweet-alhambra-necklace-aunlj

 

[Anabunny]

I would totally SO the RG butterfly earrings if I were in your place. Since you are set on butterfly, I think you can carry them off really well. If you don’t want to pay the extra 30% for the SO, the white mop butterfly earrings are also a great option. I am thinking about adding them myself down the line to match with my WMOP pave butterfly ring.

These RG pave butterflies don't require 30%, because they are offered regularly, one just has to order them. I really like the MOP butterfly earrings, but the price is just way too high for a mother of pearl piece. I'd feel really uncomfortable getting them, and having to tell my antique jewelry dealer best friend how much I paid for them. I think we have an answer between the two.

 

[Anabunny]

IMO, it depends on your collection; your complexion; and, your level of bling everyday. Of your two choices, I would go with RG pave SO bc RG and pave are more every day than WG pave. But, I’m biased in that i think for the VCA premium price, regular MOP is a bit ordinary. For instance, I wouldn’t normally just wear non VCA MOP earrings (I’d rather wear large south sea or Tahitian pearls in my ears) I did buy a six motif GMOP Necklace for everyday, so maybe I’m being a bit hypocritical, IDK
I do understand that you would like to stick with butterflies, but I liked @4LV suggestion of frivole (though if pink Sapphire disappears on your ear, that’s another issue).

The one area where I might depart from the advice of @BigAkoya is that I thought yellow stones would be terrible near my face (for decades I didn’t wear YG Or PG or anything remotely yellow). But, I picked up an unbranded citrine earring From my independent jeweler that looks nice, go figure. so yellow would depend on complexion, IMO.

My bling tolerance is pretty high. Of all my jewelry pieces, flowerlace earrings and four motif earrings get most wear. Reading other comments about how small pieces grew out of favour, same for myself, I dont wear things that I can't put together an evening outfit with. so I guess one of the diamond choices. Rose gold blends into my skin alone, I'm hoping RG pave won't do that...

 

[eternallove4bag]

These RG pave butterflies don't require 30%, because they are offered regularly, one just has to order them. I really like the MOP butterfly earrings, but the price is just way too high for a mother of pearl piece. I'd feel really uncomfortable getting them, and having to tell my antique jewelry dealer best friend how much I paid for them. I think we have an answer between the two.

Really? Oooh you might land me know trouble with that news! I didn’t know RG pave butterfly earrings don’t have the 30% markup!
I know what you mean by paying so much for white mop butterfly earrings. That’s what’s been keeping me from actually pulling the trigger! But now that I know the RG pave butterfly earrings are an option, I can’t help but think about that with the white mop butterfly pendant to go with the ring .. see? You got me in trouble!

 

[Anabunny]

Really? Oooh you might land me know trouble with that news! I didn’t know RG pave butterfly earrings don’t have the 30% markup!
I know what you mean by paying so much for white mop butterfly earrings. That’s what’s been keeping me from actually pulling the trigger! But now that I know the RG pave butterfly earrings are an option, I can’t help but think about that with the white mop butterfly pendant to go with the ring .. see? You got me in trouble!

Oh I’m sorry and the trouble is $26300. I want to whine about it. These butterflies are so insanely priced compared to other VCA lines. I might just have to bite this one bullet and never do something this dumb in my life again.