VCA ~ Van Cleef Arpels Discussion thread!

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#20,656
Belle-brune said:
Hello ladies, we All share the same love for VCA ! Can we get some input on why some of us choose VCA over Bvlgari specifically “ Serpenti” collection! Does anyone like it but still choose VCA ? They seem to advertise so much especially with influencers. How do you feel about value retention in the future? I personally don’t see a lot “VCA” on the resale market compared to Cartier for example ?!
any opinions on how VCA wins over Bvlgari or Cartier?
I appreciate all your opinions :smile:
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I chose Serpenti over VCA perlee bracelet (next on my wishlist) coz Bulgari was on my wishlist for the longest time (5 years to be exact). I take forever (as you could tell) to buy my pieces, wouldn't like to carry expensive regrets. Personally, I don't see jewelry as an investment, however my friend has a luxury consignment and Cartier retains the most value according to her (10 motif carnelian alhambra necklace sold for half the price).
Always buy what you love :smile:
 
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#20,658
Rami00 said:
I chose Serpenti over VCA perlee bracelet (next on my wishlist) coz Bulgari was on my wishlist for the longest time (5 years to be exact). I take forever (as you could tell) to buy my pieces, wouldn't like to carry expensive regrets. Personally, I don't see jewelry as an investment, however my friend has a luxury consignment and Cartier retains the most value according to her (10 motif carnelian alhambra I love necklace sold for half the price).
Always buy what you love :smile:
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Thank you Rami You’re amazing! I really like how you decide on your pieces and you have some pretty ones! I love the serpenti just need to decide if it goes with the rest… my thing is if you love it buy it! At the end of the day it’s about enjoying life:)
I also agree jewelry is not an investment, in my case at least I hope my daughter will Cherish some pieces:)
 
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#20,659
Rami00 said:
I chose Serpenti over VCA perlee bracelet (next on my wishlist) coz Bulgari was on my wishlist for the longest time (5 years to be exact). I take forever (as you could tell) to buy my pieces, wouldn't like to carry expensive regrets. Personally, I don't see jewelry as an investment, however my friend has a luxury consignment and Cartier retains the most value according to her (10 motif carnelian alhambra necklace sold for half the price).
Always buy what you love :smile:
Click to expand...
Wanted to ask you, do you wear your noeud with the serpenti? Any thoughts on that pairing?
 
#20,661
Rami00 said:
I chose Serpenti over VCA perlee bracelet (next on my wishlist) coz Bulgari was on my wishlist for the longest time (5 years to be exact). I take forever (as you could tell) to buy my pieces, wouldn't like to carry expensive regrets. Personally, I don't see jewelry as an investment, however my friend has a luxury consignment and Cartier retains the most value according to her (10 motif carnelian alhambra necklace sold for half the price).
Always buy what you love :smile:
Click to expand...

Whoa, that's highly unusual for Alhambra to sell for half price assuming excellent condition. All the consignment places I know of have it priced so close to retail that I prefer to buy new. I might need to find out the name of your friend's business!

That said, I agree with all you said. I also take a very long time to decide on pieces to buy. I only buy what I love, and I look at jewelry as future heirlooms and not as an investment. I mostly buy more casual pieces because that is what I can wear 99% of the time!
 
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#20,663
DS2006 said:
Whoa, that's highly unusual for Alhambra to sell for half price assuming excellent condition. All the consignment places I know of have it priced so close to retail that I prefer to buy new. I might need to find out the name of your friend's business!

That said, I agree with all you said. I also take a very long time to decide on pieces to buy. I only buy what I love, and I look at jewelry as future heirlooms and not as an investment. I mostly buy more casual pieces because that is what I can wear 99% of the time!
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consignment shops have to also make a profit on pieces they sell, so I do believe Alhambra pieces bring in half what you pay for compared to Cartier… most of them are stone with little gold! Except Alhambra hammered pieces and the other thing is care, some onyx, MOP or carnelian don’t do well overtime especially malachite!
when starting my VCA collection my SA recommended more all gold Alhambra than colorful stones! I still own onyx and MOP and a sweet carnelian for my little one but as Rami said they bring in half!
No matter I still love VA pieces in all colors:)
 
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#20,665
Belle-brune said:
consignment shops have to also make a profit on pieces they sell, so I do believe Alhambra pieces bring in half what you pay for compared to Cartier… most of them are stone with little gold! Except Alhambra hammered pieces and the other thing is care, some onyx, MOP or carnelian don’t do well overtime especially malachite!
when starting my VCA collection my SA recommended more all gold Alhambra than colorful stones! I still own onyx and MOP and a sweet carnelian for my little one but as Rami said they bring in half!
No matter I still love VA pieces in all colors:smile:
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That's really interesting! Alhambra is listed at close to retail on most of the popular resale sites in the US such as Fashionphile, Ann's Fabulous Finds, etc. More rare pieces are listed above retail. Some of the more expensive (and less in demand) pieces have a larger discount (maybe 20-25%). Pricing really is definitely brand influenced as opposed to the gold and stone value. I agree that I'd be very unlikely to buy stone pieces second hand regardless of price, though. I mostly have solid gold and pave at this point with onyx as my only stone (so far).
 
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#20,666
Belle-brune said:
consignment shops have to also make a profit on pieces they sell, so I do believe Alhambra pieces bring in half what you pay for compared to Cartier… most of them are stone with little gold! Except Alhambra hammered pieces and the other thing is care, some onyx, MOP or carnelian don’t do well overtime especially malachite!
when starting my VCA collection my SA recommended more all gold Alhambra than colorful stones! I still own onyx and MOP and a sweet carnelian for my little one but as Rami said they bring in half!
No matter I still love VA pieces in all colors:smile:
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I think the consignment value truly depends a lot on how long you hold onto the piece and what the "market" is currently like. If you have held onto pieces for some time and there have been subsequent price increases, that will obviously help your resale value. But the market also dictates a lot. For example, right now VCA has extremely limited inventory. So people are turning to consignment and resale sites to buy pieces that are still in production rather than waiting a few months for a piece to come in at VCA. So this benefits those trying to resell right now. Higher demand, higher price (and higher return for the person consigning). I have gotten 70% (or more) of my original purchase price back on VCA pieces that I have recently sold.
 
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#20,667
Hi Ladies,

I have already thanked you here in this thread:

Share Your Latest VCA Purchase

I actually wanted the variety of vintage and magic sizes. I knew I was going to buy the 20s in each color and at the time wanted the sets to look somewhat different. In the end it never even mattered because of the nature of my work - “country hopping” for a living so always a new audience and...
forum.purseblog.com forum.purseblog.com

But realized I should of also thanked everyone in this VCA discussion thread where you all were so very kind :hugs:

Thank you all again with lots of :love:...

I am loving my new Vintage Alhambra Onyx Pendant. She is beautiful :girlsigh:

Here are a couple of new pictures of her with some added eye candy :heart:
i-7KSV68n-XL.jpg


i-9gVBcZL-XL.jpg


Happy Holidays to all and to all a good day! :heart:
 
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#20,669
Rami00 said:
What do you think?
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I would not wear them together, and it’s not because of two “wow” pieces of jewelry. What bothers me is the designs are not simpatico. The Noeud is all about fluid rounded lines; the Serpenti is very angular. In my aesthetic, it clashes.

Both pieces are stunning, just not together. Or on the same hand.
 
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#20,670
etoupebirkin said:
I would not wear them together, and it’s not because of two “wow” pieces of jewelry. What bothers me is the designs are not simpatico. The Noeud is all about fluid rounded lines; the Serpenti is very angular. In my aesthetic, it clashes.

Both pieces are stunning, just not together. Or on the same hand.
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This is exactly the way I think. I don't always love VCA mixed with certain Cartier pieces for the very same reason.
 
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