VCA ~ Van Cleef Arpels Discussion thread!

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#20,851
Here is my experience with Van Cleef, without ever stepping into a store. I'm located in Nor Cal, didn't want to go to a Neiman Marcus in San Francisco, and didn't want to fly out to So Cal to go to a physical store. Within 3 weeks, I've picked up the guilloche 5 motif bracelet, 1 motif pendant, and guilloche earrings.

  • The Guilloche bracelet I called the Beverly Hills location and they told me they had both the bracelet and pendant available, and I went with the bracelet. SA told me both pieces were new and had just arrived. Since this was my first experience calling Van Cleef, I thought getting something from Van Cleef must be super hard, since I read on these forums it was tough to get stuff due to covid and supply. I had first called the Van Cleef number from the website, and the person told me all guilloche pieces were out, and I would need to work with a SA. This person from the e-boutique did not attempt to help me locate a piece.
  • Couple of days later, I texted the SA from Beverly Hills for the pendant, and she told me it was gone, so I called the e-boutique, and ended up placing a order for the Magic size guilloche pendant. Recieved it and it was much too big for me, so returned it immediately. When I called the e-boutique to get the RNA to return the magic pendant, I asked the person to see if there were any earrings or pendants available. Person told me it was a 4-6 wait to get the earrings, and it was impossible to find a pendant right now, but I asked her to look anyway. She found a new piece at Dallas that had just arrived, so she put it on hold, and I was able to purchase that piece when a Dallas SA reached out to me. Had to get the necklace extended cause I have a super thick neck. Asked Dallas SA to let me know if he ever got the guilloche earrings in, told me he could put me on a waitlist with deposit, declined that option.
  • This week, Dallas SA texts me to let me know my necklace extension is ready, and he'll have it overnighted. I ask him again about the guilloche earrings, says those are unavailable, need to be on the waitlist. Less than a hour later, he lets me know they have a pair because a person on the waitlist with a deposit came into the store, looked at the earrings, and decided to get something else. Would I like them? I said of course, and now I've received the full set. Earrings are a little tight, will have to figure out if I need to send them out to Dallas to get them adjusted via NY, or if I can go down to a SoCal location to have them adjusted there or have a SoCal location send them out for me (I'll be in So Cal in January, figure I can finally step foot in a store then and figure out for future If I want a onxy or carnellian piece).

With all this being said, is it really that hard to obtain pieces? Or was I just lucky? Do Sales Associates just say a piece just came in so you're more enticed to make the purchase right then and there? Regardless, the first time I saw the guilloche online (never in person), I knew I wanted the full set, so the pitch of something just coming in wouldn't have made me pull the trigger to purchase, since I knew from the start I wanted the full set.

Sorry for the long post, but was just curious if it really is that hard to find things?
 
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#20,855
nikkimau said:
Here is my experience with Van Cleef, without ever stepping into a store. I'm located in Nor Cal, didn't want to go to a Neiman Marcus in San Francisco, and didn't want to fly out to So Cal to go to a physical store. Within 3 weeks, I've picked up the guilloche 5 motif bracelet, 1 motif pendant, and guilloche earrings.

  • The Guilloche bracelet I called the Beverly Hills location and they told me they had both the bracelet and pendant available, and I went with the bracelet. SA told me both pieces were new and had just arrived. Since this was my first experience calling Van Cleef, I thought getting something from Van Cleef must be super hard, since I read on these forums it was tough to get stuff due to covid and supply. I had first called the Van Cleef number from the website, and the person told me all guilloche pieces were out, and I would need to work with a SA. This person from the e-boutique did not attempt to help me locate a piece.
  • Couple of days later, I texted the SA from Beverly Hills for the pendant, and she told me it was gone, so I called the e-boutique, and ended up placing a order for the Magic size guilloche pendant. Recieved it and it was much too big for me, so returned it immediately. When I called the e-boutique to get the RNA to return the magic pendant, I asked the person to see if there were any earrings or pendants available. Person told me it was a 4-6 wait to get the earrings, and it was impossible to find a pendant right now, but I asked her to look anyway. She found a new piece at Dallas that had just arrived, so she put it on hold, and I was able to purchase that piece when a Dallas SA reached out to me. Had to get the necklace extended cause I have a super thick neck. Asked Dallas SA to let me know if he ever got the guilloche earrings in, told me he could put me on a waitlist with deposit, declined that option.
  • This week, Dallas SA texts me to let me know my necklace extension is ready, and he'll have it overnighted. I ask him again about the guilloche earrings, says those are unavailable, need to be on the waitlist. Less than a hour later, he lets me know they have a pair because a person on the waitlist with a deposit came into the store, looked at the earrings, and decided to get something else. Would I like them? I said of course, and now I've received the full set. Earrings are a little tight, will have to figure out if I need to send them out to Dallas to get them adjusted via NY, or if I can go down to a SoCal location to have them adjusted there or have a SoCal location send them out for me (I'll be in So Cal in January, figure I can finally step foot in a store then and figure out for future If I want a onxy or carnellian piece).

With all this being said, is it really that hard to obtain pieces? Or was I just lucky? Do Sales Associates just say a piece just came in so you're more enticed to make the purchase right then and there? Regardless, the first time I saw the guilloche online (never in person), I knew I wanted the full set, so the pitch of something just coming in wouldn't have made me pull the trigger to purchase, since I knew from the start I wanted the full set.

Sorry for the long post, but was just curious if it really is that hard to find things?
Click to expand...
Congrats on your beautiful pieces.

It’s difficult to get certain pieces but not impossible. Part of it is luck and part of it is the relationship you have with your SA and store.

It wasn’t this hard to find VCA pieces before the pandemic but due to breakdown of supply chains worldwide, inventory is getting negatively impacted everywhere. Most of the VCA stores have been wiped out of pieces that weren’t even popular before. I was told that there’s a long waiting list for all the popular pieces, and that includes the guilloche line.

Some of the more popular pieces have become part of what the stores are calling ‘tense’ stock. Again, there’s no way of knowing how fast or how late a piece you want will come. I was told that my wait time for my GMOP pave 5 motif was going to be a few months and to probably expect it in 2022. Lucky for me it arrived within a few weeks after I asked for it. I don’t think the SAs know either as to what stock to expect and when.
 
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#20,858
nikkimau said:
Here is my experience with Van Cleef, without ever stepping into a store. I'm located in Nor Cal, didn't want to go to a Neiman Marcus in San Francisco, and didn't want to fly out to So Cal to go to a physical store. Within 3 weeks, I've picked up the guilloche 5 motif bracelet, 1 motif pendant, and guilloche earrings.

  • The Guilloche bracelet I called the Beverly Hills location and they told me they had both the bracelet and pendant available, and I went with the bracelet. SA told me both pieces were new and had just arrived. Since this was my first experience calling Van Cleef, I thought getting something from Van Cleef must be super hard, since I read on these forums it was tough to get stuff due to covid and supply. I had first called the Van Cleef number from the website, and the person told me all guilloche pieces were out, and I would need to work with a SA. This person from the e-boutique did not attempt to help me locate a piece.
  • Couple of days later, I texted the SA from Beverly Hills for the pendant, and she told me it was gone, so I called the e-boutique, and ended up placing a order for the Magic size guilloche pendant. Recieved it and it was much too big for me, so returned it immediately. When I called the e-boutique to get the RNA to return the magic pendant, I asked the person to see if there were any earrings or pendants available. Person told me it was a 4-6 wait to get the earrings, and it was impossible to find a pendant right now, but I asked her to look anyway. She found a new piece at Dallas that had just arrived, so she put it on hold, and I was able to purchase that piece when a Dallas SA reached out to me. Had to get the necklace extended cause I have a super thick neck. Asked Dallas SA to let me know if he ever got the guilloche earrings in, told me he could put me on a waitlist with deposit, declined that option.
  • This week, Dallas SA texts me to let me know my necklace extension is ready, and he'll have it overnighted. I ask him again about the guilloche earrings, says those are unavailable, need to be on the waitlist. Less than a hour later, he lets me know they have a pair because a person on the waitlist with a deposit came into the store, looked at the earrings, and decided to get something else. Would I like them? I said of course, and now I've received the full set. Earrings are a little tight, will have to figure out if I need to send them out to Dallas to get them adjusted via NY, or if I can go down to a SoCal location to have them adjusted there or have a SoCal location send them out for me (I'll be in So Cal in January, figure I can finally step foot in a store then and figure out for future If I want a onxy or carnellian piece).

With all this being said, is it really that hard to obtain pieces? Or was I just lucky? Do Sales Associates just say a piece just came in so you're more enticed to make the purchase right then and there? Regardless, the first time I saw the guilloche online (never in person), I knew I wanted the full set, so the pitch of something just coming in wouldn't have made me pull the trigger to purchase, since I knew from the start I wanted the full set.

Sorry for the long post, but was just curious if it really is that hard to find things?
Click to expand...
Congrats on your new pieces! I think you got lucky, and it was good timing.
Also, Dallas is a new store, and my gut says they are trying to build clientele and VCA has also stocked them up on merchandise.

I think if you plan to be a repeat buyer, I would send your earrings to Dallas to be adjusted. You will get to kmow your SA better. Depending on the adjustment you need, they may still need to send it in for repair, so I would not assume they will adjust it while you wait. I am sure you know this, but there are four ways to adjust VA earrings, so try them on and see what needs adjustment. For me, I'd continue to work with the SA you purchased them from.
 
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#20,860
nikkimau said:
Here is my experience with Van Cleef, without ever stepping into a store. I'm located in Nor Cal, didn't want to go to a Neiman Marcus in San Francisco, and didn't want to fly out to So Cal to go to a physical store. Within 3 weeks, I've picked up the guilloche 5 motif bracelet, 1 motif pendant, and guilloche earrings.

  • The Guilloche bracelet I called the Beverly Hills location and they told me they had both the bracelet and pendant available, and I went with the bracelet. SA told me both pieces were new and had just arrived. Since this was my first experience calling Van Cleef, I thought getting something from Van Cleef must be super hard, since I read on these forums it was tough to get stuff due to covid and supply. I had first called the Van Cleef number from the website, and the person told me all guilloche pieces were out, and I would need to work with a SA. This person from the e-boutique did not attempt to help me locate a piece.
  • Couple of days later, I texted the SA from Beverly Hills for the pendant, and she told me it was gone, so I called the e-boutique, and ended up placing a order for the Magic size guilloche pendant. Recieved it and it was much too big for me, so returned it immediately. When I called the e-boutique to get the RNA to return the magic pendant, I asked the person to see if there were any earrings or pendants available. Person told me it was a 4-6 wait to get the earrings, and it was impossible to find a pendant right now, but I asked her to look anyway. She found a new piece at Dallas that had just arrived, so she put it on hold, and I was able to purchase that piece when a Dallas SA reached out to me. Had to get the necklace extended cause I have a super thick neck. Asked Dallas SA to let me know if he ever got the guilloche earrings in, told me he could put me on a waitlist with deposit, declined that option.
  • This week, Dallas SA texts me to let me know my necklace extension is ready, and he'll have it overnighted. I ask him again about the guilloche earrings, says those are unavailable, need to be on the waitlist. Less than a hour later, he lets me know they have a pair because a person on the waitlist with a deposit came into the store, looked at the earrings, and decided to get something else. Would I like them? I said of course, and now I've received the full set. Earrings are a little tight, will have to figure out if I need to send them out to Dallas to get them adjusted via NY, or if I can go down to a SoCal location to have them adjusted there or have a SoCal location send them out for me (I'll be in So Cal in January, figure I can finally step foot in a store then and figure out for future If I want a onxy or carnellian piece).

With all this being said, is it really that hard to obtain pieces? Or was I just lucky? Do Sales Associates just say a piece just came in so you're more enticed to make the purchase right then and there? Regardless, the first time I saw the guilloche online (never in person), I knew I wanted the full set, so the pitch of something just coming in wouldn't have made me pull the trigger to purchase, since I knew from the start I wanted the full set.

Sorry for the long post, but was just curious if it really is that hard to find things?
Click to expand...
Judging from my recent experience, they can find pieces for you if they really want you to have it. But if you insist on new items, the items that have not been displayed, that is another story.

It seems that during festive season, they push those items that are overloaded in their stock room. So if the items you are looking for are not on their push list, they might first tell you that they don't have it.

I had a conversation with a SA over the phone and asked for an item, he said they had certain items but just couldn't tell clients how many they have. It sounds to me they have lots because he told me not to hurry.
 
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#20,861
BigAkoya said:
When you try them on, ask to go to their back area where they ring up your purchases. Or go to a corner and face the corner, away from light. I always like to see a colored stone at it's worst before I buy. I don't think a dark burgundy carnelian will look black black, but it will be definitely be darker. Some people love burgundy though. You'll know in a heartbeat what color you like and your preference.

I have to tell you a fun story... when I was upgrading my engagement ring, I had the SA bring in three rings that I pre-selected before I flew in to the boutique. Of course all the diamonds looked great in the Tiffany store lighting. I narrowed it down to one ring (I have the Tiffany classic solitaire). To be sure, I asked to see the diamond in the back, with low lighting. Then, I also asked to see the diamond outside, in natural light. The SA said checked with the manager and said she was not permitted to escort us outside, it had to be a security guard. We then had to wait for a security guard to accompany me and my husband to go outside (yeah... I brought hubby this time to jewelry shop as it was a big purchase). We selected the ring, left it there to be resized, and left the boutique. I told my husband, "that was so nice Tiffany had a bodyguard to protect us to go outside" My husband then quickly replied, " no honey, the bodyguard was not to protect us, it was to protect the ring!" He was right, it made me crack up. :biggrin:

So many stories when buying jewelry... these are the great memories of each piece. Every purchase is an adventure.
Good luck to you. Planning and buying is half the fun. I am sure gut will tell you exactly which shade you like!
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That's a fabulous idea!! Unfortunately I'm unlikely to be able to visit a boutique anytime soon :crybaby:so I'll either need to have my order sent to me, or wait a few months to see if the situation improves. If I do manage to make it to a boutique though, I definitely will ask to see bracelets in different lighting. I might re-evaluate once I've had my booster vaccine, as all of the VCA boutiques are in London, which is apparently the Omicron hotspot. I'm absolutely itching to visit a boutique but it's probably not the most sensible idea right now...
 
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#20,862
880 said:
@Storm Spirit, could you pls take action pics when you go try on the carnelian. I’d love to get a sense for how the different reds look on a real person. I think @A bottle of Red purchased a carnelian tiger eye six motif (my apologies if my memory is faulty) and it was very helpful to see the colors worn
hope you fall in love with the perfect one!
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If I can make it to a boutique, of course!! I will make a mental note to take plenty of photos under different lighting and on my person.
 
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#20,863
hmm, I wasn’t aware there are 4 ways to adjust the earrings? I have thick ear lobes, what options would I have?

thanks everyone for the advice, appreciate it, since this my first time buying fancy jewelry!



BigAkoya said:
Congrats on your new pieces! I think you got lucky, and it was good timing.
Also, Dallas is a new store, and my gut says they are trying to build clientele and VCA has also stocked them up on merchandise.

I think if you plan to be a repeat buyer, I would send your earrings to Dallas to be adjusted. You will get to kmow your SA better. Depending on the adjustment you need, they may still need to send it in for repair, so I would not assume they will adjust it while you wait. I am sure you know this, but there are four ways to adjust VA earrings, so try them on and see what needs adjustment. For me, I'd continue to work with the SA you purchased them from.
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