VCA ~ Van Cleef Arpels Discussion thread!

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#20,911
cmadtmifyb0623 said:
Thank you so much!! That is actually too funny you mention the earring idea, he has oldddd piercings but I believe they still can fit something with a little poke! This would be such a cute idea! I have two piercings in each ear but I've actually had nothing in my second hole for about 6 months as I am trying to just let it grow back in since the pierced them way too low imo so I've been content with one single holes lol! I will have to take a look at them though! I tried on the guilloche with diamonds bracelet and fell in love hard! I eventually want the whole matching set with the pendant and earrings but that will take some time. I don't think I've seen someone just wear this combo, onyx and guilloche with diamonds and thought it was so cool and edgy looking!

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Love your story! Love your taste and what you chose! Congrats! :D
 
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#20,912
cmadtmifyb0623 said:
I finally get to share a very lengthy but amazing VCA show and tell! A big special thank you to @BigAkoya and @DS2006 for all the advice and help a couple months ago with this!! My fiancé and I were in Vegas last week and I had met a SA at the Bellagio boutique the year prior so I had texted her to place deposits for two Onyx 5 motif VA bracelets for the both of us since I knew malachite was not going to happen/had a long waitlist of people who have already paid in full. We went to look at the bracelets on Sunday and they were ready for pickup after sizing on that Thursday. With sizing, for my fiancé he had an extra inch added to his to make it 8.5” and I decided I wanted mine to measure the same as my tennis bracelet which I thought was always 6.75” but was actually 7” so I had her take two links out. Btw, @BigAkoya sizing was correct, 2 links out for 7” and 4 links out for 6.5” is what my SA told me. 6.5” is too tight and would make it difficult putting on by myself and I like a looser fit with my bracelets, I think it looks more flattering. There was no charge to add links for my fiancés bracelet for those who are wondering and was told any changes are free the first time around so you could ultimately size it anyway you want. I also asked where the links came from if the jeweler had them made since that was a concern for me as I would want them to obviously be authentic VCA and my SA said they always supply the links to the jeweler.

Here’s where it gets interesting. In Vegas, there are 4 boutiques. From the time gap we had between that Sunday and Thursday, we decided to just walk into each one on a complete whim to see what inventory everyone had as my fiancé’s #1 choice was malachite. On Sunday, Wynn had one malachite but it was sold from someone who had already paid in full. We were able to try it on but I wasn’t a fan of the stones they were too light in my opinion. On Tuesday, we go over to Crystals around 4:00 pm and ask if they had anything in VA malachite. The SA that helped us actually I think there were some in our shipment about 25 mins ago!!!!! I was shocked!!! He goes to the back and not only does he bring out one VA 5 motif in malachite, but another with pave diamonds and even the VA pendant!!! We couldn’t believe it! Two to choose from that were actually available!! We were stumped because obviously we couldn’t cancel/return the onyx since they were being altered so we sat in the boutique for about 30-45 mins trying to make up our mind. It didn’t take long because the SA next to our’s said she just got a text from her client looking for the malachite with pave and guilloche with pave bracelets so my fiancé ended up ultimately choosing the malachite with pave diamonds! I still regret not buying the regular malachite bracelet as it was so beautiful but I had already purchased the onyx and couldn’t justify making another purchase so soon. The malachite bracelet will arrive tomorrow so I will share more pictures once it arrives but here are some pictures of our goodies that we picked up.

Experiences at both boutiques as well as Wynn were absolutely amazing! I understand some like to buy online for the return policy, but I am 100% someone who loves buying in the store for the experience, it’s just as exciting to me as the actual item! Something the SA we bought from at Crystals said which I found to be interesting is that since we’ve made purchases in Vegas now at two different boutiques, we are put at a higher priority for finding/buying items that are HTF, etc than those across the country even though we live in FL. Not sure how true this is but that’s good to know! Know down the slippery slope of VCA, we go! Couples who shop together, stay together! ❤
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What a fabulous trip! Congrats on the great pieces you both chose! That was perfect timing for the malachite to have arrived! I haven't been to Vegas in about 5 years, but it was fun then going into two boutiques! I can't even imagine 4! But I would go in every single one! I agree with you that the experience of buying in the boutique is by far the most fun. I have no idea when I'll ever make it to another one, so for now, I have to order. You looked great in all the pieces you tried on! I also agree that the thin pave Love bracelet is not as good a buy as VCA bracelets with higher diamond weight. Makes one feel a little better about VCA pricing!!! Congrats on a successful shopping trip!
 
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#20,913
880 said:
Love your story! Love your taste and what you chose! Congrats! :biggrin:
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Thank you so much! It was such a fun and great experience for our first time buying VCA!

DS2006 said:
What a fabulous trip! Congrats on the great pieces you both chose! That was perfect timing for the malachite to have arrived! I haven't been to Vegas in about 5 years, but it was fun then going into two boutiques! I can't even imagine 4! But I would go in every single one! I agree with you that the experience of buying in the boutique is by far the most fun. I have no idea when I'll ever make it to another one, so for now, I have to order. You looked great in all the pieces you tried on! I also agree that the thin pave Love bracelet is not as good a buy as VCA bracelets with higher diamond weight. Makes one feel a little better about VCA pricing!!! Congrats on a successful shopping trip!
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Thank you so much! And you were such a great help with all of your advice you shared as well! (: We live in central FL so no VCA and no more Cartier anymore either so we love to do all of our luxury shopping when we visit Vegas every year. It’s a luxe shopping dream! ❤️ I love the fact most brands have at least 2-3 boutiques on the strip and cannot believe VCA has 4 now! We can now truly say “we tried our luck in Vegas”, except we definitely lost with gambling lol :shocked: thank you again and I cannot wait to share more purchases in the future!
 
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#20,914
I don't know if this is appropriate for this thread, if it isn't I'm sorry and I will delete the post -

I purchased a frivole pave rose gold pink sapphire pendant from Vestiaire Collective in September 2021 for quite the hefty premium. It was authenticated as real from their authenticators and sent out to me. I thought it looked a bit off, but wasn't sure.

Today I just was lucky enough to be able to purchase the same pendant from my local VCA boutique, in person!!

It took me only one look at the real necklace to realize that the necklace purchased from Vestiaire was a fake/replica.

I paid with paypal, so I submitted a paypal claim today. I do not have a lot of hope of being refunded even with the pictures I included. I think I'm going to have to get the piece professionally authenticated by VCA to get an official letter and documentation saying it is fake, which I have heard will cost $1800. If so, Vestiaire Collective should compensate that fee, as it is their fault that they let this replica slip through their system.

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#20,915
Glitterbomb said:
I don't know if this is appropriate for this thread, if it isn't I'm sorry and I will delete the post -

I purchased a frivole pave rose gold pink sapphire pendant from Vestiaire Collective in September 2021 for quite the hefty premium. It was authenticated as real from their authenticators and sent out to me. I thought it looked a bit off, but wasn't sure.

Today I just was lucky enough to be able to purchase the same pendant from my local VCA boutique, in person!!

It took me only one look at the real necklace to realize that the necklace purchased from Vestiaire was a fake/replica.

I paid with paypal, so I submitted a paypal claim today. I do not have a lot of hope of being refunded even with the pictures I included. I think I'm going to have to get the piece professionally authenticated by VCA to get an official letter and documentation saying it is fake, which I have heard will cost $1800. If so, Vestiaire Collective should compensate that fee, as it is their fault that they let this replica slip through their system.

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Good luck with your claim.

Did the one from Vestiare come with the COA or any other documentation of purchase?

How aggravating. I fear this is going to be a battle. As long as it’s within 90 days of purchase you should be able to have some recourse through PayPal.
 
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#20,916
Glitterbomb said:
I don't know if this is appropriate for this thread, if it isn't I'm sorry and I will delete the post -

I purchased a frivole pave rose gold pink sapphire pendant from Vestiaire Collective in September 2021 for quite the hefty premium. It was authenticated as real from their authenticators and sent out to me. I thought it looked a bit off, but wasn't sure.

Today I just was lucky enough to be able to purchase the same pendant from my local VCA boutique, in person!!

It took me only one look at the real necklace to realize that the necklace purchased from Vestiaire was a fake/replica.

I paid with paypal, so I submitted a paypal claim today. I do not have a lot of hope of being refunded even with the pictures I included. I think I'm going to have to get the piece professionally authenticated by VCA to get an official letter and documentation saying it is fake, which I have heard will cost $1800. If so, Vestiaire Collective should compensate that fee, as it is their fault that they let this replica slip through their system.

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I hope PayPal rules in your favor. May I ask which boutique you got the pendant from?
 
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