VCA ~ Van Cleef Arpels Discussion thread!

[Yssie]

Your are so lucky to have something lapis! I am sure you bracelet is stunning.
They said MOP, and I said I want a happy color. To me MOP looks dead on that ring, especially against the WG and diamonds.
I was thinking of asking for turquoise since turquoise is now available in the butterfly collection, so I would think they could carve out make a few Hellebore leaves in turquoise. However, I don't think Hellebore looks good in turquoise. To me, turquoise is a gentle stone, it makes me feel dreamy, summery, and laid-back when I wear my Tiffany turquoise set. I also love VA turquoise (my dream set) as the motifs are soft and rounded. With Hellebore, the leaves are spiked, so Hellebore is a harsh, bold design to me, definitely not soft. I feel the Hellebore design (harsh) mixed with turquoise (soft) does not go well.

I thought about carnelian, but my SA said carnelian for a SO is a hit or miss, and he would hate for it to be a miss with me. I told my SA I really really want lapis. He said he is going to ask his regional VP for help (whatever that means). I don't think they will offer this ring in lapis, at least not to me. I am sure if some VIP asked for a entire lapis Hellebore set, that client would get it, but I'm not a VIP. I have to beg (my knees hurt from begging... ). If I get a no, I will really let this go and move on. I am sure I will find a new love soon!

Hellebore also came in a BTF version, with one MOP and one turquoise flower. It didn't wow me. I posted a photo here so you can see. The first photo is the lapis ring I tried on that was made for another client, the single lapis flower.
The second photo shows the BTF version. Imagine a single turquoise or a single MOP flower. Neither speak to me, and certainly not the MOP. On the MOP, as I mentioned earlier, I think Hellebore looks dead as a single flower in MOP. If you cover everything with your hand and only look at the MOP flower, to me there is no life to that MOP flower.

I would love to hear your thoughts on a happy color stone. I thought about blue agate, but it's so translucent it definitely will not look good. Oynx is too harsh for this ring.

View attachment 5371142
View attachment 5371143

I do hope your SA can pull some lapis out of his hat for you ❤️

 

[EpiFanatic]

Yes, you are 100% correct. I think the YG mirror finish will pop more with all that shiny metal. The pave pops on the ring and the earrings, but it doesn't on the pendant. I think it's because worn long, the pendant lands below the torso. In this case, the beauty of the 3D and pave actually hurts the beauty of this piece because the eye has to look down, and the diamond angles are not optimal. At least that is how I personally see it. I am sure there are those who think it's too big, so it's all preference. With the YG mirror finish, it's all shiny metal, so it would pop!

On the oynx, yes, great guess. I tried on the WG oynx pave and actually thought I'd get a set (WG oynx pave 20, 5 motif oynx pave bracelet, VA pave earrings). However, I have decided I don't care for the alternating look. I like the bold pop of all color, all 20 motifs the same stone. The alternating 20 is a bit softer, and to my eye, the pave motifs create a gap and make the stones too spaced out for me. I actually felt the pave motifs took away from the bold look of oynx.

For a split second, I thought why not just get the Magic pave long pendant even though I think the Magic long is so logo-y. It will definitely be a bold look. Then I smacked myself on the head and said "nope, stop it, you're just getting desperate and trying to make pieces work." My head hurts now.

I hope VCA makes more WG pieces, but it seems now this is the year of YG. Butterfly, Frivole... all the new pieces are YG.

I can see you enjoying the 20 WG and onyx a lot. That should be on your list. And then a matching bracelet. And then vintage pave earrings or even simple diamond studs.

 

[nicole0612]

Can you get a 20 lapis pave and wear it doubled? I know it's not the same, but at least the 20s are available for purchase. I am sure your SA could get you one... before all lapis Alhambra is forever gone... like turquoise, coral...

Nope. Reason #1 is that I am way down on the client list for lapis-pave, reason #2 is that my self-imposed budget for a single item would top off at around $55k, though I have not spent that much on a single item yet, which loops back to reason #1
For a pave necklace, I will wait for a current 5/20 to be offered in a 10 to make a 10+5. Though I adore 20s, for pave I think I would get much more use out of a slightly shorter length. For me, 20 motif looks really nice with a boho dress or simple office clothing. I have worn my pave bracelets combined with another 5 to make a 10 motif length, and I think I like that collar-bone-length for pave.

 

[nicole0612]

Interestingly, another SA told me I could order a single yellow sapphire butterfly if I owned the pink sapphire set. Even showed me the price. So I am not sure there are any set rules.

I also tried on the yg pave butterfly earrings today. I love the shape and size for me. The store only had the lapis and tq pairs, so I could not try the pink sapphire or wg pave but they seem to be in stock in other stores. They had the wg and pink ring so I held it up to my ear for colour reference. I think I found a winner but will take some time to ponder the purchase and see if I can try the actual pair. Would like to see if I can find the yellow sapphire pair too before I decide.
Here is the yg pave earring, the pink ring for colour reference on my ear and with my noeud. I do not see myself getting the ring as it looked so small compared to noeud. But it makes a beautiful earring set to wear with noeud. I was out with my fam so in a rush and hence my pictures are dark.

The pink sapphire/diamond combo is breathtaking on you. My first thought was to jump on the single yellow sapphire while the answer is “yes”, but on the other hand, having both diamond earrings will be very nice also. Of course you could purchase a second all-diamond alone later as well. I suppose it just depends on if you want both sapphires now, or if you don’t mind waiting for the second color. What are you leaning towards?

 

[nicole0612]

I find the 20 double wrapped too busy. If I were to get alternating I want a 10 and would make it shorter closer to choker style. I am sure vca will eventually release more options.

I feel exactly the same for pave, though I love a loose, swinging, casual 20 for basic stones.

 

[couturequeen]

I'd look so 20s Art Deco, only I would be 21st century 20s Art Deco as I'd be in shorts!

Really love this! It’s a look I’m regularly trying to go for.

 

[BigAkoya]

I agree with you and lapis is the best for the ring. I am lost on any other option. If you really want it in lapis I would just keep asking. On the UK site today there is almost every size of lapis butterfly rings. RDN pop up in lapis too. I am not convinced any of these stones are in short supply for vca and it is a marketing ploy. So I would just wait it out.
Our wise try the Mariah butterfly ring. I saw it today in store and it is so spectacular. I could not see any anger in that butterfly haha!

Well, I just got offered to make it in turquoise (I already said no to MOP). Turquoise is a happy stone, and they seem to have an abundance of turquoise at the moment which is probably why it was offered. I said no....lapis or nothing.

I am holding out, not going to settle for a stone I don't love.
I totally agree with you it's a marketing ploy. Same with turquoise... the new turquoise butterfly set or the turquoise Perlee Couleurs. They obviously have enough turquoise to carve out butterflies and Perlee Couleurs dots, yet they can't carve out an Alhambra motif.

Off to google for Cosmos BTF oynx ring photos... I am determined to get a colorful big girl ring!

 

[BigAkoya]

Really love this! It’s a look I’m regularly trying to go for.

If you need suggestions on casual green tops, I did a post in the What Other Brand thread (I was off topic, but everyone was kind and forgave me and didn't kick me off).
I love green, white, and black! Green is so in this year too, so lots of clothing choices.

 

[BigAkoya]

I’m deciding between a yg frivole pave small pendant and a wg frivole pave ring. Which one do you think looks better?
of note, I own a mini frivole wg pave diamond earrings so I’m not sure if it’s wiser to keep buying more wg pieces or to buy the yg pave necklace which I really love.

Hi! Here are my thoughts…
I love Frivole WG pave as it makes the diamonds sparkle like crazy. The white metal takes a back seat, and all you see are diamonds. With YG, you see the yellow metal, so it comes across more casual.
For me, for an all diamond piece, it’s WG or platinum all the way.

That said, next then is a pendant or ring. A short pendant is for others to see; once you put the pendant on, you’ll rarely see it. You can stare at a ring all day. I love rings. Photos can be misleading as I have seen the WG Frivole ring, and it’s very sparkly! If you want super bling, the WG BTF version is gorgeous.

The pendant looks lovely on you, so if you love it, I would get what you love. It won’t match your earrings, so you have to ask yourself if that would bug you. It would bug me. If you want the pendant, I would get the WG pendant to match the earrings. I think that would be fabulous.

Whichever piece you choose, I vote to get it in WG pave. The diamond sparkle is amazing.
Good luck!

 

[glamourbag]

I am so far behind on this forum but @lynne_ross I adore the butterflies on you. I think they are a great choice and agree, the pink sap/pave go great with your neoud ring but if you are not in a rush then I say do all your research (meaning all the combos you are hoping to try) to be sure, as nothing is worse than thinking you found the best and then discovering something you like even more. @BigAkoya I follow a gal who has the MOP and turquoise btf Hellebore ring and in her videos it is stunning but I agree with you that if your heart is set on Lapis, do not cave. I really hope they come through on it. Im sure they will eventually do it again, as its such a new design! Just like with turquoise, and how now all of a sudden its available while a year ago it was totally MIA except for the Coleurs collection, hopefully Lapis will be available to you for this soon. Its really worth a second nudge for it!

 

[DS2006]

Well, I just got offered to make it in turquoise (I already said no to MOP). Turquoise is a happy stone, and they seem to have an abundance of turquoise at the moment which is probably why it was offered. I said no....lapis or nothing.

I am holding out, not going to settle for a stone I don't love.
I totally agree with you it's a marketing ploy. Same with turquoise... the new turquoise butterfly set or the turquoise Perlee Couleurs. They obviously have enough turquoise to carve out butterflies and Perlee Couleurs dots, yet they can't carve out an Alhambra motif.

Off to google for Cosmos BTF oynx ring photos... I am determined to get a colorful big girl ring!

I definitely agree with not settling for a stone you don’t love! It is interesting that they offered to do it in turquoise. They’ll have to have enough of a stockpile to repair and replace all the butterflies now in addition to Perlee and the old Alhambra! I think they may sell a few thousand butterflies (and Perlee turquoise isn’t likely flying off the shelves due to not having a good bracelet), but I think they’d sell 10 or 20 times as much Alhambra in turquoise, and they must not have the supply to do that as they’d surely make a fortune off that! Of course, I hope I’m wrong and next year they bring out turquoise Alhambra! I’ll be in the long line for that, if they’ll please make it in white gold!!!

Anyway, I love Cosmos and look forward to seeing you explore that!

 

[lynne_ross]

The pink sapphire/diamond combo is breathtaking on you. My first thought was to jump on the single yellow sapphire while the answer is “yes”, but on the other hand, having both diamond earrings will be very nice also. Of course you could purchase a second all-diamond alone later as well. I suppose it just depends on if you want both sapphires now, or if you don’t mind waiting for the second color. What are you leaning towards?

I’m deciding between a yg frivole pave small pendant and a wg frivole pave ring. Which one do you think looks better?
of note, I own a mini frivole wg pave diamond earrings so I’m not sure if it’s wiser to keep buying more wg pieces or to buy the yg pave necklace which I really love.

At the moment the pink ones are on my list. I really love the shape and size for my ears. I don’t think they ‘match’ noeud style. But I am not a matchy person and would wear the earrings with noeud and lotus. I am going to continue to search for perfect earrings for noeud regardless.

 

[BigAkoya]

I definitely agree with not settling for a stone you don’t love! It is interesting that they offered to do it in turquoise. They’ll have to have enough of a stockpile to repair and replace all the butterflies now in addition to Perlee and the old Alhambra! I think they may sell a few thousand butterflies (and Perlee turquoise isn’t likely flying off the shelves due to not having a good bracelet), but I think they’d sell 10 or 20 times as much Alhambra in turquoise, and they must not have the supply to do that as they’d surely make a fortune off that! Of course, I hope I’m wrong and next year they bring out turquoise Alhambra! I’ll be in the long line for that, if they’ll please make it in white gold!!!

Anyway, I love Cosmos and look forward to seeing you explore that!

Yes, I was surprised about the turquoise too. As you said, they definitely have a new stockpile. I also don't think the turquoise butterfly collection is selling as fast as they thought it would. There is something mythical about turquoise in Alhambra, or maybe it's because it's not available so now everyone wants it. It seems for anything else turquoise, it's doesn't "sell out."

 

[DS2006]

Yes, I was surprised about the turquoise too. As you said, they definitely have a new stockpile. I also don't think the turquoise butterfly collection is selling as fast as they thought it would. There is something mythical about turquoise in Alhambra, or maybe it's because it's not available so now everyone wants it. It seems for anything else turquoise, it's doesn't "sell out."

I agree on the turquoise butterflies. There are other good options in the butterflies, such as the pave and sapphires, and I think I'd rather have one of those over the turquoise butterflies. Like you, I'd really prefer turquoise in wg Alhambra. My consolation prize is the Perlee turquoise earrings since that is the only VCA turquoise available in wg!

 

[BigAkoya]

@SouthTampa
I know you love Chalcedony and are considering a 20. This is for you. Imagine the Magic hanging at the bottom... just wow!