VCA ~ Van Cleef Arpels Discussion thread!

[jenayb]

Ladies... may I ask (beg) for some advice?

Coral 5 motif bracelet.... would you? What's the ceiling $$ if you would?

 

[marbella8]

Ladies... may I ask (beg) for some advice?

Coral 5 motif bracelet.... would you? What's the ceiling $$ if you would?

It would depend on how old it is. I’m not a fan of the prongs of the older ones, didn’t look as clean. Can you post a photo of it? I say if it’s a newer one (meaning not the older ones with the circular clasp), go up to whatever you want if you love it. I think coral is supposed to be durable, but have no idea. It’ll depend on the stones too. If you find a good one, I think the color is really pretty and it’s versatile with all the pink gold you wear

I prefer coral to carnelian as it’s more pink and not translucent. I’m not a big fan of carnelian or blue agate as bracelets or necklaces because of their translucency, although I love them on others, lol.

 

[BigAkoya]

Yeah hence the dilemma…I feel like mop is so pretty and classic and would go wth everything …but blue agate gives a fun pop of color and breaks up all the gold ..I wear a lot of blue, greens and blacks so it would work well wth my wardrobe. This is likely gonna b my last piece for a long time as gonna be on ban Island for a while after all my panic purchases due to the price hikes ….the mop is the og one I wanted to buy but my SA convinced me to get hammered gold one instead as my first piece …..and as much as I love it I wanted one wth a stone as I feel those pop more on the wrist …

Hi! If you can 100% wear the blue agate often, yes, it adds a nice pop of color. That blue shade though to me is hard to match, and I personally do not like it with navy or black.

That said, I vote MOP. Why?
Yes, the blue agate color pops, but I think it looks busy with your stack. Your stack is already a very busy stack, and I think the MOP goes better with it as it creates a more pleasing flow to the eye. The blue agate takes away from the overall stack theme in my opinion and makes it look like you just added a color, for the sake of adding color. Imagine if that blue agate were just a blue bead bracelet (non-VCA), would you still like that blue on your stack?

With the MOP bracelet, the eye can gently scan across all your bracelets.
With the blue agate bracelet, it screams too much and is a very sharp contrast to your other gold bracelets. I find it detracts from the rest of your stack.

Finally, if one day you decide you are sick of so much stacking and want a cleaner look (and you will, promise), I think the MOP and hammered gold go beautifully together. It's very elegant and timeless.

MOP also just makes the skin glow. The iridescence is beautiful.
Just my two cents for another point of view. Hope that helps.

 

[jenayb]

It would depend on how old it is. I’m not a fan of the prongs of the older ones, didn’t look as clean. Can you post a photo of it? I say if it’s a newer one (meaning not the older ones with the circular clasp), go up to whatever you want if you love it. I think coral is supposed to be durable, but have no idea. It’ll depend on the stones too. If you find a good one, I think the color is really pretty and it’s versatile with all the pink gold you wear

I prefer coral to carnelian as it’s more pink and not translucent. I’m not a big fan of carnelian or blue agate as bracelets or necklaces because of their translucency, although I love them on others, lol.

Hey babe! Thanks for the thoughts - totally agree!

I can't place the age TBH... pic below; it's pretty bright/crisp for most coral I have seen.

I have a coral pendant which I believe is late 80s and to your point, it's... murky if that makes sense? It just doesn't look crisp/clean. This bracelet, however, appears to be quite a bit newer. I'm not entirely sure when the coral Alhambra line ceased so.. hard to say. This specific bracelet seems to have a LOT more pop than my necklace which is kind of peachy and light..

Anyway. The price is for sure a premium so if I am being honest, I'm not sure if I'm just being stupid even considering.

 

[jenayb]

Hi! If you can 100% wear the blue agate often, yes, it adds a nice pop of color. That blue shade though to me is hard to match, and I personally do not like it with navy or black.

That said, I vote MOP. Why?
Yes, the blue agate color pops, but I think it looks busy with your stack. Your stack is already a very busy stack, and I think the MOP goes better with it as it creates a more pleasing flow to the eye. The blue agate takes away from the overall stack theme in my opinion and makes it look like you just added a color, for the sake of adding color. Imagine if that blue agate were just a blue bead bracelet (non-VCA), would you still like that blue on your stack?

With the MOP bracelet, the eye can gently scan across all your bracelets.
With the blue agate bracelet, it screams too much and is a very sharp contrast to your other gold bracelets. I find it detracts from the rest of your stack.

Finally, if one day you decide you are sick of so much stacking and want a cleaner look (and you will, promise), I think the MOP and hammered gold go beautifully together. It's very elegant and timeless.

MOP also just makes the skin glow. The iridescense is beautiful.
Just my two cents for another point of view. Hope that helps.

Second this.

 

[BigAkoya]

Ladies... may I ask (beg) for some advice?

Coral 5 motif bracelet.... would you? What's the ceiling $$ if you would?

If you can get a coral bracelet, yes! I love coral, especially if it's the orangey coral, not the reddish coral.

On price, I would pay $15K, but if it were the perfect glowy orange sherbert coral color (bright orange with a drop of yellow, no brown), I would pay up to $20K. This assumes it has a COA.

I view coral as a rare collector item piece, rarer than turquoise. Coral is not even a stone in VCA's regular inventory of stones although new pieces pop up from time to time. Turquoise is not rare at all, and this stone is readily available as part of regular inventory today (e.g. Sweets turquoise, Butterfly).

By the way, if you get the coral bracelet and am thinking of a matching piece (a 20 motif in coral would be amazing, but it is also super hard to find), the Perlee Couleurs Transformable necklace would look great with it. It adds a nice splash of coral, but because the shapes are different (e.g. quattrefoil clover vs. round ring), the colors do not have to exactly match in the way clovers need to match.

Just my two cents. Hope that helps, and good luck in your decision.

 

[tenshix]

It would depend on how old it is. I’m not a fan of the prongs of the older ones, didn’t look as clean. Can you post a photo of it? I say if it’s a newer one (meaning not the older ones with the circular clasp), go up to whatever you want if you love it. I think coral is supposed to be durable, but have no idea. It’ll depend on the stones too. If you find a good one, I think the color is really pretty and it’s versatile with all the pink gold you wear

I prefer coral to carnelian as it’s more pink and not translucent. I’m not a big fan of carnelian or blue agate as bracelets or necklaces because of their translucency, although I love them on others, lol.

Ladies... may I ask (beg) for some advice?

Coral 5 motif bracelet.... would you? What's the ceiling $$ if you would?

I think @nicole0612 would have a better gage on the value on these vintage pieces but I agree I’m not a fan of the older prongs; however I think I saw someone here bring a vintage piece in to VCA to restore it with a new setting if I’m not mistaken? Can’t remember which thread. I think it’s at the discretion of HQ if they will replace the setting for you.

Love the pop of that coral in your photo!! Would be perfect with H polish in Orange Boite

 

[jenayb]

If you can get a coral bracelet, yes! I love coral, especially if it's the orangey coral, not the reddish coral.

On price, I would pay $15K, but if it were the perfect glowy orange sherbert coral color (bright orange with a drop of yellow, no brown), I would pay up to $20K. This assumes it has a COA.

I view coral as a rare collector item piece, rarer than turquoise. Coral is not even a stone in VCA's regular inventory of stones although new pieces pop up from time to time. Turquoise is not rare at all, and this stone is readily available as part of regular inventory today (e.g. Sweets turquoise, Butterfly).

By the way, if you get the coral bracelet and am thinking of a matching piece (a 20 motif in coral would be amazing, but it is also super hard to find), the Perlee Couleurs Transformable necklace would look great with it. It adds a nice splash of coral, but because the shapes are different (e.g. quattrefoil clover vs. round ring), the colors do not have to exactly match in the way clovers need to match.

Just my two cents. Hope that helps, and good luck in your decision.

Your insight is always absolutely on point!! thank you. I posted a pic above and, to your point, I believe it's an ideal colour for sure. The COA is present, good call - all good there!

I agree re: the scarcity of coral versus turquoise - this seems like a no brainer, right?

I agree also that the matching piece you mentioned would look amazing!! And I love the point that the shapes are different, so not too matchy matchy, but correlate well. I think that you absolutely helped me make the decision!

 

[jenayb]

I think @nicole0612 would have a better gage on the value on these vintage pieces but I agree I’m not a fan of the older prongs; however I think I saw someone here bring a vintage piece in to VCA to restore it with a new setting if I’m not mistaken? Can’t remember which thread. I think it’s at the discretion of HQ if they will replace the setting for you.

Love the pop of that coral in your photo!! Would be perfect with H polish in Orange Boite

Hey gf!!

@nicole0612 is precisely who I was thinking of!!

At any rate, I would tend to agree with you that the vintage pieces can be a little *ehem* with the older prongs... to my eye, this particular bracelet has less offensive prongs than some other vintage pieces I have which is nice.

You are SO right about the polish match!!!!

 

[BigAkoya]

Hey babe! Thanks for the thoughts - totally agree!

I can't place the age TBH... pic below; it's pretty bright/crisp for most coral I have seen.

I have a coral pendant which I believe is late 80s and to your point, it's... murky if that makes sense? It just doesn't look crisp/clean. This bracelet, however, appears to be quite a bit newer. I'm not entirely sure when the coral Alhambra line ceased so.. hard to say. This specific bracelet seems to have a LOT more pop than my necklace which is kind of peachy and light..

Anyway. The price is for sure a premium so if I am being honest, I'm not sure if I'm just being stupid even considering.

View attachment 5770212

Hi! I just responded above a few minutes ago, and yes.. this is exactly that glowy orange sherbert coral shade that is perfect!
It's bright orange with a drop of yellow, no brown (brown makes it look muddy).

This bracelet is perfect! I vote yes!

 

[jenayb]

Hi! I just responded above a few minutes ago, and yes.. this is exactly that glowy orange sherbert coral shade that is perfect!
It's bright orange with a drop of yellow, no brown (brown makes it look muddy).

This bracelet is perfect! I vote yes!

 

[tenshix]

Hey gf!!

@nicole0612 is precisely who I was thinking of!!

At any rate, I would tend to agree with you that the vintage pieces can be a little *ehem* with the older prongs... to my eye, this particular bracelet has less offensive prongs than some other vintage pieces I have which is nice.

You are SO right about the polish match!!!!

Agreed I think the YG with those particular coral stones makes the prongs less noticeable!! It’s more about the pop of the stones which I love. It looks gorgeous, if you end up getting it please post mod shots!! You have an amazing collection!!

 

[BigAkoya]

I want to add one more thing...
I don't think the prongs are too pronounced at all. If anything, if you decide to get the Perlee Couleurs Transformable necklace, the prongs just add to the milgrain bead theme as that necklace is all about pronounced milgrain beads.

 

[jenayb]

I want to add one more thing...
I don't think the prongs are too pronounced at all. If anything, if you decide to get the Perlee Couleurs Transformable necklace, the prongs just add to the milgrain bead theme as that necklace is all about pronounced milgrain beads.

You are SO right!

 

[pursebelle]

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