VCA ~ Van Cleef Arpels Discussion thread!
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i was just invited to NY for an event on 11/2 from my lovely SA. I have never been to a VCA event so not really sure what to expect. Can anyone share their past experiences? I will have to travel from Florida so a rather big commitment. Thanks in advance!
No help here. Just wanted to say that I think this is STUNNING!Ladies….
Does anyone have any familiarity with these pieces? Connectable bracelet and necklace from the late 70s.
Considering purchasing but these are definitely new to me. My girlfriend believes they are a custom one off, and she knows her stuff so I’m definitely thinking she’s right, but hoping to tap into my sisters’ knowledge here!
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Hi! It's a lot of whine & dine. For the Nov event, there will be a special guest, and you will get a goodie bag.
For me, I am not a fan of these events as I find them shallow.
That's just me, but of course, lots of people love these feel good pampering events which is why they occur.
It's a very festive event, so if you're the type that likes to...
Dress up & be in party mode, try on lots of high jewelry (maybe even post about it on social media), eat free food & drinks, participate in lots of small idle chatter, then you will love these events.
You can tell I don't like these events.
I am low profile in this regard. As you can guess, I turned it down. I live out of town, but even if I were local, for me, these events are not my style.
For what it's worth, I have traveled to these events in the past. If you are traveling just to attend the event for these few hours, then unless you really love this kind of stuff, I found it a waste of time. If you do attend, maybe spend a few days in NYC to hang out/shop. As FYI, the AMNH has the Garden of Green exhibition going on which is sponsored by VCA. I saw it a few months ago, and they had some lovely pieces on display.
If you do go to NYC and the AMNH, the VCA display is nice, but even better is the Blue Whale show. Wow... I could watch it again.
Turtle Odyssey Giant Screen Film | AMNH
Follow an Australian green sea turtle on an amazing journey as she swims the open ocean alone and meets incredible animals—on a 40-foot-high, 60-foot-wide screen.
www.amnh.org
That's just my opinion on attending these events; hence this negative point of view. I am sure those who love these events will chime in.
On the goodie bag, if you decide not to attend, you can always hint to your SA to save an extra goodie bag for you. I am sure he/she would be happy to send it to you afterwards. It's nothing of value of course (e.g. no free HP!
); it's more of a momento/party favor. Hope this helps in your decision.
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This piece is beautiful! I'm not sure who is selling this, but if it's not the VCA Heritage dept, just be sure the diamonds are original and have not been replaced.Ladies….
Does anyone have any familiarity with these pieces? Connectable bracelet and necklace from the late 70s.
Considering purchasing but these are definitely new to me. My girlfriend believes they are a custom one off, and she knows her stuff so I’m definitely thinking she’s right, but hoping to tap into my sisters’ knowledge here!
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I was looking a vintage Cartier bracelet at Christies. I had never bought used before, but I loved that ruby and diamond bracelet.
In the end, I decided not to buy it because the diamonds did not look right for the time period. I don't want to go into detail, but I just knew in my gut they were not the original diamonds.
For your piece...
I would look at the prongs to see if they have been messed with (e.g. diamonds replaced).
I would also get an assesment of the grade and color of diamonds. Why?
This is because it may be a VCA metal frame, but the diamonds may have been replaced by a non-VCA jeweler so technically, it's not an original/authentic.
Kind of like those horror stories you hear when people buy a used Tiffany ring only to find out the setting is Tiffany, but the diamond is not as the original diamond was replaced.
This is an example to put in context of what I mean by checking the diamonds...
Back in the 70s, diamond cut not was not king as it is today. Today, all we talk about is cut... the perfect cut for perfect brilliance & fire. If you look at diamond faceting/cutting history, emphasis on cut came out in the late 80s/early 90s with those cute hearts & arrows.
However, back in the 70s, what was king was color and clarity. That's all the fine jewelry houses bragged about.
Cartier, VCA, ... all they talked about in diamonds was top clarity and top color.
So... if the diamonds in the piece are less than top quality clarity and color, I would have suspicion they have been replaced.
That's just my two cents. Hope this helps.
I would think if you are buying from a reputable seller, they have inspected this. The piece is gorgeous.
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Also these connectable bracelets were done by VCA in earlier periods as well. One interesting fact is that before modern times (through the 60s certainly, not sure when it stopped) VCA would take on customized projects similar to what a family jeweler would do now. Not confined to the lore we hear about; royalty designing for spouses etc., so you may find one of a kind pieces with antique cut diamonds that were family diamonds (for example), even if the piece itself was made by VCA 30-50+ years later. @BigAkoya makes an excellent point to ensure that the diamonds are not from a later period than the piece itself, as a warning sign that they may have been replaced.
@jenyb
I just reailzed I explained my second point of looking at the grade and color of diamonds, but I forgot to explain my first point which was to check the prongs.
In fine jewelry, all prongs are cut to fit that exact diamond. A jeweler cuts a "seat" so the diamond's girdle can sit there.
VCA will no doubt do an excellent job and cut a perfect seat and create a perfect prong. Also, the prongs should be angled to fit the crown, not just "bent over" as you see in some bad jewelry work.
VCA would never have bad prong work, so if it looks like the diamonds are not seated correctly in the prong, that's another way to assess if perhaps the original diamonds were replaced.
I really appreciate your response and suggestions @BigAkoya!!!Hi! It's a lot of whine & dine. For the Nov event, there will be a special guest, and you will get a goodie bag.
For me, I am not a fan of these events as I find them shallow.
That's just me, but of course, lots of people love these feel good pampering events which is why they occur.
It's a very festive event, so if you're the type that likes to...
Dress up & be in party mode, try on lots of high jewelry (maybe even post about it on social media), eat free food & drinks, participate in lots of small idle chatter, then you will love these events.
You can tell I don't like these events.
I am low profile in this regard. As you can guess, I turned it down. I live out of town, but even if I were local, for me, these events are not my style.
For what it's worth, I have traveled to these events in the past. If you are traveling just to attend the event for these few hours, then unless you really love this kind of stuff, I found it a waste of time. If you do attend, maybe spend a few days in NYC to hang out/shop. As FYI, the AMNH has the Garden of Green exhibition going on which is sponsored by VCA. I saw it a few months ago, and they had some lovely pieces on display.
If you do go to NYC and the AMNH, the VCA display is nice, but even better is the Blue Whale show. Wow... I could watch it again.
Turtle Odyssey Giant Screen Film | AMNH
Follow an Australian green sea turtle on an amazing journey as she swims the open ocean alone and meets incredible animals—on a 40-foot-high, 60-foot-wide screen.
That's just my opinion on attending these events; hence this negative point of view. I am sure those who love these events will chime in.
On the goodie bag, if you decide not to attend, you can always hint to your SA to save an extra goodie bag for you. I am sure he/she would be happy to send it to you afterwards. It's nothing of value of course (e.g. no free HP!
Hope this helps in your decision.
Just wondering what the etiquette of gifting is at VCA. I know Hermes SA’s cannot accept gifts unless they are edible items to share with the entire staff. Chanel is more lax and allow gifts. What is the protocol at VCA? I wanted to gift my SA something small for Christmas and am looking for stuff but just want to make sure it’s not something they cannot accept
