VCA ~ Van Cleef Arpels Discussion thread!

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#12,106
kath00 said:
Ladies and gents,

I would love some advice. i have a pair of brand new turquoise and white gold studs (vintage Alhambra) that my amazing SA got me last year. The problem is that I really don't like studs and have never worn them. I bought them because I realized just how incredibly rare (and basically impossible) it is to find turquoise from VCA now. I was thinking about selling them but my friend had a great idea. How about asking someone (Van Cleef or another jeweler) to make them into drop earrings, perhaps with a white gold round post by the ear and then the turquoise dangling on a chain.

Has anyone seriously altered a VCA piece? I asked my SA but he said people would think it's fake and he would not recommend doing it. Would Van Cleef consider doing it as a custom piece if I sent the earrings in? Should I take it to a local jeweler and ask them? I would like to use the classic Van Cleef chain for the drop so I would prefer to keep it within VCA.

Any advice would be so appreciated! Here is what they look like (pix borrowed from the web).

Kath
Click to expand...

I would not have another jeweller alter them. I agree with your SA. If it were me, I would sell the earrings and purchase a pair of drop earrings.
 
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#12,107
kath00 said:
Ladies and gents,

I would love some advice. i have a pair of brand new turquoise and white gold studs (vintage Alhambra) that my amazing SA got me last year. The problem is that I really don't like studs and have never worn them. I bought them because I realized just how incredibly rare (and basically impossible) it is to find turquoise from VCA now. I was thinking about selling them but my friend had a great idea. How about asking someone (Van Cleef or another jeweler) to make them into drop earrings, perhaps with a white gold round post by the ear and then the turquoise dangling on a chain.

Has anyone seriously altered a VCA piece? I asked my SA but he said people would think it's fake and he would not recommend doing it. Would Van Cleef consider doing it as a custom piece if I sent the earrings in? Should I take it to a local jeweler and ask them? I would like to use the classic Van Cleef chain for the drop so I would prefer to keep it within VCA.

Any advice would be so appreciated! Here is what they look like (pix borrowed from the web).

Kath
Click to expand...

Hi Kath, I can understand how you feel. I initially purchased the sweet WG/Turquoise earrings which I love, and then a few years ago was offered the same earrings in the vintage size. I purchased them because I knew it could potentially be my last chance to purchase vintage turquoise. As an earring, I prefer the sweet size instead of the vintage size in turquoise, and I did consider selling them a few times. However, what I realized is that with the right outfit, they really are beautiful. I somehow seem to like these earrings the most in the winter, with a black outfit. I thought these earrings would be worn most in the summertime for me - but realized I love it against black the most and in the winter it's a nice pop of colour. Perhaps if you try wearing them with the right outfit/colours that resonate with you, you may find you love them after all!

To answer your question - I would not alter them with an independent jeweller. You never know what the future holds and once they are altered outside of VCA, there will be no warranty on them, so to speak. If you really don't like these and can't seem to enjoy them, then speak to your SA at VCA and see if they can do some sort of special order for you. Perhaps you can purchase the sweet pave earring, and then turn both into a two motif drop earring? Ask the SA about this and perhaps VCA might be willing to do this for you. I think this combo would be a dream!!! :smile:
 
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#12,109
kath00 said:
Ladies and gents,

I would love some advice. i have a pair of brand new turquoise and white gold studs (vintage Alhambra) that my amazing SA got me last year. The problem is that I really don't like studs and have never worn them. I bought them because I realized just how incredibly rare (and basically impossible) it is to find turquoise from VCA now. I was thinking about selling them but my friend had a great idea. How about asking someone (Van Cleef or another jeweler) to make them into drop earrings, perhaps with a white gold round post by the ear and then the turquoise dangling on a chain.

Has anyone seriously altered a VCA piece? I asked my SA but he said people would think it's fake and he would not recommend doing it. Would Van Cleef consider doing it as a custom piece if I sent the earrings in? Should I take it to a local jeweler and ask them? I would like to use the classic Van Cleef chain for the drop so I would prefer to keep it within VCA.

Any advice would be so appreciated! Here is what they look like (pix borrowed from the web).

Kath
Click to expand...
Restyle them so that you will use them. They are yours, you paid a lot for them so make it work for you. I have no problem with altering any piece of jewelry. I know its not a popular thing to do but make it work for you. I have re styled Cartier bracelets. I bought a plain YG Love and had 10 point diamonds that I had taken out of a bracelet gift from my ex husband. I had a local jeweler put the 4 diamonds in a cartier plain bracelet to make it with diamonds. I found for me it was so much more economical for me to use my own diamonds than go buy a Cartier with diamonds at 1k per diamond. Yes, it cancels out service warranties but for some things I don't care about that.
 
#12,113
So I finally made time to visit my SA and tried on a bunch of items I've had my eyes on. I was really surprised at how much presence the mini frivoles have on my ears, but probably because my earring hole is low and I have tiny thin ears. I also love the white gold more than the gold on my skin tone. I tried on the small frivoles in white and they just SHONE like no tomorrow and really brightened up my face. I know more TPFers buy yellow gold and it's beautiful but the YG just blended into my skin tone too much but with the WG, I'm so in love!!

I also tried on a few necklaces and found that the iridescence in the MOP worked well for me although onyx wasn't bad either (just a bit flat but that's to be expected). If I were to get a pendant though, I would probably do the vintage Alhambra or the Magic (very casual look).

Here are some photos for reference: YG mini frivole, WG mini frivole, small WG frivole, MOP VA pendant, onyx VA pendant, MOP magic pendant
 

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#12,114
Bee-licious said:
So I finally made time to visit my SA and tried on a bunch of items I've had my eyes on. I was really surprised at how much presence the mini frivoles have on my ears, but probably because my earring hole is low and I have tiny thin ears. I also love the white gold more than the gold on my skin tone. I tried on the small frivoles in white and they just SHONE like no tomorrow and really brightened up my face. I know more TPFers buy yellow gold and it's beautiful but the YG just blended into my skin tone too much but with the WG, I'm so in love!!

I also tried on a few necklaces and found that the iridescence in the MOP worked well for me although onyx wasn't bad either (just a bit flat but that's to be expected). If I were to get a pendant though, I would probably do the vintage Alhambra or the Magic (very casual look).

Here are some photos for reference: YG mini frivole, WG mini frivole, small WG frivole, MOP VA pendant, onyx VA pendant, MOP magic pendant
Click to expand...
So pretty! I love all the frivole earrings on you. Which is your favorite? I love the magic pendant also. Is it
white gold MOP or YG? Also the vintage Onyx is very pretty also. What are you thinking?
 
#12,116
kath00 said:
Ladies and gents,

I would love some advice. i have a pair of brand new turquoise and white gold studs (vintage Alhambra) that my amazing SA got me last year. The problem is that I really don't like studs and have never worn them. I bought them because I realized just how incredibly rare (and basically impossible) it is to find turquoise from VCA now. I was thinking about selling them but my friend had a great idea. How about asking someone (Van Cleef or another jeweler) to make them into drop earrings, perhaps with a white gold round post by the ear and then the turquoise dangling on a chain.

Has anyone seriously altered a VCA piece? I asked my SA but he said people would think it's fake and he would not recommend doing it. Would Van Cleef consider doing it as a custom piece if I sent the earrings in? Should I take it to a local jeweler and ask them? I would like to use the classic Van Cleef chain for the drop so I would prefer to keep it within VCA.

Any advice would be so appreciated! Here is what they look like (pix borrowed from the web).

Kath
Click to expand...
Don’t do it.
If you have an unauthorized jeweler modify your earrings, their value will decrease and VCA will never service them in the future.
 
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#12,118
Bee-licious said:
So I finally made time to visit my SA and tried on a bunch of items I've had my eyes on. I was really surprised at how much presence the mini frivoles have on my ears, but probably because my earring hole is low and I have tiny thin ears. I also love the white gold more than the gold on my skin tone. I tried on the small frivoles in white and they just SHONE like no tomorrow and really brightened up my face. I know more TPFers buy yellow gold and it's beautiful but the YG just blended into my skin tone too much but with the WG, I'm so in love!!

I also tried on a few necklaces and found that the iridescence in the MOP worked well for me although onyx wasn't bad either (just a bit flat but that's to be expected). If I were to get a pendant though, I would probably do the vintage Alhambra or the Magic (very casual look).

Here are some photos for reference: YG mini frivole, WG mini frivole, small WG frivole, MOP VA pendant, onyx VA pendant, MOP magic pendant
Click to expand...

These all look so beautiful on you!! I am the same as you - I have thin earlobes and find smaller earrings look better on me for everyday and surprisingly the mini are very complimentary. This is a tough decision because they all look beautiful on you. What did you decide to buy?
 
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#12,120
ALMcR3ynolds said:
Alright everyone, I made a trip back to VCA this weekend and picked out my next piece. The vintage Alhambra pendant with malachite. I was slightly underwhelmed with the stone they had in this weekend, I will attach a photo but I would love to see pictures and hear of anyone else who has this! Thanks! View attachment 3848131
Click to expand...
I think this is a very pretty one to my eye. What striations are you wanting? Are you wanting a lighter one? Or one with darker striations?
 
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