Whoa air lines on rose gold GMOP alhambra

[RAEDAY]

I’m so sorry this happened. I would definitely return or exchange as several others have suggested as that looks pretty extreme to me. I don’t think your expectations are too high whatsoever.

I noticed the same thing with my Onyx 5 Motif bracelet that I just purchased (pic below)--it was every motif. Part of me wonders if that’s just how the stones are being set now, but either way, I reached out to my SA and he arranged for an exchange to come straight from Paris, no questions asked. Just waiting on the arrival.

I hope everything works out for you and that you find the perfect one! You should be 100% happy.

 

[surfer]

My 2 cents but I noticed it is happening more on the newer pieces. The true vintage ones have this also, but the ones 1-2 years before now seem to have less gaps from what I can tell. I wonder if it’s a company wide change or just some artisans who may cut the stones differently.....

 

[chitzabelle]

Thank you so much for starting this thread.
I checked my MOP bracelet I bought in 2018 and they did not have gaps.
Thanks to this thread, I checked my chalcedony bracelet very carefully for gaps before I bought it to ensure there are no air gaps.

 

[Mimmiiii]

I’m so sorry this happened. I would definitely return or exchange as several others have suggested as that looks pretty extreme to me. I don’t think your expectations are too high whatsoever.

I noticed the same thing with my Onyx 5 Motif bracelet that I just purchased (pic below)--it was every motif. Part of me wonders if that’s just how the stones are being set now, but either way, I reached out to my SA and he arranged for an exchange to come straight from Paris, no questions asked. Just waiting on the arrival.

I hope everything works out for you and that you find the perfect one! You should be 100% happy.
View attachment 4881197

Hi!
I recently ordered the same bracelet online and mine has those air lines too... did you receive the new bracelet yet and if you did, did you notice any gaps with the new one?

 

[RAEDAY]

Hi!
I recently ordered the same bracelet online and mine has those air lines too... did you receive the new bracelet yet and if you did, did you notice any gaps with the new one?

Hi there! I did not receive the replacement yet unfortunately. I’m sorry yours has gaps. Hopefully they aren’t too bad. I’m betting my replacement will have gaps as well at this point.

 

[Mimmiiii]

Hi there! I did not receive the replacement yet unfortunately. I’m sorry yours has gaps. Hopefully they aren’t too bad. I’m betting my replacement will have gaps as well at this point.

Ugh... I hope we can just enjoy these pieces without having to be so worried. Would really appreciate it if you could keep us posted about your new piece! Hopefully it’s exactly what you wished for!

 

[RAEDAY]

Ugh... I hope we can just enjoy these pieces without having to be so worried. Would really appreciate it if you could keep us posted about your new piece! Hopefully it’s exactly what you wished for!

I completely agree! If the replacement looks the same, I’m just going to run with it knowing I at least have the peace of mind that I made the attempt to exchange. I’ll definitely update for you! Enjoy your beautiful new bracelet in good health.

 

[Mimmiiii]

I completely agree! If the replacement looks the same, I’m just going to run with it knowing I at least have the peace of mind that I made the attempt to exchange. I’ll definitely update for you! Enjoy your beautiful new bracelet in good health.

I completely agree! If the replacement looks the same, I’m just going to run with it knowing I at least have the peace of mind that I made the attempt to exchange. I’ll definitely update for you! Enjoy your beautiful new bracelet in good health.

I agree! I will keep mine as well. I just don’t want to go through the hassle of returning (bought it online) and the pieces are all sold out. I am just worried that the stone might fall off? They are after all handmade pieces and I have read that a lot of people on here have shared our experience, dating back to 2011. Maybe it’s just a preference thing? They all are unique pieces. Cannot wait to hear more about your piece!

 

[Mimmiiii]

I agree! I will keep mine as well. I just don’t want to go through the hassle of returning (bought it online) and the pieces are all sold out. I am just worried that the stone might fall off? They are after all handmade pieces and I have read that a lot of people on here have shared our experience, dating back to 2011. Maybe it’s just a preference thing? They all are unique pieces. Cannot wait to hear more about your piece!

I checked fashionphile to see if their pieces had this and to my surprise they did. I’m attaching a picture.

 

[Ylesiya]

To be honest I have never seen anything like that although my guess with MOP could be shrinking if the climate is too dry.

Personally I would have exchanged the piece at the very least because of the integrity issues: the metal outside part is also meant to hold the stone in place and it is important for such items like bracelets which are subjected to heavier wear rather than necklaces.

To be completely frank, I would have asked how they passed quality control with such gaps. Just checked each of 10 motifs on my necklace - no gaps.

 

[Mimmiiii]

To be honest I have never seen anything like that although my guess with MOP could be shrinking if the climate is too dry.

Personally I would have exchanged the piece at the very least because of the integrity issues: the metal outside part is also meant to hold the stone in place and it is important for such items like bracelets which are subjected to heavier wear rather than necklaces.

To be completely frank, I would have asked how they passed quality control with such gaps. Just checked each of 10 motifs on my necklace - no gaps.

Hi!
I had the same thoughts as you in regard to quality control. I called them today and they said that it’s completely normal and that each piece is handmade and won’t look like the other. She told me that I am welcome to return/exchange it for another bracelet, but that I should not be worried about the stone falling off.
Im glad you are enjoying your piece, as we all should lol! Thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts on this. It’s really helpful!

 

[Ylesiya]

Hi!
I had the same thoughts as you in regard to quality control. I called them today and they said that it’s completely normal and that each piece is handmade and won’t look like the other. She told me that I am welcome to return/exchange it for another bracelet, but that I should not be worried about the stone falling off.
Im glad you are enjoying your piece, as we all should lol! Thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts on this. It’s really helpful!

I had another close look at my MOP necklace and actually this time I've seen the gaps - but against very strong background light and they are really small. So I would have never even thought they are there!
I think of course they would say it is normal rather than acknowledge there's a problem But still - if the gaps were so big that I could see them with a "naked eye" without specifically scrutinising against bright light, I would have exchanged the item, at the very least purely because of aesthetics. And I still don't think this is the best way to set the stones from the integrity point of view Rather disappointed that they allow this to pass QAQC. I understand each piece is handmade and you can't always fit two items super perfectly and so on, but hey, these are really expensive pieces of jewellery, so my expectations are also quite high. Even replica factories from China do not produce such enormous gaps!

 

[Mimmiiii]

I had another close look at my MOP necklace and actually this time I've seen the gaps - but against very strong background light and they are really small. So I would have never even thought they are there!
I think of course they would say it is normal rather than acknowledge there's a problem But still - if the gaps were so big that I could see them with a "naked eye" without specifically scrutinising against bright light, I would have exchanged the item, at the very least purely because of aesthetics. And I still don't think this is the best way to set the stones from the integrity point of view Rather disappointed that they allow this to pass QAQC. I understand each piece is handmade and you can't always fit two items super perfectly and so on, but hey, these are really expensive pieces of jewellery, so my expectations are also quite high. Even replica factories from China do not produce such enormous gaps!

I’m glad you brought up the difference between noticing the gap against bright background light as oppose to noticing it with the naked eye. I can see the gaps with bright background light but not when wearing it. However, one of the motifs has a slight larger gap than the others and that one I can see with the naked eye if I really focus on it lol. I totally agree, we are paying a fair amount for these pieces, that’s why I am glad that we are discussing this. I too have high expectations and I really do wonder why they are all created so differently? Shouldn’t they all meet certain criteria? SA on the phone told me that that’s the beauty of each piece, that they all are unique and handmade. She was helpful and told me that I can look for another piece if I am not happy with this one but I told her that I was more concerned with the possibility that this might be a defect, but she assured me that it is not. Yes, many replicas seem to be well-made?

 

[Ylesiya]

I’m glad you brought up the difference between noticing the gap against bright background light as oppose to noticing it with the naked eye. I can see the gaps with bright background light but not when wearing it. However, one of the motifs has a slight larger gap than the others and that one I can see with the naked eye if I really focus on it lol. I totally agree, we are paying a fair amount for these pieces, that’s why I am glad that we are discussing this. I too have high expectations and I really do wonder why they are all created so differently? Shouldn’t they all meet certain criteria? SA on the phone told me that that’s the beauty of each piece, that they all are unique and handmade. She was helpful and told me that I can look for another piece if I am not happy with this one but I told her that I was more concerned with the possibility that this might be a defect, but she assured me that it is not. Yes, many replicas seem to be well-made?

I would like to make a few points here also addressing some of the discussions happening around other topics:

1) purely from the materials point of view VCA pieces are worth very little, nowhere near their asking price. This also applies to sought after pieces like those with turquoise, butterflies collection, etc. So why do we buy their jewellery? Because of the brand name, history, and excellent workmanship (maybe there's something else as well - does not really matter now). Giulloche pieces, for example, have this very intricate pattern on them which is quite tough to make: those perfect "rays" are so very close to each other that the motif shines. BTW, replica people still can't make something 100% like this. And Van Cleef and Arpels are positioning themselves as La Maison, where each piece is a creation, so for this money I expect to get something perfect, almost flawless, since main part of the cost has to go into the craftmanship and not into a few pieces of onyx/turquoise/MOP and a few grams of gold.

2) I would not trust everything that SA says: their task is to persuade you to keep the piece and reassure you that everything is okay. They have their own goal to keep the sales and not hassle with the returns/exchanges/complaints. I would trust my own eyes and my own judgment, given everything that I said in point 1.
(Sometimes it is really funny to ask them questions which they do not know how to answer BTW.)

3) Many replicas are really very well-made these days but of course not absolutely 100% like authentic VCAs. There are sometimes subtle and sometimes big differences. Sometimes one really has to look closely to tell authentic piece from replica but honestly: with such enormous gaps I would have thought it's a rep. Coming back to square one: if the quality becomes the same like Chinese factory produces, then what is the point of paying a ton?

Sorry for the lengthy blah blah blah

 

[880]

For what it’s worth, I just bought my first VCA, a six motif magic necklace, in person, in NYC, and there are absolutely no gaps or air lines visible against sunlight, flat on a surface or worn. The stones are flush against the setting. Hope you can update the thread with the outcome and good luck with whatever you decide!