Show me your Van Cleef and Arpels jewelry!

[CareBear]

@Phoenix, the necklace goes perfectly with the LE onyx earrings

 

[Phoenix]

@Phoenix, the necklace goes perfectly with the LE onyx earrings

Doesn't it?!

Now, where is my money tree?!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

@LLJsmom, I love the RG vintage bracelet! Does VCA charge to remove the bracelet links and can you tell that it has been altered?

Not lljsmom, but no, they don't charge for shortening or even lengthening (with limits). I am sure you can't tell they are altered.

I never tire of seeing these pieces!

 

[CareBear]

Not lljsmom, but no, they don't charge for shortening or even lengthening (with limits). I am sure you can't tell they are altered.

I never tire of seeing these pieces!

 

[LLJsmom]

@LLJsmom, I tried on the Alhambra necklace in RG...swooooon!!

I love VCA's RG. It's so soft and feminine and just yummm. VCA is such a slippery slope!! There are so many pieces that I covet!

How are you enjoying your bracelet?

Hi @Phoenix I am waiting until Christmas to open it. I think I will be wearing it pretty frequently. Strangely enough, I decided to keep my sweets. They are so different from the vintage that they are a total different bracelet and a different look. I will wear them when I want something really light and don't feel like knowing I am wearing something.

The necklace looks really lovely on you. Did you get it? It is truly fabulous on you. I bet you could get a lot of wear out of it.

 

[LLJsmom]

Hi @CareBear, yup, no charge. I have all the little links they took out. They do a wonderful job, and the links are always beautiful and perfect and polished. That is the strange thing. The polish on their chains are just amazing. I love how the chain just sparkles.

 

[Phoenix]

Hi @Phoenix I am waiting until Christmas to open it. I think I will be wearing it pretty frequently. Strangely enough, I decided to keep my sweets. They are so different from the vintage that they are a total different bracelet and a different look. I will wear them when I want something really light and don't feel like knowing I am wearing something.

The necklace looks really lovely on you. Did you get it? It is truly fabulous on you. I bet you could get a lot of wear out of it.

Ah, I didn't realise the RG Vintage was/ is supposed to be your Christmas present. Mine is too, except I'm wearing mine daily now, lol.

Glad you've decided to keep your Sweets. They're really lovely and great, like you said, for when you don't want to feel you have them on and yet you can still look down and see them sparkling away. I do that with my Sweets, particularly when I go to the gym.

The necklace? No, and I may not. I am waiting to see how I like wearing my Onyx earrings first....see if I "need" a matching(ish) necklace or not. I like the idea in theory, but don't tend to wear anything round my neck.

 

[CareBear]

Not lljsmom, but no, they don't charge for shortening or even lengthening (with limits). I am sure you can't tell they are altered.

I never tire of seeing these pieces!

Thank DS! Same here! VCA is the only jewelry store I walk into these days. I stare at the same pieces over and over again. My little girl loves going to VCA too, gushing at their 'sparkly butterflies and flowers', and pointing out totally out of price range pieces that I should get.

You have the same bracelet in yg right? Do you wear it often and does it scratch easily?

 

[LLJsmom]

@Phoenix I know what you mean about the neck. I kinda figured with your daily life and how you go to places where looking polished and put together is the standard uniform a 20 motif thrown over a blouse or dress would fit right in. The only thing is would you feel a little weird being that match-matchy. I kinda think in some places matchy-matchy is entirely appropriate.

 

[CareBear]

Hi @CareBear, yup, no charge. I have all the little links they took out. They do a wonderful job, and the links are always beautiful and perfect and polished. That is the strange thing. The polish on their chains are just amazing. I love how the chain just sparkles.

Thanks LLJsmom! How long did it take to get the chain shortened? Also, the same question I asked DS, does this bracelet scratch easily? My wrists are super thin and I cannot handle seeing scratches and dings so most bracelets don't work for me

 

[LLJsmom]

@CareBear If it’s scratches, I think you would at the minimum need a magnifying glass to examine all the ridges and designs on the bracelet to see if you can find the scratches. There is so much design in the motifs that scratches are really hard to find. Very UNLIKE my Cartier cuff, which requires me to exercise extreme mental restraint NOT to go crazy examining it every time I wear it looking for scratches. So VCA = good for OCD. Cartier Love = bad for OCD.

 

[Loreal]

Adding the pink gold sweet Alhambra bracelet my husband gave me for Christmas. This completes my sweet bracelet list. My husband is on notice that I now have my sights on the vintage Alhambra pieces next. BTW, still can't get over the packaging!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It makes me want to order from their site just to get the boxes! lol! That was a good choice to add to your other bracelets, Loreal!

Thank DS! Same here! VCA is the only jewelry store I walk into these days. I stare at the same pieces over and over again. My little girl loves going to VCA too, gushing at their 'sparkly butterflies and flowers', and pointing out totally out of price range pieces that I should get.

You have the same bracelet in yg right? Do you wear it often and does it scratch easily?

Aww, little girls would be enchanted by the beautiful jewels in VCA! Actually, old ones, too! lol!

Yes, the yg vintage. As LLJsmom said, the pattern is bumpy on the clovers, so it would be very hard to see scratches. But I like mine to stay in immaculate shape, so I am conscious of not purposely letting it hit or rub against surfaces. I wear it often when I go somewhere other than the grocery store or Walmart!

 

[Platinum-blonde]

Adding the pink gold sweet Alhambra bracelet my husband gave me for Christmas. This completes my sweet bracelet list. My husband is on notice that I now have my sights on the vintage Alhambra pieces next. BTW, still can't get over the packaging!

I love your stack! Which sweet is your favorite?

 

[Loreal]

I love your stack! Which sweet is your favorite?

thank you. These are my everyday bracelets. I love the delicacy of the three. To answer your question I love them all, but if I had to choose, I would pick the heart as it was purchased when we vacationed in Geneva last year.

 

[Loreal]

It makes me want to order from their site just to get the boxes! lol! That was a good choice to add to your other bracelets, Loreal!

Thank you. I love the yellow/pink gold combo. Re: the packaging, right? The problem is what to do with them? They are too pretty to throw out. They are now stored in a plastic storage box and relegated to the top shelf of my closet. Maybe I'll use one to store my everyday loose jewelry boxes?

 

[LLJsmom]

Adding the pink gold sweet Alhambra bracelet my husband gave me for Christmas. This completes my sweet bracelet list. My husband is on notice that I now have my sights on the vintage Alhambra pieces next. BTW, still can't get over the packaging!

I love your sweets collection and I do love stacking them too. They are so different from the vintage that I actually want to keep all of my bracelets. They are very addictive.

 

[Loreal]

I love your sweets collection and I do love stacking them too. They are so different from the vintage that I actually want to keep all of my bracelets. They are very addictive.

Please say you're not parting with your collection! I love all your pieces and your rose gold bracelet is divine! Especially since it fits you perfectly now!

 

[LLJsmom]

I just wanted to add these thoughts after wearing my rose gold vintage bracelet for a week now. I am relatively new to VCA compared to some people who have owned and loved them for years. I am very impressed at how beautiful the bracelet is, and especially the solid gold motifs. Strange when I didn't even like them when I saw them the first time. I love being able to get it wet and not worry about scratches showing. However, just strictly regarding the look, I'm surprised at how subtle the bracelet actually is when you view it from a distance. Maybe it's how the rose gold blends with my skin. Yet, the beauty of the detail is fully visible to me as the wearer. It's something that I look at on my arm and just think, "wow". The flatness of the motifs is great because it doesn’t get in the way of a person working at a desk. The symmetry of the design on both sides means no flipping issues. If you are looking for an everyday bracelet that you don’t have to baby and is very wearable and unobtrusive, but that is also beautiful, unique and of exquisite quality, you might consider the gold motif vintage VCAs.

 

[Loreal]

I just wanted to add these thoughts after wearing my rose gold vintage bracelet for a week now. I am relatively new to VCA compared to some people who have owned and loved them for years. I am very impressed at how beautiful the bracelet is, and especially the solid gold motifs. Strange when I didn't even like them when I saw them the first time. I love being able to get it wet and not worry about scratches showing. However, just strictly regarding the look, I'm surprised at how subtle the bracelet actually is when you view it from a distance. Maybe it's how the rose gold blends with my skin. Yet, the beauty of the detail is fully visible to me as the wearer. It's something that I look at on my arm and just think, "wow". The flatness of the motifs is great because it doesn’t get in the way of a person working at a desk. The symmetry of the design on both sides means no flipping issues. If you are looking for an everyday bracelet that you don’t have to baby and is very wearable and unobtrusive, but that is also beautiful, unique and of exquisite quality, you might consider the gold motif vintage VCAs.

I love your bracelet on you! I almost considered asking my husband for the sweet version, but I decided to wait to get the onyx vintage!

 

[yssie]

A couple of small new(ish) additions

The WG was a birthday surprise a few months ago and I got the YG just before Christmas. I adore them together The motifs are ever so slightly bigger than the Sweets, still very delicate, and I love that they're three-dimensional - the depth makes the profile so much more interesting! I find myself consistently reaching for these over my trio of Sweets. They're rather loose at the smaller jump ring on me - I'll probably have them shortened at some point to prevent flipping.

The smooth high-polish petals do scratch easily I've resigned myself to it. And I have to confess... the diamonds are noticeably less sparkly than the H&A melee most of our PS vendors use! The design is darling though

 

[yssie]

So much to catch up on in this thread!!

@Loreal your three sweets are lovely!!

Y’know... I’ve always had a Thing for sets. So I got myself a set of three YG/MOP Sweet bracelets... and every time I wore them I’d compare them to pics of @LLJsmom ‘s duo and think... “something’s missing”. I think I erred in going for the same colour and stone - multicoloured stacks like yours and hers are just more visually appealing to me. Maybe the small size of the motifs exaggerates similairities and minimizes differences?

In any case. Yours look fabulous together. Do you worry about the gold scratching the stones?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

A couple of small new(ish) additions

The WG was a birthday surprise a few months ago and I got the YG just before Christmas. I adore them together The motifs are ever so slightly bigger than the Sweets, still very delicate, and I love that they're three-dimensional - the depth makes the profile so much more interesting! I find myself consistently reaching for these over my trio of Sweets. They're rather loose at the smaller jump ring on me - I'll probably have them shortened at some point to prevent flipping.

The smooth high-polish petals do scratch easily I've resigned myself to it. And I have to confess... the diamonds are noticeably less sparkly than the H&A melee most of our PS vendors use! The design is darling though

These are so pretty, Yssie!!! I think about getting the Frivole earrings sometimes instead of the Alhambra. Plus, on the ears, I won't have to worry so much about the scratches! But I love your bracelets!

 

[yssie]

Thanks @diamondseeker2006 !!

The Frivole earrings... LOVE the three-dimensional look on the ears. LOVE the fact that they won’t get scratched!! LOVE the price point - shockingly reasonable by VCA standards! The one thing I don’t like about them (a pretty discouraging thing ) is how darn heavy those omega clips are. I asked once if having them made with regular posts would be possible and was quoted $2k for the alteration

I think the Alhambra earrings are significantly less weighty! What are you plotting?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

@yssie Wow, $2k to alter to posts? I think not! I have tried some on once, and I didn't think about the weight for the short time I had them on. I agree that the Alhambra ones are lighter.

I don't know what I am plotting! I want to sell a few things that I just don't need to keep, and I may reset the AVR if I can ever decide, plus I have another 2.1 O color AVR that I may set in a three stone with white sides. Since those projects are looming, I haven't really thought about adding to my VCA collection in the immediate future. But I do think earrings that I could wear with the bracelet would make the most sense. I guess that means the any of the vintage ones or the Frivole. I have a couple of repro pendants that look great so I have no pressing need for those.

What's on your wishlist for 2018?!

 

[yssie]

@yssie Wow, $2k to alter to posts? I think not! I have tried some on once, and I didn't think about the weight for the short time I had them on. I agree that the Alhambra ones are lighter.

I don't know what I am plotting! I want to sell a few things that I just don't need to keep, and I may reset the AVR if I can ever decide, plus I have another 2.1 O color AVR that I may set in a three stone with white sides. Since those projects are looming, I haven't really thought about adding to my VCA collection in the immediate future. But I do think earrings that I could wear with the bracelet would make the most sense. I guess that means the any of the vintage ones or the Frivole. I have a couple of repro pendants that look great so I have no pressing need for those.

What's on your wishlist for 2018?!

Ahh... the threat of looming projects can indeed be a tremendously effective blocking - coping? - mechanism How often do you wear your upgraded studs? Do you think you'd get a lot of wear out of alternate earrings? If I recall correctly you mentioned when you got your Cartier Trinity hoops that you generally wear only a few pairs, but the ones that do make it into the regular rotation are well-loved...

The Perlee Clovers bracelet is still on my wishlist, despite my interminable hesitations. Apparently my coping mechanism is dithering

 

[Phoenix]

I love your bracelet on you! I almost considered asking my husband for the sweet version, but I decided to wait to get the onyx vintage!

I love Onyx. I think it's very edgy, esp if you wear a lot of black.

 

[Phoenix]

@yssie, these are sooo cute!!!

Thank you for sharing.

 

[Phoenix]

@diamondseeker2006 , @yssie, I love love the Frivole design. I can see why they are so popular and iconic. I keep thinking about the pave Frivole earrings. Trying to decide btw those and a white gold Perlee Clover bangle for my near-to-medium term project.

 

[yssie]

Thanks Phoenix!

@diamondseeker2006 , @yssie, I love love the Frivole design. I can see why they are so popular and iconic. I keep thinking about the pave Frivole earrings. Trying to decide btw those and a white gold Perlee Clover bangle for my near-to-medium term project.

Tough one!!

You already have the Perlee in RG... but you also already have the Lotus earrings! What niche do you think the pave Frivole could fulfill? They’re smaller than your Lotus clips, but IMO The pave still takes them out of “casual wear” territory...

They’re considerably less pricey than the Perlee which means more left over for your upgrade... upside! But would you be rehoming the RG bracelet? That would change that math!