Show me your Van Cleef and Arpels jewelry!

[monarch64]

But if they are both wearing Alhambra, how do the earrings decide who wins?

Idk Alex, what if Wade Boggs hadn’t counted on his opposing team members also eating chicken?

The Strangest Lucky Charms in Sports

Athletic competition is an art that requires patience, dedication and a little bit of luck. As they search for that slight advantage, ballplayers will essentially try anything to please the gods and sway momentum in their favor...

bleacherreport.com

Are you gonna show us your VCA or just continue being a chucklehead?

 

[LilAlex]

Are you gonna show us your VCA...

I have none. She has none. We mostly just have some one-offs.

OTOH, it's not like I'm wasting anyone's valuable time here

They are definitely growing on me -- esp. the tiny black onyx earrings. Except they're a bit like Rolex and Porsche -- and I'm opposed to any luxury good that I have to battle for or prove that I'm worthy of.

That said, they were super-nice to me in their Boston store. I posted photos of some VCA "high jewelry" on this thread or another.

This time, I mostly wanted to know if they looked like the real deal (@yssie says yes) and I wanted to know if there was a sponsorship arrangement. I can find all sorts of sponsorship info for pro tennis players -- including a lo of the relationships that I am already familiar with -- but I was puzzled that I could not find any confirmation that these two players have a sponsorship deal with VCA. That's when I thought maybe it's like a gift bag at the Oscars or Grammys -- everybody gets one and they're full of cool free stuff but you're not actually paid to use/wear it.

 

[LLJsmom]

I have none. She has none. We mostly just have some one-offs.

OTOH, it's not like I'm wasting anyone's valuable time here

They are definitely growing on me -- esp. the tiny black onyx earrings. Except they're a bit like Rolex and Porsche -- and I'm opposed to any luxury good that I have to battle for or prove that I'm worthy of.

That said, they were super-nice to me in their Boston store. I posted photos of some VCA "high jewelry" on this thread or another.

This time, I mostly wanted to know if they looked like the real deal (@yssie says yes) and I wanted to know if there was a sponsorship arrangement. I can find all sorts of sponsorship info for pro tennis players -- including a lo of the relationships that I am already familiar with -- but I was puzzled that I could not find any confirmation that these two players have a sponsorship deal with VCA. That's when I thought maybe it's like a gift bag at the Oscars or Grammys -- everybody gets one and they're full of cool free stuff but you're not actually paid to use/wear it.

I doubt they were free. VCA doesn’t need to. The sweet Alhambra are a great size. You should go for it.

 

[yssie]

Yeah I just blindly assume all the bling worn on tour is real ’cause imagine the kerfuffle wearing something inauthentic could create, social media would have a field day

The pay to play is real. Can’t deny it. It’s always been a thing, special creations offered only to longtime high spenders, but… Now it’s spreading. Lines and creations that wouldn’t have been restricted access ten years ago are now invite-only. Who’s to blame? Wealthy owners looking to get wealthier, sure. And Hermes. More specifically Hermes’ success with their quota bag system - thanks to the brand-obsessed aspirational middle classes that certain geographies’ burgeoning economies buoyed basically overnight. VCA’s pay to play prizes, the stuff that ends up all over Instagram and tiktok, it’s almost all Alhambra. Their most well-known entry-level line. There’s a reason for that…

But preferential treatment is the norm everywhere else too. I mean I expect that my local jeweller will give his best customers first dibs on a choice stone, say. Only reason it doesn’t escalate to pay to play is because most vendors can’t afford to turn business away entirely - gotta be of certain size and stature for pay to play to work right.

The Sweet pieces are lovely. Simple and wearable. Not intended to be #Fancy - your wife can wear them grocery shopping (or grocery chopping, as my phone tried it’s dang best to say)… I get not wanting to become part of a Brand Machine. I fly Southwest. If I had any interest in purses I wouldn’t wish to patronize Hermes. But outside of certain pieces - even now!! - VCA’s inventory isn’t limited, outside of inventory shortages that mean you might have to wait a bit for more stock to come in. And I genuinely don’t see that changing. Not in the US anyway.

I have none. She has none. We mostly just have some one-offs.

OTOH, it's not like I'm wasting anyone's valuable time here

They are definitely growing on me -- esp. the tiny black onyx earrings. Except they're a bit like Rolex and Porsche -- and I'm opposed to any luxury good that I have to battle for or prove that I'm worthy of.

That said, they were super-nice to me in their Boston store. I posted photos of some VCA "high jewelry" on this thread or another.

This time, I mostly wanted to know if they looked like the real deal (@yssie says yes) and I wanted to know if there was a sponsorship arrangement. I can find all sorts of sponsorship info for pro tennis players -- including a lo of the relationships that I am already familiar with -- but I was puzzled that I could not find any confirmation that these two players have a sponsorship deal with VCA. That's when I thought maybe it's like a gift bag at the Oscars or Grammys -- everybody gets one and they're full of cool free stuff but you're not actually paid to use/wear it.

 

[monarch64]

I doubt they were free. VCA doesn’t need to. The sweet Alhambra are a great size. You should go for it.

Seconding this. I see men all over Tiktok wearing VCA Alhambra pendants and bracelets now. Onyx is very popular, closely followed by MOP in YG.

And @LilAlex of course you aren’t wasting anyone’s time. But I will say that when I started seriously considering a VCA purchase, I read through this entire thread. Having to scroll through a ton of chit chat with no pics was annoying for 160 pages or whatever length the thread was at that point. So when I ask for pics that’s why.

 

[LilAlex]

I doubt they were free. VCA doesn’t need to.

Of course they were free! These are the top women tennis players in the world. Rolex and Mercedes don't "need to," either. These players wouldn't pick up the phone for the $5K price of those earrings!

Having to scroll through a ton of chit chat with no pics was annoying for 160 pages or whatever length the thread was at that point. So when I ask for pics that’s why.

I started with pics -- of two famous players sporting Alhambra. OK, here's my VCA pic -- was given the hard sell for this in my first VCA in the Back Bay a few months ago -- even after I protested that this was truly out of my league. She would not take no for an answer! (Well, eventually she did, I guess.) This is a bracelet, not a ring.

 

[yssie]

Of course they were free! These are the top women tennis players in the world. Rolex and Mercedes don't "need to," either. These players wouldn't pick up the phone for the $5K price of those earrings!



I started with pics -- of two famous players sporting Alhambra. OK, here's my VCA pic -- was given the hard sell for this in my first VCA in the Back Bay a few months ago -- even after I protested that this was truly out of my league. She would not take no for an answer! (Well, eventually she did, I guess.) This is a bracelet, not a ring.

What’s another mortgage, in the grand scheme of things…