A Wren Says

A tiktok creator, who goes by the handle mangomoniica, is sore with Van Cleef and Arpels. As she tells it, she had her 18k gold Alhambra bracelet for all of two months before it started to tarnish. She took the item into the store and had it sent away for cleaning. When it returned to her, she noticed there was still a spot of discoloration. In her local boutique, she was working with a sales associate, showing him the spot. Then the manager of the store came to look and said she saw nothing. In her view it was just a shadow. In Monica’s retelling, the store manager was “gaslighting” her, trying to convince her that the problem didn’t actually exist. At some point in this exchange, Monica began filming this interaction and posted it to social media. Thus began the Van Cleef and Arpels saga.

Monica’s story would continue with follow-ups on the communication with the brand finally end with a refund, an orchid, and a book. (And more videos of her proclaiming her love for sales associate at Cartier, including packing a gift bag, filled with beauty products.) You can get caught up on all of details of her story directly from her page.  However, you can also hear from multiple other people across the internet who have started posting about their own experiences with the brand.

There were multiple people speaking to how they believed the quality of the brand had gone downhill. Others talked about how they believe the sale associates they’ve interacted with were also rude. Many more have said this is why they will rethink making a first purchase with the brand. And there are those waiting in the wings to offer dupes as alternatives.  

How has Van Cleef and Arpels responded? They haven’t. There are no social media posts. Nothing on the website. They are continuing to do what they have always done, while focusing on their products on display at Watches and Wonders. The public, or rather those who have been following this, might believe this is a PR nightmare. The brand clearly is not treating it as such.

But what do you think? If you were the brand, would you respond? Or would you stay silent as well?