My New Christmas Pandora Charm Bracelet
I’ve always been a traditional charm bracelet type of girl. I like the old fashioned charms that attach with jump rings. I’ve collected that style of bracelet for quite a few years and have lots of different vintage charm bracelets. This year I decided to try something different. My kids always ask me what I want for Christmas and I struggle with ideas. So this past Christmas I told my oldest son I wanted a Pandora bracelet with one Christmas charm. My thought is that they will be able to add to it for a while and pick out their favorite charms for me as gifts. That way I get to wear an expression of their styles.
My son ended up getting me a Pandora bracelet with a Christmas gift charm with red enamel “ribbon”. Also because there was a Black Friday package deal he got 2 of the camp place holder beads as well. The round clamp beads have stars designs in the silver. It’s so pretty, I’ve been wearing it every day and I absolutely love it.
I’m a late adopter of the Pandora style bracelet and really didn’t understand how they worked. The bracelet is a snake chain that is made of many little rings twisted tightly together. There is a twisted screw section on the end of the chain and in 2 places along the chain. This enables the charms to screw onto the bracelet and then slide along the snake portion. The clamp beads attach to the screw sections along the middle of the chain to act as decorative spacers. As charms are added they can sit any of the sections of the chain by taking off the clamps and screwing them into the preferred area. The clasp also is a clamp mechanism that closes tightly. It took me a few tries to get the hang of it because it’s so tight I thought I was going to force the clasp and break it. But it’s supposed to be that way so it doesn’t come open accidentally.
The bracelet and charm are made of solid sterling silver and glass free enamel, which is very durable. Pandora jewelry is manufactured in Thailand. I’ve found that the silver jewelry coming out of Thailand the past few years is excellent quality and easily rivals Mexican made silver. Pandora jewelry is no exception. The jewelry is sold in company owned Pandora stores and dealers throughout the world.
There are several different bracelet materials available, some are made with cord or leather. Pandora also makes other jewelry like rings and watches. There are a few charms crafted in 14K gold but the largest selection is in the silver category. Some of the pieces contain gemstones or crystals. The variety is huge. I walked around 3 big counters in my jewelry store all stocked with Pandora jewelry. I noticed when shopping that all of the charms are marked ALE 925 and at first was leery that it was genuine silver. I suspected that may be a new mark for silver plate. Then I read on the internet that the ALE represents the initials of the Pandora company founder's father. I double checked at the jeweler and I am satisfied that ALE 925 charms are indeed sterling silver.
I’ve searched the online sites for Pandora charms too. Their website doesn’t sell the jewelry directly, but you can use an interactive tool to “design” your bracelet to see how it will look before you purchase. Amazon carries a lot of “Pandora style” jewelry but I haven‘t seen the actual Pandora brand there yet. Ebay has tons of Pandora and knock off bracelets and charms at really great prices. Some of the copy cats are as pretty or prettier than the actual Pandora charms but you have to be careful that they have the same screw style construction that will allow them to slide onto a Pandora bracelet. There are also lots of Pandora bracelets on eBay that have copy-cat charms already made up that are very pretty. Just be sure you know that only the bracelet itself is Pandora. The sellers don’t always disclose that and I consider that a bit tricky on their part. The best way to make sure you’re getting real Pandora if you buy on eBay is to search for “authentic Pandora”, read the fine print, and make sure the feedback from the seller is good. Ebay does guarantee the products so if you’re not happy and the seller isn’t too helpful eBay will step in and make the transaction right for the buyer. It’s still a good idea to read the descriptions carefully though.
Another thing to consider whether you buy online or at a jewelry store is the size of the bracelet. They come in several sizes. I wear a 7.5” traditional bracelet so that’s what I told my son to buy. Once I got it though I was worried that once I started adding charms it would be too tight. So I exchanged it for the 8.3” bracelet which is the next larger size. This one feels big. They are designed to stretch slightly over time so I’m not sure if exchanging it was a mistake or not. I guess I’ll find out when I get bunches and bunches of pretty charms added.
Below is a sample of the authentic Pandora charms and bracelets available on eBay right now.
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Category: Private Jewelry Collection
About the Author (Author Profile)
Wanda Fitzgerald is a Florida native and an vintage charm collector who loves to share her adventures in an e-commerce jewelry business with anyone who is interested.Subscribe
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You haven’t made a mistake getting the larger size. These beads are so huge that as it fills it will get tighter, and they do stretch!!!
Thanks Gretchen, I’m already happy I chose the larger size. I went back to the jewelry store and bought a froggie charm. So much for letting the kids buy me charms. I think this one may fill up quickly.