Charm Campaign

Pandoras Spring 2010 Silver Beads

I've finally been able to track down a sneak peak at the new Pandora beads.  You'll have to bear with me about the quality of the pictures as they are from a scan of the catalogue, as I get better quality pictures in I will update this post, I know many of you are dying for a look at the beads and thought that this would at least give you a taste to tide you over, and help give you plenty of time to start saving before their release in April. 

There is good news with these first 2 beads they are both for sale already, just in time for Easter and Mothers Day.  A kangaroo with a little joey in its pouch would make such a cute Mothers Day gift.  The bad news is that as far as I can find out they are only for sale in the UK and Australia, though if any of you have had sightings of these for sale anywhere else let me know.  I know a lot of dealers won't sell out of country but there are some that will or you may have family or friends overseas so if you can't wait until April I'd start calling in those favours.

I love the new silver butterfly bead it is very elegant looking and the cute. . hmmm I am guessing he's a turtle (I haven't seen this bead in person yet to confirm) whatever he is he has the cutest grin on his face.  The catalogue has him marked as CS limited, so it looks like he's a limited edition.

The new silver clip is an instant add to my Pandora wishlist. I have been hoping for some new plain silver clips as I have been wanting to change my clips for ages, but haven't been able to find any I like better until now.   The little stack of books is another bead I can't wait to see in real life, the detail on it just in this grainy old picture looks amazing.  Last of the plain silver beads is an abstract design bead, always nice to have a new one of those to add texture and interest to a bracelet.  It is probably just me but that looks so much like the back of a lizard or dragon, ooh which would make the perfect bead for my Mother in Law who collects dragons.

There are four new enameled beads.  I have been thinking about starting a coloured bracelet and thing the red enameled vine bead would look great with the swirly red munaro beads on a bracelet.  As would the blue one, the little enameled sun would be a great way to remember a summer holiday or a nice accent to a summer or garden themed bracelet.  As I am sure you can count you may have noticed that I said there were four new enameled beads but have only show three, the remaining bead is only the 1st place medal bead redone with a blue centre to make it look more like a blue ribbon.  

I will be posting the rest of the beads, the gold and mixed gold and silver beads, the semi precious stone, the munaro beads over the next few days I have to fiddle with the pictures I have to try and make the quality a little better and as I am still learning GIMP please be patient.   If any of you have seen any of the beads in person, or have been lucky enough to get one of the chick or roo beads already please leave a comment and let us know what you think of the new collection.

Check out

Pandoras Spring 2010 Gold Beads here.

Pandoras Spring 2010 Munaro Glass Beads

Pandoras Spring 2010 Gemstone & Dangle Beads

Pandora Adds Gemstones to its Spring 2010 Collection

I have a large collection of silver and semi precious gemstone jewellry and up until now it never seem to really tie into what ever Pandora bracelet I was wearing.  I mean silver goes with silver but the tiny gemstones on the birthstone beads always seemed to get lost on my bracelet with so many other eye catching beads.   So I actually squealed with delight when I saw the semi precious gemstone beads Pandora is adding to its collection.

 

From left to right above we have Amethyst, Cornelian, Pink Opal,
2nd Line Orange Moonstone, Onyx, Garnet
3rd Line White Moonstone, Blue Topaz

They have also released some dangle beads that compliment the above beads really well.

I can only find pictures of the dangles in Orange Moonstone, Pink Opal and Onyx at the moment.  It seems a pity to me if they didn't release dangle beads to match all the semi precious gemstone beads if only because I would love to do a white moonstone bracelet to match some great earrings I have.  

 

The other dangle beads released have a very simple dangle, which according to the catalogue code I have says its a red garnet but unless that photo was taken in very bad lighting it looks more like a citron or a cubic zirconia to me.  I guess I will have to keep searching for a better photo  or a look at this one in real life to have more idea.   I will update as I find out as I hate not knowing.  

The last dangle is a lovely freshwater pearl with a flowers.  I think this is so very pretty and would look amazing on a simple white themed bracelet or even on a dramatic black and white one.  Also if they'd had this bead when I'd gotten married I think this would have been a great bead to have to remember the big day by.   Though my mum did buy me the cute little church as a wedding gift so maybe I'll hint to my husband that this might make a good anniversary present.  The fact that my Pandora bead anniversary present hint list is now something like 3 pages long shouldn't put him off at all.

Well that's it for the Pandora Spring 2010 bead collection.  To top it off they are also releasing leather bracelets with gold fittings in tan, black and grey.  All in all I am very happy with this release, the last couple have seemed a little like Pandora where following the trends instead of setting them, but this collection feels, to me anyway, like Pandora are starting to come up with a few new ideas. A couple of the silver beads feel a little Trollbead inspired to me, I can't complain as I love Trollbeads and wished more of them fitted on my Pandora bracelet, like those delicious amber beads, but I digress.  

I would love to hear what you all think about the collection.   What beads do you like or dislike and why?  What beads are you planning on getting? What beads would you like to see them release?  Please leave a comment or two and let us all know.

To see the rest of the collection follow these links.

Pandora Spring 2010 Silver Beads

Pandora Spring 2010 Gold & Mixed  Beads

Pandora Spring 2010 Munaro Glass Beads

Pandora's Spring 2010 Munaro Glass Beads

This spring Pandora are offering up stripped munaro glass beads.  I feel a little conflicted about this selection though.  I do like the stripes in the strong colours, and am really loving the red one that looks so much like a peppermint I almost want to pop it in my mouth.  I feel a little disappointed in the more muted colours as they seem a little washed out.   I am hoping that the green one "pops" a little more in real life as I have a couple of green beads already but they are a much stronger shade of green.   I am however a fan of bright colours and I am sure that there are lots of you out there wanting the softer colours. 

There is a nice range of shades with the nice soft baby blue or pink perfect for that bracelet for a new baby or to match the pastel colours that are forecast to be in for clothes this year. 

I haven't been able to find any pictures any new gold cored munaro's so I am not sure if they are coming out with any this season or not, but rest assured I will keep on scouring my sources and if I find anything out I will let you know.

Pandoras Spring 2010 Silver Beads

Pandoras Spring 2010 Gold & Mixed Beads

Pandoras Spring 2010 Gemstone & Dangle Beads

Sneak Peak at Pandoras Spring 2010 Gold Beads

Those of you that like to collect the gold beads, Pandora has four new beads for you but between the ever increasing price of gold and the inclusion of diamonds be prepared for a bit of sticker shock at the prices.

 

There is a nice simple chain of hearts bead, which is perfect for so many different occasions and an abstract bead with diamonds.  The pattern very reminiscent of one of their silver beads but unlike the silver beads, which uses cubic zirconias,  this one comes with real diamonds.

 

They have released yet another abstract bead, though I rather like this style of bead as they are a nice way to add texture to a bracelet and can work to help show off more detailed beads.  This would look great on a mixed silver and gold bracelet too.  Like the above chain of hearts bead it is a nice way to add a touch of gold to a mixed silver and gold bracelet without breaking the bank.   

The gold crown bead is very detailed, though the detailing doesn't show up very well in these pictures it looks amazing in real life.  Unfortunately as the crown is a limited edition bead and comes complete numerous diamonds to highlight it so I will have to settle for drooling over it when I see it at my local Pandora retailer.  I hope they don't mind my nose prints all over their display case glass.

For those of us who are partial to mixed gold and silver beads Pandora has come up with 2 new designs.  I personally think Pandora is just showing off with the first of these, it has so much detail on it, its touches like that that I think shows the difference between good quality beads and the cheap Chinese knock offs.  Add to that it comes with either faceted moonstone or onyx "leaf" I think it would look great on my all silver bracelet.

There is also a new flower bead, Pandora have done several similar designs but as I know more than a few people that are doing garden themed bracelets this would be perfect for them.  A chain of silver flowers with diamond centres, the diamonds highlighted with gold edging. 

Keep an eye out for my next post where I will post the new dangle & munaro beads for spring 2010.

Check out

Pandoras Spring 2010 silver beads

Pandoras Spring 2010 Munaro beads

Pandoras Spring 2010 Gemstone & Dangle Beads

Thomas Sabo Spring/Summer 2010 Collections Are All at Sea - Atlantis

Thomas Sabo has gone with a very ocean and seaside collection of charms for the summer this year.   Going with themes of Atlantis and Pirate Island and with some new editions to the Paradise Garden set the collections are bright and cheerful in a range of great colours for summer and a wide range of matching of jewelry that has me eyeing a rather dramatic white pointer shark ring and trying to decide if I can expand my charm collecting to include sharks now so I have something to wear it with.

There is such a wide selection of charms that I am going to break up my posts by theme otherwise this entry would be a bazillion pages long.

The Atlantis Collection

This collection seems to be inspired by all things under the sea and comes in lovely soft marine green and blue colours punched up with the odd touch of the classic Thomas Sabo red and one very lively coloured submarine.

  
  

The fish is also available in the same bright red as the coral and the coral is available in white if you want something that will mix and match with the other pieces more easily.   The starfish is also available covered in the white stones, but I am rather partial to how it looks with the green.  I am madly in love with the little octopus dude, but I have to confess I have found all octopus (octopi?) rather fascinating since I was a kid.

The bright orange and purple submarine does seem an odd addition to this collection, but its colours match it to the Paradise Garden and Pirate Island collections.
 

There are several new charm carriers with this seasons releases but I love this one with the Atlantis collection I think it would look great with the various sea life charms hanging from it.  It would also look great on either either a man or a woman which is a nice touch too.  

The seaside country town I used to live in was smack bang in the middle of the area that the live shark footage for the jaws movies was filmed and is famous for its white pointer shark tours. so maybe that is why I love the shark charm and ring so much, it reminds me of home.  The they are available covered in glittering stones, I prefer the simple matt look like the ones below it makes them look more realistic and the detail on them is amazing in real life, I also like how they have made the sharks look like they are smiling hellow and less multi toothed death from the deep. 

 

They have also released a new set of coloured cloth necklaces to match all three of this seasons releases, I am not a big fan of the magnetic clips but the price is pretty cheap and a fun way to change up a look without springing for a whole new charm, the good news is these still easily fit your Pandora style beads so you can mix and match to your hearts content.  They come in a range of sizes so offer lots of flexibility for looks.


 

Pandora Prices to Rise. . . Again.

Pandora has announced a price increase on selected items to start March 8th 2010.  Its supposed to be a doosey of a rise too so if you have any plans to grab yourself a bead you've got until Monday to get in and get stocked up for Mothers Day or St Patricks day.

I have no idea what they are blaming it on this time, though the price of gold and silver continues to creep ever upwards so I suspect that is what is causing the drastic move.  

I am worried though that this price rise combined with so many people watching their dollars if Pandora might not be pricing themselves out of their main demographic.

For example from the rumours I've heard the the gold cored munaro beads are going from US$180 to $US210 that's a more than 15% increase (I did the math in my head so if I've got it wrong feel free to post a comment and let me know) with complete bracelets costing hundreds if not thousands of dollars that's going to be a strain on pretty much every collectors purse strings. 

Pandoras New Charity Beads for 2010

Pandora has released new a selection of new beads for 2010 to help support charities both in Europe, the USA and Africa.

Adding to their selection Breast Cancer awareness pink ribbon charms in silver and gold is a lovely silver dangle charm and pink leather bracelet.  Available for purchase separately or together.   I think the leather bracelet is too cute and would look great with just the silver charm on for a nice classic look, or to go mad and fill it with bright beads in pinks and greens for a cheerful spring fun piece of jewelry.

 

This sterling silver charm with two flower engraved amulets that swing apart  where you can add your own engraving between the amulets.  I can't find a picture of the other side of the amulet, but the flower looks like a simple daisy. This charm would also look great on a necklace either a leather one or the oxidized silver one.  Available world wide 15% of the money from the sale of this charm and bracelet go to a Breast Cancer awareness organization in the country of purchase.
 
Also released is Pandoras Denmark Collection 2010.  Released to help support African women the money is to go to 12 specific projects that help African women to achieve a better life and to enable them to create a future for Africa.  The emergency in Haiti created such a huge need for help that the 12 organizations behind Collection have banded together to also help the victims in Haiti.  By purchasing this charm and bracelet you will be not only helping women in Africa but you will be involved in helping the disaster victims in Haiti too.

The money goes to such charities as Unicef, Doctors without Borders and the Danish Red Cross so you know that it is going to were it can do the most good.  

 
Available in silver and gold the charm comes with a brown textile cord with matching silver or gold ends included.  The cord is can be worn many different ways and enables you to use it either as a bracelet or necklace.  The charms, of course, also work with your normal Pandora bracelet or necklace.  All proceeds from the sale of this bracelet and charm goes to the Denmark collection.  

This might be a hard to track down item for those of us not lucky enough to be in Denmark, as far as I can tell this item is only being release there, at least for the moment.  I would suggest doing a google search for jewellers selling Pandora beads in Denmark and contacting them.  I know when I was over there most Danish people, if a little shy about speaking English, did speak it embarrassingly well (embarrassing because my Danish barely consisted of Hello, Yes No, and the numbers from 1 to 10).  As the item isn't available overseas I can't see that there would be any problem getting it shipped to you.  If anyone finds a good source for these outside of Denmark if they could let me know and I will post the information here.

 

Trollbeads Spring 2010 Collection - Part 2

This post continues on from Part 1

Trollbeads have released a lovely collection of silver beads this year actually playing with spring themes in their beads.  To quote them they were inspired by "sunlight filled gardens, rebirth, renewal and romance" and I think they have pulled it off very well.  Their silver beads (and lets not forget the 2 gold beads) show a nice mix of the more traditionally styled highly detailed Trollbeads and a couple of simpler modern designs. 

My new favourite of this release (I swear my favourite bead changes depending what one I am looking at) is actually their latest lock.    I love the detailing, and I swear they somehow have managed to get a cheeky grin on the face of that swan, it makes me smile just looking at it.  I would have a hard time choosing between this and their fish lock, though the fun part with the Trollbeads is that their locks are changeable so there is no good reason, besides my budget, that I couldn't have both.

To go with the idea of romance there are 3 heart related beads, the heartbeat bead showing what looks like an ekg reading while a fun way to say to someone they make your heart beat faster.  The hugging heart is sweetly romantic, while the ball of hearts looks rather busy to my eye would be fun on a bracelet with lots of bright munaro beads.

The Paradise bird bead is encircled with 4 folk art style birds, to me it looks like nothing so much as if they are chatting to each other like a flock of starlings, the contrast of the shiny silver birds on the textured background really makes them pop.  A cute chick bead is the sweetest little celebration of spring and Easter and has a nice simple design. Nothing welcomes spring like flowers and the latest floral design from Trollbeads is of of all things a Zucchini flower.  I've never thought of the flowers as pretty but I do like their bright orange colour brightening up my veggie garden, that and they are delicious when stuffed and fried

For the romantic at heart there is a new kiss bead, this is a bead that looks much better in real life as it is easier to see the detail in the design and to admire the way he design flows around bead.   Then of course there is another sort of love and no one is more passionate about their sport than the soccer fan and Trollbeads have released a bead for those lovers of football as it is known to most of the world.

Gold lovers haven't been forgotten with the bright gold flower wreath bead, this bead looks so sunny it would be great on an all gold bead or as a touch of colour on a silver bead.   The gold heart dangle bead is an elegant looking bead with simple modern design I would love to wear this on a plain black or brown leather necklace.

Finally we have this 3 holed bead, which means that this simple butterfly design is designed to be placed on the Trollbeads fantasy necklaces to give it a different look. 

So all in all I think the Trollbeads Spring 2010 collection is one with a great variety with something for everyone and well worth a trip to your local retailer to check out for yourself.

Trollbeads Spring 2010 Collection - Part 1

Despite the fact that large chunks of the US and Europe are still digging themselves out from piles of snow, and forgetting the fact that it is actually summer in other parts of the world Trollbeads has released its Spring 2010 Collection.   So if you are finding the weather in your part of the world too cold maybe these will give you something to look forward to.

They have release 2 new munaro glass kits.  A bold black and white kit and a red kit.  The red kit, which is my favourite,  is made up of a collection of already released beads just how new is open for interpretation but as I don't have any of the beads it has really caught my eye.   They have also released a black spinel stone faceted dangle and white freshwater pearl dangle, which would go great with the black and white set or look stunning on a simple all silver bracelet.

 

All their leather bracelets have been updated with a new style silver fittings to the ends and the release of 2 great new colours for spring and summer a lovely soft tan colour and a bright red, which I have my eye on to go with the red kit above.  Just remember if you buy a trollbeads bracelet that you have to buy the locks seperately, I know more than one person that has been disappointed to get an online order delivered and not to be able to wear them at once.  The good news is the locks from the silver snake chain bracelets work with the leather so if you own one its easy enough to transfer it. 

If you are after more traditional spring colours there are 3 Swarovski zirconia studded glass beads released.  With their soft baby blue and pink colours they are aptly named Baby and would be a great way to mark a birth.  

 

To add to their growing range of gemstone based beads, Trollbeads have released 2 new jade beads in lovely soft pastel shades of green and yellow.

There is also a faceted Amazonite bead in a lovely bright but hard to describe teal, blue green colour.  This bead reminds me so much of the ocean or the sky, though I confess I think I would have liked it more if it wasn't faceted but shaped like the jade beads above I think this would have been my favourite bead of the new releases.

If you are looking to see what new silver and gold Trollbeads you can look forward to please check out my next post Trollbeads Spring 2010 Collection - Part 2.

 

Pandora Updates Bracelet Builder

There is a new Bracelet Builder on the Pandora website. 

If you've ever wanted to know what your dream Pandora bracelet would look like now you can.  You can easily build your dream bracelet by dropping and dragging beads on their new 3D model.  You can add charms to your bracelet and move them around, then rotate your bracelet in 3D to check out your design from all angles. 

The best part is when you find a design you, you simply drop and drag your beads to your wish or my jewelry list. 

Just be warned the thing is addictive you can spend ages trying out various combinations of your favourite beads and adding even more of then to your wish list.

 

Coffee Table Book for Trollbeads Fans

 

Danish publishers Ehrhorn Hummerston have released a lush new book about Trollbeads.

The book is full of beautifully detailed photos of the beads and jewelry and also contains interviews with Trollbeads fans, designers and with the Nielsen-Aagaard family that created the original trollbeads and started the whole charm beads trend.  It also details the growth of the company and how the beads are made.

The book has been printed in numerous languages including English.  Though it may sound cliched, this book would be ideal for anyone that loves Trollbeads.

 
 

The book is available at most Trollbeads retailers or if they don't stock it you can always get a copy on Amazon.  Though like most coffee table books be prepared for a bit of sticker shock when you see the price.