Considering putting the Pandora bangle on your wish list this Christmas? Let us help you make your decision with our overview of Pandora’s take on the charm bangle.
I don’t own a bangle myself, but I’ve seen and read reports from plenty who have. I have also tried the bangle on for size. I have since acquired the bangle, and you can read my review of it here.
The bangle – an overview
The Pandora bangle offers an elegant and fashionable alternative to the traditional Pandora snake chain charm bracelet. It is also designed to function as a charm bracelet, and can be worn with as many charms as you like. Pandora have stated that it is capable of being worn full of charms, although many ladies choose to wear them plain.
To get the bangle on and off, you unclasp the bracelet and then twist the ends of the bangle apart. The bangle uses metal memory, meaning that it is very flexible and will just spring back into shape after you twist it.
The bangle is hollow, which makes it very light compared to the traditional charm bracelet.
It also features the new spherical Pandora clasp, which looks like a charm in itself.
The bangle comes in three sizes, much like the Pandora leather bracelets. These are:
- 17 cm / 6.7 inches
- 19 cm / 7.5 inches
- 21 cm / 8.3 inches
Clips
As the bangle does not have threads, you can’t just place clips on the bangle and have them stay in place. Instead, you’ll need silicone inserts to hold the clips in place. You can buy these from Pandora (in some regions these stoppers are free) or get them yourself from sites such as Amazon.com.
Scratching
The Pandora bangle offers a very polished, smooth silver finish, which admittedly looks very attractive.
However, reports from those who have bought the bangle suggest that it scratches very easily, leading to a loss of its shiny finish. This is exacerbated by putting threaded charms on the bangle – the cores of the threaded charms come into contact with the bangle more than the openwork charms and therefore scratch it more. Consequently, collectors who are worried about the bangle losing its shine might be better off just putting openworks on it – or wearing it without charms entirely.
The Fit
It’s important to note that the Pandora bangle is circular, and not oval-shaped. This means that it is not shaped to fit the shape of your wrist (which is of course an oval). This does mean that some people have found the bangle uncomfortable, especially when filled up with charms.
I tried it on in store without any charms on it and I found that it felt nice and light on my wrist. However, I did not try it with charms, so I don’t know how the fit would change when the bangle is filled up. I consequently think it’s important to try the bangle on and see if it the fit suits you personally.
Styling
Stacking jewellery is big on the fashion scene right now, and the Pandora bangle is perfect for this trend. As it probably best suits being worn with only a few charms, you can stack a couple of bangles with a small selection of charms on each to great effect.
I’ll stop now, if only because I’ve now written the word ‘bangle’ so many times that it no longer seems like a real word to me. ;) Do you have the Pandora bangle? If so, how do you wear it? If not, is it on your wish list?