This will be the last of my charm reviews for 2013, and I’m just fitting it in before the arrival of the Pandora Valentine’s Day collection, which will be on the 15th of January 2014. Today’s post covers the beautifully detailed Christmas Sleigh charm, known as the Dashing Through The Snow charm in the US.
The Charm
The sleigh has a little sack of presents in the back, alongside a candy cane and a teddy bear.
Compared to the original garnet sleigh charm, this charm is leaps and bounds ahead in terms of design. It has a much more sophisticated, delicate design, with less heavy lines. The original sleigh is still lovely in its own right, but it is undoubtedly a much simpler charm.
Unlike the older sleigh, the Dashing Through The Snow charm is threaded through its sides, meaning that it sits forwards on your bracelet. The older sleigh was threaded so that sat sideways on the bracelet. I have to say, this does mean that the new sleigh sticks out from the other charms a bit – it’s a big charm in its own right. It also means that it doesn’t stay the right way up very much!
The other thing to note is the inclusion of the teddy bear on the side of the sleigh:
It’s a pretty faithful miniature of the LE Bear My Heart charm, and a nice little Easter egg that Pandora collectors will appreciate!
The only thing that strikes me is that, when you compare the two charms, you realise how much more gold is included in the Bear My Heart charm. And yet, in the UK, both are priced at £60 (which converts to $99 USD!). Consequently, I’m not sure how much value for money you are getting with the Dashing Through The Snow charm.
As you can see, the Sleigh charm threads on and has the Pandora hallmark ‘S925 ALE’ stamped on its side.
Styling
As it’s quite a sizable charm, I would personally avoid putting it with smaller, more delicate pieces.
The other thing I’ve noticed is that, when it slides on the bracelet and bumps into other charms, it makes a very hollow silver noise – like keys chinking together. I suppose this is because of the thinness of the front of the sleigh; none of my other charms do it.
Conclusion
This is a very beautiful charm, with some intricate detail, even if elements of its design do mean that it doesn’t sit quite as well on the bracelet chain as the original garnet sleigh. Overall, I am completely in love with this addition to my collection!
The Sleigh charm is £60 in the UK and $65 in the US.
Do you own this charm? Is it on your wish list? Let me know! :)
Hi Ellie, after saw this blog from you and i try very hard to find this charm from Singapore and Australia Pandora store.. Unfortunately i cannot find it and it has been discontinued per Pandora Australia website.
Few days back I happened to browse through Pandora Malaysia website and i saw this SKU still active in that country. I managed to get my niece who stay in Malaysia to check one of the Pandora store left one piece!!! OMG, I cannot wait to collect from her anytime soon…
Hi Shirleen! Oh no, I had no idea that it had been discontinued :( It’s one of my favourites, I’m surprised and disappointed to hear it. It seems like Pandora are steadily discontinuing all their interesting and lovely charms…
But I’m very pleased to hear that you snagged one! That is some good Pandora sleuthing ;)
Yes, i glad to get one from Pandora Malaysia store and it is last piece!
In Australia, it is confirmed retired per official website. I do notice that Pandora discontinuation exercise happens in Australia more often compared to other countries.. The two tone bee which is my favourite also being discontinued in Australia but i got it last year, lucky me…
I like how you match the sleigh with two tone bear, any idea how to get it? Is it limited item or exclusive or?
If i cannot get the two tone bear, may be hug a bear silver and gold charm may match too? What do you think?
Yeah, the Bear Hug charm would be a great alternative!
The two-tone bear was a limited edition Mother’s Day charm from 2013. It’s quite hard to find these days. I’d maybe try getting one secondhand or ring around some stores to see if they still have any older ones lying around :)
Hi Ellie, finally finally i collected the charm from my niece. It is such a beautiful charm, small yet intricate design.. Love it.
Is it because it has been launched for quite sometimes resulted a bit oxidize or it is originally oxidized?
Awesome! I’m very pleased to hear that.
My Bear My Heart is not particularly oxidised, no. It could be because you’ve got an older one that’s been sitting on a shelf for a while :)