Today’s post brings my first Pandora Winter 2015 review, with a closer look at the delightfully festive Christmas Holly murano charm. I am a big fan of Pandora’s murano glass beads, and I’m always particularly excited to see their new designs. :D
It’s been a slow news week in the Pandora world, but I am hearing more and more about the Valentine’s 2016 collection. :) I’m hoping to have pictures soon, with any luck. In the meantime, enjoy some close-up shots of this new festive murano and some inspiration as to how you might style it!
The charm
The stock image simply does not do this murano justice. All the examples I have seen in person and in live images have had beautiful cherry red berries, and not the burnt orange shown in the stock image; the green of the leaves is also generally much lighter.
In person, it’s entirely different and far more lovely: the red really pops, the green is subtle and foresty. There is often dark purple detailing at the edge of the leaves (you can see this quite prominently in the stock image too), but I purposely chose one that had only a very faint shade of purple. I wanted mine to be as light and bright as possible!
As with all the murano glass with hand-painted detailing, this one varies a lot in person. Luckily, I had a lovely SA when I got my murano and we both went hunting through the charms they had in store to find one with nicely defined leaves and cherry red berries. This one was the best of the bunch – many had quite distorted leaves, or blurred colours. The size of the berries also varied a lot – for the best effect, you probably want to choose one with large berries, so you get a nice, deep red.
You can start to get a sense of this variation in the following image, courtesy of reader Pamela Vaughn. The picture hasn’t blown up that well, but you can see the differences in the size of the berries between the muranos, and the variation in the definition of the leaves.
The details are painted on to clear glass, which wraps around a white core. The Holly murano has the smaller Pandora silver coring, with branding on just one side of it.
Styling
Of course, while it is really very pretty, this is one of Pandora’s least versatile muranos, and I had to think reasonably hard about how I might style it for this review. Its festive colouring and theme mean that it doesn’t easily blend into a bracelet design that doesn’t already predominantly feature a red colour scheme or holiday theme.
For a simple styling that’s appropriate for celebrating Christmas or simply the winter season, try adding the murano to the cheery red leather bracelet. The white daisies complement it nicely, and suggest a pretty, snowy winter garden.
If you are looking to move away from the red, however, this is perfectly doable. Pairing the murano with a little delicate two-tone gives a wonderful sense of opulence and festive warmth. The addition of the Vintage Allure with its green spinel helps to delicately emphasise the green in the murano.
Of course, as you have already seen in my Layers of Lace review, I am going to be using my Holly murano for my Christmas bracelet design. I had originally planned to use it as the centrepiece of my bracelet, as pictured below. However, I recently received all my lovely new Winter 2015 pieces from Australia – the Dainty Bow clip and SC, the Reindeer and the Christmas Puppy. I added them on to my bracelet and, as it filled up, I felt like the Holly murano was somehow lacking as my centrepiece. Its colour just isn’t quite vibrant enough to stand alone for me, especially when paired with the vibrant Fascinating Red murano and the green Looking Glass bead.
Consequently, I have moved the red murano to the middle alongside it and have put the Sparkling Bow as my centrepiece instead. It complements my Dainty Bow pieces nicely and makes me think of beautifully-wrapped Christmas presents. I have ordered the retired Mint Candy-Stripe murano to go opposite the Looking Glass and I think the overall effect should be rather fun! ^^
Conclusion
This murano is such a lovely, cheerful offering for the holiday season, and I love its pretty colours. It is not the most versatile design, admittedly, but, unlike other red Christmas charms, you could always incorporate it into a nature or garden-themed bracelet once the holiday season is over. It could also make for just a nice winter-themed charm. It may not quite match up to the intricacy of the earlier Wild Flowers murano from Spring 2015, but the hand-painted details are beautifully done. I would love to see Pandora make muranos on a larger scale again, as we only get a handful of new designs each year.
I am probably going to save the rest of my Christmas pieces for review nearer to December itself. ^^ This will hopefully give you some ideas/inspiration as to any Christmassy designs you might already be planning.
The Christmas Holly murano is $45 USD, or £30. If you’re in the UK, you can purchase it alongside the rest of the Pandora Winter collection from authorised retailer John Greed.
What do you think of this new murano design from Pandora? Are you a fan of their murano glass beads?
I had already planned my Christmas bracelet & had decided against purchasing this charm. The stock photo certainly did it no justice but your picture makes me rethink it, it certainly shows how vibrant the red can actually be.
My original Christmas design was based on a red & white theme but this would it nice to add in a touch of green. I’ll have to see if I can find a patience SA to let me pick one out, I can be quite fussy!
I know. :) this blog always changes my perspective on the charms that are reviewed.
Yay, thanks Cindy!
Hi there, I have published an informative article about Murano glass beads that might interest you.
You can read it here and feel free to ask me any further questions:
http://www.stravagante-jewelry.com/murano-glass-jewelry-beads-history.html
Might be worth a mention on your site.
Marco Piazzalunga
— writer and historian of Murano glass —
Glad to hear it – I’m surprised that they approved that version of the stock image, tbh, as it does the charm no favours at all. I’d definitely recommend choosing your murano in person (hopefully with a helpful SA, aha) to pick one with a nice bright red in it. Luckily I got a supervisor when I went in, who was very keen to make sure that I got exactly what I wanted. ^^ The green is quite subtle so it would go nicely with your red and white I think!
Love your designs! Especially the last one, it looks just so festive! I love bows so much. Which design are you adding the dainty bow pieces to?
<3 Cindy
Thanks so much Cindy, glad you like the Christmas design! ^^ The Sparkling Bow pendant does look great with the new Dainty Bows. I’m adding them to that final design – they’re actually already on it, just not in focus. <3
I like real murano glass bead especially the sound created by 2 glass bead hit on the bracelet. Fun!
me too. except that ALWAYS scratches up your bead. now I refrain from buying muranos because they always turn out so ugly. :(
Oh no. :( Murano glass is prone to scratching (some more than others) but I haven’t found that mine have scratched enough to be too noticeable so far. I can’t really design a bracelet without muranos haha.
Completely agree! I’m a big murano glass fan ^^
I originally did not plan a christmas bracelet but reconsidered. However it will not be Pandora. I will go for combination of Trollbeads and True Beadz. We will see how it goes. I might add up a few Pandora silvers.
Sounds lovely! I have indulged in a couple of Chamilia Christmas beads to go along with my Pandora, as well. ^^ Let us know how it goes!
It is a bit tricky as right now I have just one bead in hand. I am waiting impatiently for the release on 20th of Trollbeads charity Red Cross bracelet (white single leather with a red bead) that is a must have for me. I used to be a humanitarian worker assigned to a mission abroad and saw some of the great projects Red Cross was running. This was what started the idea of a Christmas bracelet. I will add Trollbeads Malachite from the new collection for green (that is the one I already have at home and love it). The rest will be True Beadz, already in the mail: white Siberia True touch glass bead (I hope it will not be lost on the white leather), the gorgeous Santa sheep and regular sheep. I have Pandora teddy with Santa hat as well. The rest we will see…
Oh wow, how amazing Jana! And the wonderful thing about the Red Cross bracelet is that Trollbeads are donating 100% of the proceeds to the charity. That’s a particularly amazing gesture considering that most companies will donate only 20%, or cap the donation. :D
Sounds like a great bracelet project in the making. I like the scope of it, crossing over all the brands. :)
To be frank I think Trollbeads just wants to get rid of their stock of white leather and this is much smarter marketing than sending it to clearance. Seriously, who would buy it without the charity story behind? :D I suspect it will look quite filthy in a month or two.
I’m very curious about you finished Christmas bracelet with Chamilia on! :)
Aha, I hadn’t thought of that. I guess white leather is going to be difficult to keep looking nice. 100% of the proceeds is still a nice gesture though!
The Chamilia beads are going on the dainty bow bangle with maybe a couple of Pandora Christmas beads. I’m still undecided as to what exactly! ^^
Hi Jana,
I have been tempted to purchase Troll beads also. So happy to hear that you like them! I am also going to check out True Beadz.
Thank you,
I love that Trollbeads offers real stones. That is something Pandora does not have anymore, just synthetics and CZs. Too bad Troll does not fit on Pandora bracelets :(
I completely agree with you Jana! I miss when Pandora did genuine stones. :(
I am starting my red and white Christmas bangle (intend to get the bow bangle for this) and this is one murano charm that I kept deliberating about in terms of its versatility. I finally decided to get one as the centrepiece. A friend is helping me to get it from Australia but seeing the variations you have mentioned makes me think I should choose it in person instead. I love it best on the red leather bracelet, simple and yet it makes a statement and truly Christmasy. I love bows and adore your idea of unwrapping Christmas presents on a bracelet. Looking forward to reading reviews of your Christmas charms.
Wonderful, the Holly murano would make a lovely centrepiece for a red and white design – especially as it’ll keep that little dash of green at its heart in the middle. You could always let your friend in Australia know what you’re looking for in terms of variation? I’ve had a few lovely helpers who have spent some time picking out the nicest bead for me! :) Thanks Ariane, I do love the idea of bows on a Christmas bracelet. It’s appropriate thematically and it just adds that little dash of delicacy and sweetness amongst all the Christmas cheer. I hope to hear more about your bracelet is coming along ^^
I have decided to pick up the Holly murano myself and for my friend to pick up the Teddy Bear with Santa Hat, the red Christmas All wrapped up charm, the Happy Snowman Enamel charm and the Layers of Lace Clips. Aa she is entrusting a relative to help pick up these items, I didn’t want to bother her with helping to select the Holly Murano. I am also hunting for the red single bracelet. It just looks so cute for the Holly Murano and I will love to use it for the new 2016 Pig charm too.
Good plan! ^^ That is a lovely festive haul you’ll have coming. I like all the bright enamels you’ve picked out.
The red leather is such a nice piece. I use mine both for Christmas pieces and the CNY ones, as you’ve suggested. Good luck finding one! :)
It seems my local store still has the single strand red leather bracelet and I am planning to go get one tomorrow as I know it is already being discontinued. I am still thinking about the festive enamel pieces, in terms of what muranos to pair them with. I think perhaps the white fizzle glass will be the best match for them, like falling snow. I am thinking also to have spacers in between, perhaps simple ones like the clear CZ ones or if I can find some plain silver ones.
Oh that’s lucky! You should grab one before they’re gone. :D I do love the white fizzles with red enamel. They are such a nice crisp white, it goes really nicely. I like your idea of the CZ in the glass being like falling snow, that’s rather lovely!
It is so nice to hear you like the idea too! I must say you are tempting me to get the white daisy spacers so that I can create the very same sweet look as your red leather bracelet. The white daisy spacers seem versatile enough too. Maybe I will try to get these from Australia. ;) I will get the red leather today plus pick out the Holly Murano. Hope I meet a nice SA.
I’ve got them! I went through four muranos with the SA and eventually picked the first one. There was a lot of purple on mine, the leaves were not so well defined and the red spots look smaller. I was a little embarrased to ask to see more as the store was crowded. That said, I am quite happy with mine as I do not have any green pieces and perhaps the evident purple might be more versatile for me. I was quite surprised that the red single bracelet does not seem that red though. I thought I saw more brown in it. The SA was pretty sure it was red and again, I went through a few pieces as some of them were fraying at different parts. Thank you for sharing my joy and of course, for enabling both pieces. ;)
Yaaaay! Glad to hear that you are pleased with your murano – I’m sure the purple looks very pretty, and you can bring out different aspects and colours in the charm, depending on what you put it with. The store was quite busy when I picked mine out, but it didn’t take too long in the end. ;) Pandora is a pretty expensive item, so I think it’s okay to take a little longer making sure you are 100% happy. :)
The red leathers can vary a bit, I think. Mine is quite a pretty deep red (as you can see from the picture)… but a friend of mine sent me a pic of hers recently, and hers was definitely a little on the brown side. Did you get one of the leathers? :)
I did get the red leather single bracelet but the more I look at it, the more I feel it looks like russet brown instead of a deep red. I have 14 days to exchange it for a new one so I am trying to check which stores has it. I am guessing perhaps the whole lot at the store looks like russet brown so I will try a different store this time. I really will prefer a deep red. If… I can’t find the red I prefer, I think I will exchange it for a charm instead. You are right in that Pandora is expensive, I should really love it and not make do with it. Thank you Ellie! Oh, and Pandora does collect the boxes to reuse so I will gladly bring them all back when I next drop by.
:-) It’s very pretty. And I guess it’s ok to have one or two charms that can be worn only for a short time span, i.e. Christmas. Last year I purchased the round Santa and I am looking very much forward to wearing it soon.
Have a very HAPPY weekend! :-)
Aw, the Jolly Santa bead is very cute. I actually do wear a lot of my Christmas beads all year round as I tend to tuck them away into larger designs where they’re not too noticeable. I expect this Christmas bracelet will stay together though – I may well wear it from time to time outside of the Christmas season too if I need a pick-me-up, haha.
Hope you had a lovely weekend and thanks for commenting as ever! <3
Are the details painted on the inside or the outside of the glass? I am buying one for a gift and want to make sure the colors last. Thank you!
They are painted on the outside of the glass. :) I don’t think that the colour would fade though – or, at least, I haven’t found that they have on any of my older murano glass beads with hand-painted details.
Thank you!
You’re welcome! :)
Your Christmas bracelet looks wonderful, Ellie! The Rudolph and Christmas Holly beads really complement the red murano The little bow up front is cute. The light green looking glass murano is a nice touch of green. Your live shots of the Christmas Holly murano are so much nicer than the stock image. I’d like to see the bead in person after seeing yours. Like you, I get the sales people to pull out all the muranos they have! I’m super picky, but I love my muranos so I want good ones! I’m really pleased with Pandora’s (princess) signature color muranos. I hope they come up with more great muranos next year. (And I’m hoping they release Sleeping Beauty beads next year with a pretty pink signature color for Aurora. That would be a good release at Valentine’s. But Pandora seems to have trouble with true pinks!).
Thanks so much Judy, I’m so pleased you like it! I’ve been so looking forward to putting this one together. I can’t believe it’s almost full already. I really am terrible, aha.
I’m sure they’re probably quite used to people being picky about the murano beads. They do vary such a lot. ^^ My SA was lovely and happy to pull them all out. Even when I had chosen one, she was checking back over to make sure that there wasn’t one that might be better. I hadn’t been to that store before but I’d definitely go again! I love the Disney Signature muranos, even if they’re not that explicitly Disney. I am considering getting two of the Cinderella murano beads – I need some more blue in my collection, and I love the powder blue shade. :) Sleeping Beauty would be lovely to have in pink – although wouldn’t it be fun if they had light blue and light pink threaded together in it, like her dress at the end? ^^ Pandora does have a history of very un-pinky pink beads, but they’ve been better in recent years. This year’s Valentine’s murano was a very pretty pink and the Anna murano is a gorgeous hot pink as well! So I’m sure they could manage a pretty Aurora bead – fingers crossed!
I managed to get a well matched pair of the Holly muranos. Since my Christmas bracelet is red and white, I will wear them on my red leather with the Pinecone charm and two green Inspiration Within spacers. I am hoping for a double red leather with the Valentine’s collection.
Sounds beautiful, the holly murano looks absolutely lovely on the red leather. :D I was tempted to add the green Inspiration Within spacers to my Christmas design, but have gone for the Minnie Wreath instead – I think they have the same shade of green!
There is a retired double red leather, if you’re looking for one? You might be able to track one down. I haven’t seen/heard of any leather bracelets for Valentine’s, but I could be wrong! :)
The red leather design just made me go: “wow!”, I think that’s my favourite design with the Holly murano.
The christmas puppy and the reindeer look so cute! I love your christmas bracelet!
I ended up going to Pandora today (since my boyfriend got me the rose gold clasp bracelet and I wanted to see how my wishlist charms will look on it) and I’ve noticed that some Christmas puppy charm’s faces were kinda washed out. Like, one side would be sharp and good, while the other side is washed out and not sharp. The open work christmas present charm didn’t end up looking good on the silver bracelet as it did on my lavender multicord one.
Yay, thank you! :) The reds do go very nicely and I think the red leather does emphasise the red berries in the murano quite nicely.
Glad you like the xmas bracelet, thank you! I’ve been so excited to put it together, and I’m still looking forward to finishing it off completely. Oh dear, I hadn’t noticed that with the Puppy! I just checked mine and it looks perfect to me. Perhaps your store had a bad batch. I will keep an eye out when I am next in store to see! Are you going to keep the present on your lavender cord then? :)
If i end up getting that openwork present charm, then it will go on my lavender cord, but the last time I looked at it… I didn’t like it as much as I did when I saw it the first time ?
They probably had a bad batch because I go between 2 pandora stores and the one that I usually go to had all nice and sharp xmas puppy ones while the one I went to last time, at least the one that I looked at, didn’t have a good one!
Oh good, glad to hear that the other puppies were okay. I love mine! <3
Funny how you mentioned the Valentines Day collection. I was just thinking about that. Hopefully we get to see some pictures soon lol.
I love this murano. I think it’s quite different. However I’m not sure I would wear it other than on a Christmas bracelet.
Love your review as always. A little disappointed that I won’t be reading any until December but hopefully we can see some new items coming out soon lol.
Haha, I think Valentine’s is on everyone’s minds at the moment. ;)
Yes that is the thing. Even though I have suggested some non-Christmassy ways in which you might wear it, I would only have bought it for a Christmas design. Someone else might feel differently though I guess!
Oh, I’m only talking about the actual Christmas charms! Like the Puppy, Reindeer, Holiday Wreath etc. I will still be doing other reviews (like the Dainty Bows) all the way up until December haha, never fear. Thanks so much for commenting Linda!
I saw the picture of some charms from the Valentines Collection. The double heart murano and the silver heart look beautiful. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the collection. I like pink so I don’t mind more charms that are pink lol. The radiant hearts are also among my favorite charms.
I’m glad you will continue to do the reviews. I enjoy reading them a lot.
Those are the two I like best of all I have seen. I love pink but I have so many pink beads that I don’t know how many more my collection can take :P glad that it sounds just right for you though!
Thanks Linda. They are my favourite to do :)
Love how u matched the murano with the daisies and reindeer. Absolutely brilliant!
Thanks so much Charmaine! Glad you like it :D
Was wondering which is the acural design foe this year’s black Friday charm
The North American version is the two-tone one. No one knows what’s up with the opalescent version unfortunately. I hope it hasn’t been ditched. :/
The two tone snow globe :)
Thanks ladies.
Your murano is so pretty Ellie, you definitely picked a good one! I didn’t realize this particular style varied so much. That stock image looks awful, definitely doesn’t do it justice!
I love it best on your red leather with the daisy spacers, that would look so cute stacked with your Christmas bracelet if you end up changing it up again. I love all your Christmas charms!
You know I can’t wait for the Valentine’s collection reveal! What else new have you heard that you can share? ;-)
Thanks Natalie – I should hope I have a good one, considering how the poor SA and I went through the whole lot they had in the shop aha! :P Some examples are definitely nicer than others. I really dislike the stock image, and I would never have considered buying it if I hadn’t seen live images of it. I’m surprised that they approved it, seeing as it doesn’t do the charm any justice.
Haha, I think everyone likes the red leather best! ^^ I’m not planning on moving the Holly murano as I love love my Christmas design but I will probably end up stacking the red leather with the full bracelet.
There are a few new Radiants-Hearts-esque designs, with the cut-out hearts around the side… Petals of Love is the key phrase for this collection, and there are a few pavé charms/items of jewellery that have petals shaped like hearts. They look like clovers. :)
I saw the Valentine campaign bracelet photo on Pandora’s Angels, nothing there must have for me other than I still want the Ruby Facets but they are already for sale now (I don’t think my store got them yet though). Are those dark pink hearts glass muranos?
See I really like the murano and the Ribbon of Love (the heart charm) is nice as well. The dark pink heart-shaped charms are not glass, they are enamel. :)
I agree the heart murano is pretty, I don’t know why Pandora muranos don’t speak to me as much as their other charms. I do really like your Holly Murano, I’d actually consider getting it after seeing this review if I found a nice one in person (would not risk ordering). The other ones I’ve liked are the Wildflower murano and the Folklore murano.
Thanks, I couldn’t figure out what those hearts were! I’m excited to see what else they have for this collection.
I do love Pandora murano glass :) even the older styles, despite the fact that they do look a bit dated these days. Other brands far outstrip them in terms of the quality of glasswork but there’s just something about their classic sets, like the candy-stripe murano, that I just like!
I think it looks great on your red leather bracelet, I feel it shows the muranos colours more. Also I do like it on your last Christmas bracelet, it matches well there. I think the reindeer, looks great next to your red murano.
What will be your next review?
Oh I can’t wait to see the valentines pictures, feel like we’ve been waiting ages for these to be released. I hope we don’t have too long to wait.
I’m always excited to see the new releases.
Thank you, Sarah – those are my favourite two designs as well. :D I’m keeping it on the Christmas bracelet though, I love all the colours together. My next review will probably be the Dainty Bows… I just need to think of some stylings to do for it!
Haha, yeah, I think we’ve been spoiled by how early the Valentine’s pics came out last year. September was ridiculously early! You can expect lots of pavé, lots of hearts, lots of pink…
I’ll look forward to reading your next review.
It sounds like an interesting collection for valentines, I can’t wait to see it. I love pave, hearts and pink, so it’s should be ideal for me.
I have just seen a picture someone has posted on a comment on Facebook, which shows you three new charms, for the valentines collection. I liked the look of one of them. Excited to see the rest now.
Yeah, I’ve seen all of three of those before! I really like the murano glass charm. Which did you like the look of?
The one I like is the silver heart, with the bit of pave detailing, I just like the design of it, it’s something different. Yeah the murano looks nice, with the double heart detailing.
Oh, that’s called the Ribbon of Love. I like that one as well! :D
which post? I think I saw a post somewhere with a preview of a ring or something.
I love this charm and will definitely be getting it the colours are beautiful I can’t believe how different it is to the stock image. I purchased my Xmas bracelets yesterday I went to bister the outlet shopping centre and got a lobster clasp bracelet silver. They also had the silver Christmas tree which I got for £25 I then got the double heart clip that was a bit of a random purchase I’ve always like it and they had it for £20 it’s on my blue bracelet for now. Then I got the carousel charm which I love I’ve wanted this one for a while and never got round to getting it then I saw they had it so I couldn’t resist. I have put my bracelet together and I really like it I can’t wait to wear it I’ve already got quite a lot on it and I haven’t purchased any of the new collection yet so there might be some change lol.
I also wished that they made more murano.
Ellie,
Another well timed post. You know I had a look at this charm when it first came out and I have to be honest it did not rock my world – in part because of the colour variations & I had a devil of a time imagining how I’d style it. This charm reminds me a little of the Folklore bead that varies in colours, like Pamela’s photo illustrates with the Holly bead my Folklore beads all highlight a different colour so I wear one on my necklace and the two most similar in colour on my bracelet.
Ellie, I agree with a few others who have replied in this post your styling of the Holly bead has made me rethink my initial decision. While I found the purple highlighting an odd colour I can overlook it if I can find one of these beads with the larger red berries. I think I’ll go for it! A friend who travels picked up the olive green murano in Germany for me and I was using that as my green along with the fascinating red but I could swap it out with the Holly. Maybe the olive murano will work with the Holly.
Your bracelet designs are wonderful and you have helped me to get a lot more use out of my red leather bracelet. Also I have a better idea of how to use the 2 ornament dangles.
Thanks again Ellie!
Hi Lisa!
Yay, I’m glad to hear that this review has changed your mind! It’s such a sweet murano, and the stock image does it a great disservice. ^^ The purple highlighting is a little odd, but many of the muranos only have a little touch of it – it’s not too noticeable on mine, I don’t think. I could have had one with less purple, but I compromised to get one with really nicely defined red berries. I guess as dedicated collectors we are all quite picky, haha! The olive murano would look nice with the holly I think. You should try it at least!
Thanks, Lisa, I’m so pleased you liked the bracelet designs. I’m more excited about the christmas design than I have been about my bracelets for a while. The colours are so bright and fun and a little different to what I usually do. Hope you enjoy your pieces and let me know how you get on with the holly murano! ^^
Thanks for commenting! <3
It’s completely different to the stock image – and so much nicer! The colours are much prettier in person. I’d change the stock image if I were them, I don’t think it will sell them very many. Oooh how exciting that you got to go to Bicester! Sounds like they had some good deals on, hope it wasn’t too busy. I love all the charms you got, they’re all some of my favourites! Especially the Carousel. When you say double heart clip, do you mean the queen of hearts one?
http://www.pandoracharmsjewellery.uk.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/p/a/pandora-silver-queen-of-hearts-clip-charm_1.jpeg
You should upload a pic to your pinterest :) I’m already wearing my xmas bracelet, you should just go ahead haha. Why not!
I’d love them to make some murano sets like they used to, with the variety of colours. :)
Yes this is the Clip, I’m going to try and resist wearing it till December the 1st we will see how that goes. I will try and upload a picture
Aha good luck! ^^ It’s an absolutely gorgeous clip.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a1/55/bf/a155bfe7ad7c20456d961dc986130cd1.jpg
Here my Xmas bracelet so far
Ah, I love it! It looks so fun and festive. :D I see you have the mint candy murano bead that I’m going to be adding to mine. Yours looks absolutely beautiful, I’m even more excited for mine to arrive! <3
Pretty! I have the silver elf one too. It doesn’t look that interesting from a distance, but the detail on it is so cute.
Nicola, you convinced me! I finally started my own Christmas bracelet!
Oh no wait….are the “leather” bracelets real leather? I’m a vegan so…?
I never thought about it before but yes, I think they are real leather. :(
Hi Ellie,
My birthday was last week and I was very spoiled ! My daughter have find two retired candy stripe ! So I can take the holly murano : it would be nice with.
A friend who’s come back from Malaysia paid to me the star safety chain who is gorgeous on my christmas bracelet. The only thing is : my bracelet is full, I should make an other one : very hard aha !
Now I am waiting with impatience the offer for the black friday… I want to put the snow globe with the abundance of love : two of each.
I have a question Ellie : I search every where the ring abundance of love and I can’t find. Do you know something about ?
Nice day !
Hi Isabelle! I hope you had a lovely birthday – glad to hear that you got a little spoiled haha. Which candy-stripes did you get? My green one arrived today and I love it! So fresh and pretty, and it looks just great on my Christmas bracelet. :D
Aha, you should definitely get started on another bracelet. It’s a slippery slope! :P The snow globes will look beautiful with the abundance of love charm, I love that idea. The opalescent shimmer of the abundance of love is rather like glistening snow :)
I just had a look on the French version of Pandora.net and it looks like it hasn’t been released in France. :( You might need to try and get that one from overseas, or wait to see if it comes out next year with the Valentine’s collection which is a possibility.
Have a nice day and thanks for commenting! <3
Hi Ellie !
Thanks for your answer, I will see for the ring : Chrysa is ready to help me !
I have receive two red murano candy strip. My bracelet is red and white. My second will probably red, green and white. But I think that Pandora could make some better green for Christmas…
<3
Hi Isabelle!
Best wishes for your birthday! I could send you the abundance of love ring if you wish! Let me know by mail at xrisapav(at)yahoo(dot)gr.
Chrysa
Hi Chrysa,
Thanks for your email, if you are of agreement for later, I will contact you perhaps after Christmas, my purse is a little empty ;)
Nice day Chrysa
Anytime Isabelle! Best wishes for Christmas! You can contact me whenever you want! ♡
Hello Ellie,
Thanks so much for your reviews of various charms and murano beads. Just like other responses, I never would have thought to purchase the particular charm I had not seen your styling suggestions and the fact that stock photo did not do justice to the particular charm! I now love my curious cat; have started a Christmas bracelet; and when can will purchase a holly murano.
Thanks again,
Love reading g your blog and all responses
:)
Hello Ellie,
Thanks so much for your reviews of various charms and murano beads. Just like other responses, I never would have thought to purchase the particular charm had I not seen your styling suggestions and the fact that stock photo did not do justice to the particular charm! I now love my curious cat; have started a Christmas bracelet; and when can will purchase a holly murano.
Thanks again,
Love reading your blog and all responses
:)
Hi Chris! I’m so pleased to hear that they’ve been useful, as they are so much fun to do. :) Thank you for letting me know. Live photos are always useful as some of Pandora’s stock images are so far from what the actual charm looks like. ^^
Glad to hear that you’ve gone ahead with a Christmas bracelet! I’m so enjoying mine, and I always used to swear blind that I’d never do one, haha.
Thanks for commenting! <3
Hi Ellie!
Well that really was a great timing! On Sunday(don’t laugh!), I had a …Christmas party! It’s a tradition I invented 5 years ago, and although quite tiring (as I spend 2 days cooking), it’s one of my favourite days of the year! I invite friends at home, we decorate the Christmas tree and then have dinner! I was in totally Christmas mood when I saw your post late at night and you made me smile, with this super synchronisation, as my best friend gifted me the Holly murano few hours ago! :-)
I must say I totally loved it! Although she didn’t know that colours vary in different beads, she picked a lovely one, with large berries, as I would have done, too! The differences I spotted compared to yours, is that you notice the purple colours in leaves more easily and you can also see clearly the berries’ outline. For the time being I’ve made a mini festive theme on my “Always in my heart” bangle, where the Holly murano is the centre piece between the 2013 pavè tree and 2014 openwork starry heart. Those are being kept in the middle by the Twinkling Night clips, whereas a red and a white Fizzle murano are waiting for company on each of the other two sides. :-)
I totally loved your stylings! Your final Christmas bracelet will be gorgeous with the placement of the green candy murano, to make it kind of symmetrical! The puppy and Reindeer look so cute, and the fact that you moved the red murano in the middle made the bracelet shine a bit more! :-)
Despite what everyone else thinks, I intend to wear my murano the whole year round, as it reminds me of cherries! I already have the cherry clip and they match really nice! Your lovely styling on the leather bracelet is a brilliant mini-cherry/spring idea, so I’ll try to find a red bracelet!
Thank you for this great, colourful, Christmas post Ellie! My very best wishes for the Christmas season! With this review and a Christmas tree in my living room, we don’t need to wait for December for wishes, right? :-)) ♥♥♥
Hi Chrysa!
That sounds wonderful and so much fun! Once we’re past mid-November, I think getting in the mood for Christmas is absolutely fair game, haha. I hope it went well and that you’re not too tired from all the cooking! I’m sure it was delicious. ^^ And yay, I’m glad to hear that you got the holly bead as well. Isn’t it cheerful and Christmassy in person? What a nice gift from your friend. :D Your bracelet sounds very pretty, especially with the heart clasp bangle. The red and white Fizzles I’m sure look perfect with it!
The green candy-stripe has arrived, as has my Minnie Wreath charm from the latest Disney collection – and that’s all I’m adding to it for this year (although to be honest with you – I only have space after that for one or two charms more. I’m terrible. This was meant to be a bracelet to add to when future collections came out :P). I am really happy with it and I’m already wearing it! It’s too hard not to, lol.
Cherries is a great idea! The red leather bracelet is retired now, I think, but hopefully you can find one. It would be so great for a little spring/cherry theme – perhaps with some of the cherry blossom collection on there as well?
Of course we don’t have to wait! ^^ I’m already working on the rest of my Christmas reviews and feeling very much in the festive spirit. Best wishes to you too and thanks for commenting! <3
I was hesitant to purchase this bead because I thought it was too holidayish. But when I saw these stylings, I realized I could use it in a way that is not holidayish! So I am going to put it with the abundance of love charm in white, the jasmine slipper, and the folklore murano. It blends in and does not look like a Christmas bead. Thanks for the suggestions!
Oh good, I’m glad it inspired you! You definitely don’t have to go with a Christmas-theme for this one, even though I have personally chosen to. It would look great with those mix of colours – they’ll help to downplay the festive red and green as well!
I love your Christmas bracelet Ellie! I think the soft green muranos work nicely with your new holly murano. I am being extremely well behaved and I think the only Christmas pieces I will take home this year is the Christmas Puppy and the starshine earrings. We are purchasing a puppy for my father in law since his dog passed away early this year as a Christmas present and the puppy charm just seems fitting! I never thought I would like the holly murano as much as I would until you reviewed it, you got a very pretty one! The ones in my local store had pretty red berries but a lot of brown in the background.
I think your Christmas bracelet is just gorgeous and the prettiest I have seen. While I like the blues that came out this year, I feel that red/green/white is more ‘Christmassy’ and very beautiful. I only have one bracelet and a bangle which are both pink themed, so I cannot wait to see the new pink charms for Valentines when photos are being shared around.
Thank you for the great review Ellie!
Thanks so much Stephanie! I’m so pleased that you like it, as I’ve been waiting to put it together since July. :D Aw, how lovely that you are getting your father-in-law a puppy. The charm will be perfect to commemorate that <3 I've always dreamed about getting a dog for Christmas, perhaps my OH can make it happen some day, haha. The charm will have to do instead for now.
Thanks, I do like the red and green themes for Christmas – it's not the most versatile, but I feel instantly Christmassy whenever I look at the bracelet! If you are after pink charms, you will be in luck with the Valentine's collection – there are plenty in there :)
Thanks for commenting Stephanie! <3
Love your red leather design. I wasn’t too sure about this charm as I’m trying to be good. Had spent quite a lot already. Your post changed my mine and o bought one today.
Thank you! <3 I'm glad it changed your mind (even though you were trying to be good :P)! It's a very pretty murano.
In time to come, I might get the Snow White and tinker bell murano to go with it. I think the colour seems to match.
I considered getting the Tinkerbell murano for my Christmas bracelet, but decided on the mint candy-stripe instead as it was easier for me to get hold of. I think that would look lovely! :)
I saw the holly murano in person recently, and liked it MUCH better than the stock pictures. I agree, Ellie. Pandora isn’t doing themselves any favors with that stock photo. I’ve thought about starting a Christmas bracelet, maybe with a free bracelet promo. This is one I’d consider getting. I particularly like how it looks with the red faceted charm.
Ellie, you mentioned a lot of inconsistency with the holly muranos. Have you noticed it with their size? I have 3 wildflower muranos, all bought at separate times, and found that one of them (and my favorite of the three) is actually a bit larger than the other two. I considered returning the largest one, but liked it too much to give it up, so I just have them spread out on my bracelet, so the difference isn’t noticeable. I wonder what would cause the differences? Do you know if they are hand made or machine made? Just curious.
Yes, it’s odd isn’t it? That they approved a stock image that not only looks nothing like the charm, but is much less attractive as well!
All muranos vary in size, to different degrees. They are all handmade, and so you can get quite significant differences in size between batches. You should take a look at this video which shows how the murano charms are made – it’s rather amazing! :)
I love hand made murano glass. I have been looking around for a table lamp, wow! Very expensive. I am happy still can afford to get some murano glass bead.
Yes murano glass products are expensive! Pandora beads are the only ones I own. ^^
That’s a cool video, Ellie, thanks! I broke down and bought a holly murano for myself. I also bought the enameled St. Nick charm as a reward to myself for all my Thanksgiving cooking. :-). When I was looking at him, it dawned on me what Santa he reminded me of. He looks like the one from the Polar Express movie to me – a movie near and dear to my 13 year old’s heart (she’s Christmas’ biggest fan, and is such a magical spirit this time of year!). So I decided to turn one of my bangle bracelets into a Polar Express themed bracelet. I already had the newer sleigh and the elf charm, and the holly murano and enamel Santa look great. The red enamel brings out the red in the holly berries nicely. I’d love to add the new Rudolph and the big red enameled present (just like Billy’s gift in the movie). I’d LOVE to see a silver jingle bell down the road. A girl can hope!
Oh good, I’m glad you decided to get one! :D And the Jolly Santa as well, he’s such a cute bead. I love that jewel-like red they use in it.
I haven’t seen the Polar Express, but it sounds like a great theme to base a bracelet around! ^^ The holly murano definitely looks good next to bright reds – I have mine by the red faceted murano, as you can see, and it does make it look brighter. Jingle bells would be a pretty cute charm! There are lots of fun and original Christmas motifs they have left to do… without remaking that sparkling present design six times over, haha.
Agreed! I’m not sure what the deal is with the new present charm that’s got nothing in it. Um… I like stuff inside my presents, not air! Though the red enamelled one, I like. I’d love to see a pointsetta charm also. A Santa hat would also be cute.
That was exactly what I said! What a disappointing concept, a present with nothing in it! ;)
There is a poinsettia charm, but it’s plain silver and not that poinsettia-ish. A red enamel version would perhaps be more obvious.
I got 2 free Dainty Bow bangle this morning with 2 transactions. I picked the most beautiful Holly murano like yours.
Oh how exciting! :D Glad to hear you got a beautiful Holly murano, it is good to pick them out. What else did you go for in the end?
Ellie, do you remember I mentioned to you will try the new Abundance of Love (silver enamel) as a pair of earrings? Now I put the warm red Holly in between them which look festive with a touch of gold and classy with snow white background.
That sounds absolutely beautiful! The snowy look of the abundance of love is perfect for the holly murano. Enjoy!
LE Snow globe not sure yet, I can exchange it anytime after the promotion period. I need that to add up to $150 to get the second free bangle. Oh! In Canada, if you spend $500 can get the 14k clasp bangle free.
I am going for one :) but then I usually get the black Friday charm haha. I’m only missing one from the whole set!
I returned the BF I bought but got it free the other day. I put Holly in between the BF and Cinderella’s Pumpkin Coach free charm from last promotion, with Moon & Star dangle, very beautiful. The Coach and Snowglobe both have the gold on the top, I love this so so much.
Ah, Michele, that styling sounds beautiful! Funnily enough I am actually planning on wearing my BF charm opposite the Cinderella Coach – I am going to have my Fascinating Aventurescent in the middle. Glad to hear that you love the combo too!
Small size free bangle all gone here.
I’ve heard from others that the stocks of the bangle are running out fast! Wonder if that was intentional. :(
One shop gave 800 free bangle on 26th Nov, it was crazy busy for the shop. Now some shop can give the LE BF Wonderland for free instead.
Oh my gosh, 800?! Wow! Those poor sales assistants, haha.
Some shop got new free bangle shipment in today. Hurry!
HI Ellie, I was reading through the Pandora site and it states that you can use mineral oils to clean the glass if it becomes dry or dull. Have you done this before, and if so which brand do you use?
Hi Judie! That’s interesting. I have heard that mineral oils are recommended for the cameos, but not for the glass. I have not tried it with glass myself. Are you thinking of trying it yourself?
Hi, yes the pandora website said that you can use a small amounts of mineral oil on the glass and rub it in circles with a lint free cloth. I haven’t tried it myself bec I am not sure which mineral oil to use specifically. Will wait till I come across someone who has done this first so I don’t ‘destroy’ my own muranos :) I use to not like muranos at all but I think all your styling and pictures have started my growing murano addiction :)
I am opposite to you, murano glass ( Trollbead ) bring me to Pandora.
I will try and have a look into myself when I get the chance :) I find most of my muranos stay looking quite shiny with regular cleaning but it would be good to try I think!
I absolutely love muranos, so I’m glad that you are warming up them! ^^ I can hardly design a bracelet without them!