Would you put non-Pandora beads on your Pandora bracelet?

TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others

#31
I say put on other beads with your Pandora. Pandora has such a limited range of beads. And for a dentist there are several .925 sterling silver tooth beads. OHM makes one with a toothbrush on it. So cute. And, if you have never seen an OHM bead you will love them. The detail is better than Pandora, Biagi, Troll, Chamilia etc.


please review our rules
 
Last edited by a moderator:
#32
Definitely look at the other major beads. OHM and Biagi are soo much cheaper than Pandora and you will find a much better selection from these designers. Biagi has the exact same cellphone that has been retired by Pandora and at silverbeadbox it is only $20.00. OHM beads are threaded just like Pandora. Biagi is not threaded but is also a solid .925 sterling silver bead.

Also there are many other beads out there that are .925 sterling silver and are not as heavy (more hollowed inside). But they are beautiful as well, very nice detail.

So keep on collecting, but don't hold yourself to just buying Pandora beads.
 
#33
My first bracelet was a Pandora one and I agree with Silverbeadbox in that their beads were not always very good on the detail (and they're expensive) although their range is pretty good. I also bought some off Chamilia which were nice and much better priced and also another company called Aphrodite (aphrodite-designs.com) who had some nicely detailed beads with colorful epoxy resin and two tone colors in sterling silver. My thoughts are that you should get out and shop around - it's about making yourself happy not about making one company rich...
 
#35
jollywa said:
I would like to look at Troll but I don't think we have anyone carrying them in Edmonton. I like their glass beads.
Click to expand...

I just discovered that Chartreuse in Sherwood Park now carry a wide range of Troll beads. They are gorgeous! Some of the silver ones do fit on the Pandora bracelet, but the glass ones will not. Ask me how I know. :smile1:
 
#36
I have both OHM and Troll beads on my pandora bracelet and they look great together! I say go for whatever bead you like that goes well with your pther beads on your bracelet!!
 
#37
Silverbeadbox said:
I say put on other beads with your Pandora. Pandora has such a limited range of beads. And for a dentist there are several .925 sterling silver tooth beads. OHM makes one with a toothbrush on it. So cute. And, if you have never seen an OHM bead you will love them. The detail is better than Pandora, Biagi, Troll, Chamilia etc.
Click to expand...

I own a Pandora bracelet with Pandora as well as Chamilia charms on it. I've been eyeing some Ohm and Silverado beads, but haven't had a chance to see any in person. I understand they are "Pandora compatible", but do you (or anyone else) know if they screw on seamlessly they way Chamilia beads do?
 
Last edited:
#39
^ I feel the same way! Although so far I've only been buying Pandora. The only other brand I've seen in person is Chamilia and I haven't seen enough of their collection to like anything.
 
#40
i have an ohm bracelet, 3 pandora bracelets and two chamilia. i don't interchange.

i also have no-brand bracelets from my local beading/hobby shop.
 
#41
I definitely put non-Pandora beads on my bracelets. But I'm not really a collector. I put together 2 bracelets. One to be worn with my favorite Yurman bracelet and the other to be worn with my favorite John Hardy bracelet. So I was more concerned with getting the look that complemented the other bracelets than I was with maintaining the integrity of the Pandora line. KWIM?
 
#42
SassieMe said:
<SNIP> I was more concerned with getting the look that complemented the other bracelets than I was with maintaining the integrity of the Pandora line. KWIM?
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly. My first Pandora bracelet, bought before I even knew what they were, was a knockoff bought in China. I had never heard of the bracelets and thought that picking out beads and building a bracelet was just a cool way to blow a couple of hours while waiting for a plane. Then, on the plane, a flight attendant spotted the bracelet and asked if I bought it there. I proudly said, "Yes" and offered that I made it myself (DUH). She stuck out her wrist, which was adorned with a gold bracelet and 6 beads and said, "Well, mine is real". The little snot! Anyway, that led me to do some research, where I learned about Pandora and that led to making my first Pandora bracelet. More research made me realize that the beads I had chosen were not just knock off Pandoras but also Chamilia and Troll knock offs as well.

So I do have a real Pandora with pink and purple Muranos and a lot pink CZ. What I do not like about Pandora is the limited range and the lack of detail compared to some of the others. If you want to do a theme bracelet, it can be tough with Pandora, depending upon the theme.

I wanted to do a China-themed bracelet. Good luck with thatin Pandora alone! As a result, I ended up in a Troll store, where it was much easier to find a selection of themed beads - almost any theme will have more than Pandora does. I have a Troll bracelet with a koi on the claps, a Great Wall bead, a dragon that really is a draagon, not a dinosaur, a Ying/Yang bead,a blue jade bead and a moonstone bead that changes from brown to green to blue depending on how the light hits it. There are more Asian/C hina themed beads that I can add as funds and inclination permit.

Unfortunately my 'ideal' bracelet would be a Pandora bracelet loaded with both Pandora and Troll beads, especially Troll glass beads, but as we know Troll glass beads will not fit on Pandora. So my ideal won't happen. But I love the security of the Pandora clasp and the threads where you can place clips. I prefer the Pandora clip to the other brands' 'stopper' beads. I just wish Pandora made one end of their safety chains with a clip instead of a bead. See what I mean that they ideal bracelet would be a combo of several brands' best features?

Another thing to look for is artisan / lamplight beads that go with your theme. Some of them are mini works of art that do deserve prominent display on a bracelet.

And I do still have one "no name" bead on my Pandora bracelet, a sparkly pink glass bead that a friend gave me and which goes with the rest of that bracelet wonderfully.

Don't let a brand name blind you to what could be a gorgeous one-of-a-kind bracelet.
 
#43
Pandora doesn't have enough choices for me. It's too restrictive.

One problem is that only Pandora has solid gold beads, right? And they don't have very many to choose from. So if you want gold, what other choice do you have?
 
#44
I've never had a problem with Pandora being too limited because they do exactly the sort of beads and charms I like. I don't want to do "themed" bracelets, I just like simple swirly, patterned, classic gem-stoned silver beads and Pandora do plenty of those.

It depends on what you want on your bracelet really. If you want a lot of colour, bling, or a theme you'll probably want to mix, but for me, Pandora has everything I need without looking elsewhere ... just like a good marriage! LOL
 
#45
Pandora has plenty of color, bling and themes. I don't like BIG charms. I like the smaller heavy charms that Pandora and other companies make.

I wish Pandora had more Murano choices. I think their glass beads are kind of boring - flowers and stripes & more flowers and stripes. It's too bad that other companies don't thread their glass beads. I don't like non-threaded beads, so I stick with Pandora for glass.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top