Today’s post offers one of my final Pandora Spring 2015 reviews, with an in-depth look at the new Graduate Owl charm! With graduation season up and coming in the US, and school/university finals under way here in the UK, I thought this would be an appropriate time to offer a review of this rather cute little guy. ^^
This charm was a must-have for me as I have been embroiled in the writing of multiple papers and dissertation proposals over the last couple of months. Getting myself the Graduate Owl was one way of reminding me that all the stress is worth it! However I also want to make the case for him just as a cute charm – something that anyone can enjoy.
Read on for some close-up pics and some inspiration as to how you might style it!
The charm
I really love the trend of recent years for owl accessories, and the Graduate Owl charm offers quite a fashionable design, with its cute eyes and geometric pavé detailing. The sapphire-blue eyes give an extra dash of colour that completes the look – however they’re not so prominent that you can’t style the charm with other colour schemes.
In some ways, it seems a shame to limit such a fun little design to those who are graduating. I did think that, perhaps, you could also use him to represent learning, or aspirations, or even just wisdom. While it’s true that he has the graduate’s cap on, the scroll on the bottom of his feet isn’t that noticeable ;)
You can see where they got the idea for this charm from – the original study books charm has an adorable little owl engraved on the back of it. (I got the Study Books as a surprise charm from my OH to celebrate getting a first in my undergrad degree last year! The Graduate Owl I got myself this year as more of an aspirational charm. :P)
As with most of Pandora’s newer pieces, this is a charm of many details – everything is there, down to his talons and tail feathers. He is perched on a graduation scroll, although this is quite hard to see when the charm is facing the right way around.
The only thing that slightly disappointed me with this charm is the fact that it is not threaded, and it feels very lightweight in person. I should have realised this before I purchased it, as pavé charms are never usually threaded – but there’s such a lot of detail in this charm that it just looked more substantial from the stock image.
The back of the charm features silver feathers, while a fully-detailed mortar-board is perched on top of its head. ^^
Styling
As his eyes are blue, my first instinct was to try him with blues and purples – here I’ve mixed some of the new Spring 2015 florals with some classic Pandora. This is a very shiny silver charm, and it looks even lighter with the addition of the cubic zirconia. Consequently, it makes for a nice contrast with the oxi bracelet.
Leather bracelets are also excellent if you want to give this charm as a graduation present; a leather makes the bracelet look complete with even a single charm.
The same also goes for the Pandora bangle – as you can see in this campaign shot, which features the Owl perched alongside some sparkly spacers and the Graduation Cap dangle.
The Owl is going on my pink-themed oxidised bracelet, which features a mixture of flowers and cute animal charms! I have actually added more to this bracelet since this picture was taken, including a couple of the new Spring 2015 Pink Petite Facets. :D
Conclusion
While some may dislike the Owl’s sparklier pavé look, I think that it really does work here. It offers another good example of how Pandora can make pavé detailing feel like an integral part of a charm’s design, rather than superfluous sparkle that doesn’t bring much to the charm but nevertheless pushes up the price. Consequently, the Graduate Owl seems a worthy addition to Pandora’s extensive catalogue of cute animal charms, which is why it’s something of a shame that its appeal is limited. ;) However, I do feel like the charm is pretty enough that you could buy it just for its cuteness too!
The Graduate Owl is $55 USD or £45. If you’re in the UK, you can buy it alongside the rest of the Pandora Spring collection from authorised retailer John Greed.
Have you bought this charm, or is on your wish list?
I recently got this charm and I love him! I never realised he was holding a scroll until you pointed it out! I do also have the study books which I also love with the old engraved on one side! I also recently saw the graduation cap engraved with a date on top which I also love and I’m sure at some stage I may order that too with my graduation year engraved! I also agree they can be used for various meanings for wisdom and aspiration I think the pave effect is perfect for him and pictures particularly the stock pictures don’t do him justice at all!
Yay, I’m glad to hear that you love him too! Haha, the scroll is tucked away a little – I think it’s so fun that the charms can have details that you might not even notice for a while. I definitely think that you can use him for more generic themes such as aspiration – people won’t look that closely at your bracelet anyway when you’re actually wearing it haha.
Engraving the graduation cap is a great idea! I’ll be graduating again later this year (hopefully :P) so maybe I should complete my set of Pandora graduate charms and go for that one too.
Thanks for commenting Emily!
Hi Ellie!
The Graduation Owl is a charm I wish to purchase in order to fulfil its symbolism! If things go well, next December I’ll get my second degree. It’s not limited edition, is it? I loved your idea to put it on a leather bracelet, perhaps the blue one from summer collection would be nice! I have to admit it wasn’t “love at first sight” with this guy (in fact, my first impression was neutral to negative), but the more I see this owl, the cuttest I find it! Thank you for your review and this detailed presentation of the charm! I really enjoyed it! ♥
Hi Chrysa! It’s not a limited edition charm, so you’re good on that front :D I’m also hoping to get my second degree in December but I went ahead and got him prematurely in a time of dissertation crisis just to remind myself of what I’m aiming for ;) I’m glad that it’s grown on you, I think this is just such an adorable design! Hope all goes well with your degree, too.
Thanks so much Chrysa! Glad to hear that you enjoyed it and thanks for letting me know ♥
Thank you for your wish Ellie! All the best for your degree, too! ♥ After so much work, we can both spoil ourselves this December, don’t you think so? Really good excuse to pick more things of the Christmas Collection!!! :-))
Thank you Chrysa! <3 Aha I think a little Pandora will definitely be earned come December! ;)
I adore owls, both live and on print. I thought of adding it to my blue and red travel bracelet that I have in mind, as a fond memories of all the handsome owls we saw in the zoo in Perth. Wishing you all the best in your studies!
I’m an owl fan, too! I have lots of nicknacks featuring them ^^ This one would definitely make a lovely addition to your travel bracelet – especially with its blue eyes. Thank you, Ariane! <3
Thanks for the review, I didn’t think much of this owl until reading it. He is quite cute but I still prefer the owl from last years autumn collection with green eyes, which I have. He is a bit more general in theme as he isn’t with any books, scrolls or caps. He is also threaded too. I do agree that pandoras charms are a lot more detailed recently. Looking at the retired charms over the last couple of years it seems they used to do more abstract charms in the past. I like the amount of detail they have now.
Ah, I’d completely forgotten about the Fall 2013 owl when I was writing this! Which is funny as I absolutely love that design. Thanks for reminding me – the green owl definitely makes a good alternative to this one, as does the original plain silver Pandora owl :) I should really get the set, haha.
I completely agree with you – while some have complained about the amount of CZ and shift in style, we have had some wonderfully detailed pieces lately. The new Disney characters are a great example of that!
I love this little charm he is so detailed, I didn’t even notice the scroll until you pointed it out. My favourite part is his big blue eyes, I think he would look great on my new blue theme bracelet. I see the rose gold collection is out the 15th of June not long so excited.
I know, he is gorgeous! Definitely one for your blue theme bracelet. :D
Yes, only a few weeks to go! And it looks like it will include the latest Rose Spring release, too. I’m so excited, there’s so much that I’m looking forward to seeing in person! I’m hoping to get the new Rose butterfly and the Love & Appreciation heart. :D
Hi Ellie do you know of any sale happening soon, I have promised my self not to buy anymore pandora until the sale. ?
Hi Nicola – I just posted some details on the UK summer sale :D you won’t have long to wait!
ahh you got him!
Its such a lovely charm, one of the better pave examples for pave haters! :) good luck with your exams, this last month of uni has nearly killed me to be honest. Have you heard about the sale starting on 28th may? I hope its true! x
I did! I was considering waiting until graduation, but then I was going through a dissertation nightmare and just needed a pick-me-up ;)
Thanks, and good luck with all your exams too <3 Final year is tough but at least the end is in sight! Do you finish soon?
I keep hearing about a sale and I'm just trying to follow it up! With the Summer collection and then Pandora Rose launching next month too, I think this is set to be a pretty hard-hitting month for my wallet ;) I hope ROJ are taking part again as I got some absolutely amazing bargains from there last time! x
Hi Ellie
I thought I wouldn’t like this charm until I saw it in real life. It is really compact and pacts a lot of details. I didn’t know it is not threaded. Does it like to flip over I the bracelet? I guess it might since it is not threaded. I’m still sitting on the fence on this one.
Hi! It does flip quite a lot on the bracelet, as it’s light and prone to spinning. Many of the character charms seem prone to doing that, threaded or not, unfortunately :(
I love this charm too! i got it from amazon this month after I finished my Bachelors degree and previously i had the study books charm as well ! together they make very nice combination. but at first when i received it I thought it’s not original because it wasn’t threaded !
Yes I was also quite surprised that this one wasn’t threaded, but it makes sense when you remember that it has a lot of pave! Congrats on getting your degree!