Today’s post brings my next Pandora Pre-Autumn 2015 review, wherein we are moving away from the travel pieces and taking a look instead at one of the new pet charms – the Curious Cat. Cute-as-a-button, while this little critter may not have as much depth of detail as, say, the new Sentimental Snapshots camera, his simplicity of style nevertheless has its own charm!
This is my first cat charm from Pandora, as I have always been a devoted dog person up until now, but if you read on, you’ll see why. ^^
The charm
So I actually waited a little while to do this review as I have just got a new little kitten of my own, who has spent most of the time I’ve been typing up this review asleep on my lap. ^^ This is Billy, an adorable young gentleman who arrived with us last Thursday and who has already settled in with gusto. I’ve never had a cat before but I’m already smitten. He’s a charmer!
I knew as soon as we decided that we would be getting him that I’d have to have this new Curious Cat charm to commemorate his arrival! The style is rather broad and cartoon-like, unlike like other Pandora animal charms in the past such as the Cosy Cat. It’s simple but very cute, with just a few dashes for his whiskers, a little button nose and a very round face.
It’s a nice, substantial silver charm and it feels worth its reasonable $30/£25 price tag. When it’s not on a bracelet, like all the animal head and portrait charms, it looks a bit unnervingly disembodied though! ;) Putting it on a chain makes it seem much more in proportion and cute-looking.
The charm is plain on the back, with no additional detailing, which does mean that it will show up scratches quite easily.
Styling
Whenever I think about creating a design based around pets, I always want to do a really comforting, home-sweet-home kind of bracelet. I find the combination of the red poppy and the white daisies very homey and soft, so I’ve styled those together on the red leather bracelet, alongside a dog and cat charm to represent both my babies. The leathers are a great way to honour your pets with just a couple of special charms, without having to fill up a whole silver charm bracelet!
The same goes for the Pandora bangle! Here I’ve used the limited edition Always in my Heart bangle alongside a couple of the prettiest Pandora Rose charms to showcase my little cat charm.
Personally, I have added it to one of my earliest and favourite designs – my pink and white bracelet! I have the Waving Cat and Dog House charms on there already so it fits in quite nicely.
Conclusion
This is a very sweet little charm and, while the detailing isn’t particularly sophisticated , there’s still a lot to love in the simplicity of his adorable nose and whiskers! Both the Curious Cat and the equivalent Devoted Dog offer a cutesy way to represent the animals in your life – however, if classic Pandora detailing is more your style, then I’d advise checking out some of the older cat and dog charms. The Cosy Cat is also adorable, and offers a full-bodied design, while the Dog House is also very prettily detailed and has a little red enamel heart on the back.
Coming up, I have one more Pre-Autumn 2015 charm review to go – but it’s possibly my favourite! The Sentimental Snapshots camera is the only one I have left to do, and it’s so cute and incredibly detailed! :D That should be up next week.
The Curious Cat is $30 USD or £25. If you’re in the UK, you can purchase it alongside the rest of the Pandora Pre-Autumn collection from authorised retailer John Greed.
Did you get this charm, or is it on your wish list? Do you have any other charms to represent your pets?
Billy looks very sweet! We have a new puppy at our house, so we’re also feeling baby fuzz love. Ours is a tricolor sheltie named Maggie.
I’m looking at getting the panda from the fall collection, which looks similar in style to your cat. How is the balance on the cat charm? I have an Easter Bunny that is just so darned cute with his little back pack of goodies, but he spends a lot of time standing on his head.
Thanks! Aw, how lovely! I hope it’s going okay – puppies are hard work, haha. Or ours certainly was, although she has settled down a lot these days!
The balance on the cat is not bad at all, compared to some. If I look at my wrist, he’s as likely to be the right way round as he is upside down. I guess that’s the advantage the portrait charms have over the full-bodied characters, where the weight is more uneven!
I really love this charm!! I got two of this charm and the rest of pre autumn cat and pet charms (except for the dog charms). But I didnt get the bling bling paw charm coz it was too overpowering with blings that it didn’t really look like a paw charm.
But I seriously love this simple cat charm, its my no.1 cat charm. I have all the cat charms from pandora except the very first one which doesn’t look like a cat at all.
Aw I’m glad to hear it! I know that you’ve been waiting for another Pandora cat charm for ages. ^^ I wasn’t as keen on the paw print either, it’s just a bit too sparkly. I think it would have made such a cute plain silver pieces as well!
Lol I know what you mean about the first cat. It’s cute but definitely not recognisable as a kitty haha. It’s more like a mouse or something!
Omg what a cutie pie! I’ve always been a dog person as well but I also enjoy kitties. Congrats on your newest family member!
Thanks so much Jahndra! He’s the cuddliest little kitten. :D
Billy is so sweet, Ellie! The new kitty charm is cute too. I love your stylings as always ;-)
My favorite cat Pandora charm is the Purrfect Together 2 cats with their tails forming a heart. I like to wear it with my Halloween charms too to represent black cats!
I love the Purrfect Together charm as well, and it has extra special meaning for me because it was my very first Pandora charm!
Aw how lovely! My first charm was an animal as well – I got the silver Elephant. :D
Thanks Natalie! <3 I had actually completely forgotten about the Purrfect Together when I wrote this post, but you're right – it's one of Pandora's cutest pet charms! The tail detailing is adorable. It's a nice idea to use it for a Halloween bracelet, too – we need Pandora to make some more dedicated Halloween charms though!
I know, I wish they would make more Halloween charms as it’s my favorite! The only holidays they seem to do now are Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day.
I’m going to have to put together a Halloween bracelet soon…so far off the top of my head it will have the Pandora ghost, jack o lantern, and witch, Purrfect together, Sly the snake dangle (I just love him!), the mouse dangle, and maybe the alarm clock (I think it could work as a spooky haunted house clock). I also have the Ohm Little Devil, it’s about the same size as the original Pandora Halloween charms so it coordinates well. I’m also going to add Trollbeads Wings of Freedom (a large eagle, but I figure it can be a raven or something), RedBaliFrog Baby Dragon Frankie, and Bella Fascini Bouquet Skull. Plus some glass for color. I also got the most awesome spider pendant at a craft store, it’s the type where it has 2 separate jump rings off the spider’s legs for a chain to go through and I’m going to put a Murano between the spider’s legs! I’ll be sure to post pics for you when I have them all made :-D
Yeah, I keep hoping that there were no new Halloween charms this year but they’re saving up for something so spectacular next year that it’ll make the wait worth it haha. :S That may be wishful thinking though!
Eeek, your bracelet sounds fab! Cute and spooky, all at the same time. ;) I had to google some of the other brands’ charms – the Baby Dragon Frankie in particular is beautiful! I love his eyes. Other brands really so far ahead in terms of Halloween and just fantasy beads… I love the new Trollbeads Halloween charms coming out this year – the new murano in particular is awesome!
And yes, I demand pics! I need some inspiration for my Halloween jewellery this year ;) I only have the Ghost and the Jack O’Lantern as explicit Halloween charms but I’m sure I can work something out, haha.
A great idea for a Halloween bracelet is using the black multi strand fabric bracelet with the fascinating orange Murano. The black against the Orange looks really good and the Orange is soo vibrant kind of like halloween Orange. So far I only have the pumpkin and the block letter O on it but they look awesome with the Murano in the middle
That’s a great idea Alex! I’d love to make some kind of dedicated Halloween bracelet this year. And, as it’s a fabric strand bracelet, you don’t have to worry about only having a couple of Halloween charms unlike with the full silver bracelet. :D
I have done something similar to what Alex suggested by placing the retired Orange Candy Stripe Murano on my black leather bracelet. It reminds me of candy corn!
Sounds really fun! ^^
I don’t know… I am not impressed by the new concept of animal charms. They lack the intricate details that I love in Pandora.
Your kitty is super cute <3
I do know exactly what you mean. I think this little cat charm is very cute, but the detailing is very minimal. In general I also prefer the more detailed animals that they have always done in the past, so I’m not planning on getting anymore of the portrait charms they are coming out with for now!
Thank you!! <3 He's just as cute in real life!
Aw Billy is a precious little guy. My Motor, 20-years-old, is sickly right now with a kidney issue. I hope your Billy has a long and healthy life.
The Curious Cat is adorable. My daughter had it the day it came out. I’ll be getting it next month along with the Meow bowl.
Thank you so much, Lola! I’m sorry to hear about your Motor, I hope he feels better soon. 20 years is a lovely long life though of course :)
Oh lovely! I was very tempted by the food bowl as well, and still may indulge, haha.
I love this charm it’s so cute and so affordable it definitely on my wish list ( i think practicly everything is on my wish list lol)
Aha, I have times when I feel like I just want everything too. ^^ Right now I’ve managed to whittle my wish list right down, so I’m pretty much all set until the new beads start appearing. Very unusual for me ;)
Billy is such a handsome boy:) I know you will have many fun days with him. I had purchased all the dog charms except the paw print with all the bling. Like everyone else, I would like to see less bling and hearts.
I got the Curious Cat and the Meow bowl, I call it the fish bowl lol. I have 4 dogs and 3 cats so I had to get both. I wish they would come out with a Chi dog.
I really like the way you placed the cat charm and dog charm on your red leather bracelet.
Since they have now retired all the Halloween charms, why did Pandora not come up with charms to replace them. I am so sad :) I am still hoping for the olive green murano charm. Any idea when it will be coming out? I loved the bracelet shown with this new green.
Thanks Cheryl! He’s a very playful little chap at the moment – very much a people person. :D The pawprint wasn’t for me either. I think it would have been really cute with just a plain silver design though!
Wow that’s a lot of animals! That must be fun. :D I’d have loved to have got two cats but we just couldn’t manage it at the moment. Yes, I’d love more dog breeds as well! Luckily the Dog in the House has quite spaniel-y ears (I have a golden Cocker) so he works quite well but I’d love to have just a dedicated spaniel charm as well. :)
I don’t know why Pandora haven’t replaced the Halloween charm. It’s frustrating when so many other brands are being so creative and fun with their new Halloween releases (check out Trollbeads and Chamilia for example!). Perhaps they don’t think it fits with their cutesy aesthetic? I hope not. :S The olive CZ murano bead will be coming out next Thursday but it’s not coming to the US unfortunately. You could always import it from somewhere else though :)
Just had to say – Billie is a cutie
Thanks Lozzie :D
Lovely post Ellie! I must admit I am not a pet person ( never had any cats or dogs just fish) however that being said your cat is sooo adorable! Thougt he was fake at first haha. His eyes are so sweet who wouldn’t want to hug and squeeze him all day! I must say I do not like the look or the portrait head charms much, I would have given the chick a chance cuz he had legs and was super cute but supposedly the us will not be getting him. Seeing two releases in a row of all portrait head animal charms makes me wonder is this the new trend? Are full bodies super detailed animals done? Does anyone know why pandora decided to go this route? Makes me sad my full bodies animals charms are my faves and I would be bummed to not be able to have new options in the future. I love your red leather design I think you should keep both cat and dog on the red leather ;)
Thanks Alex! I have to say, it is hard to get my work done when he’s just there being so cute. He likes to climb all over the keyboard as well which doesn’t help lol.
Yeah, it is a shame that the US aren’t getting the chick :( You could always order it from abroad though? I think there may be a couple of retailers who will do that. :) I don’t think full-bodied animals are done (we had the Mountain Dog and Ladybird for Spring 2015, for example, and there was Eeyore with the Disney collection) but I think we’ll probably be seeing more of a mix of styles. These spherical portrait charms are probably cheaper to make.
Thanks Alex! I really liked the red leather as well. It’s very cheerful in person!
Agree, I don’t care for these portrait style animals either, especially being they are not as detailed and a lot of the smooth silver that scratches up. I love the King of the Jungle lion portrait from last fall, why can’t they do more like that? Of course I love and have many of the full bodies animals too, maybe they were just running out of ideas?
I do find all the regional exclusives annoying, it seems they are doing this more and more. Oh well, probably saves me money in the long run if something is more a hassle to get ;-)
Ooh yes, the King of the Jungle is beautiful. He was one of my favourite Autumn pieces last year. I also don’t like the fact that there’s so much smooth silver on the new portrait charms, as it does get quite dull and scratched rather quickly. :/
I agree, the regional exclusives are really getting on my nerves haha. Especially as, from a blogging point of view, it is so difficult trying to track down what exactly is available where! It’s been particularly difficult this season with North America not getting so much of the new collections haha.
Ah yes, all those pesky regional exclusives… Some ladies go crazy hunting down those charms! As much as I like some of them, I don’t ever want to go THAT much out of my way to obtain something that is a pain to get. I’m too lazy for that… Haha.
Lol, I’m not really a ‘collect ’em all’ kind of gal but I do spend a little time tracking down the exclusives I’m most keen on. With people being so helpful on the Facebook pages etc, there’s usually a way to get it without going to too much effort/expense. :D
It’s so nice to see Pandora lovers from around the world help each other acquire regional exclusive charms! By the way, if there’s anything that I can help you get here in Canada, don’t hesitate to ask me. I’m happy to help a fellow charm collector! :)
Thank you so much Tia! <3 That's really kind of you – the same goes for you, if there's ever anything you'd like from the UK.
Hi Ellie!
How adorable is this little guy! So cute, I think I could spend hours playing with him! It’s funny that kittens have whiskers longer than their face! :-)
I find it really wonderful that you celebrate Billy’s arrival with this pretty charm! I think you could have his name written at the back, since it’s plain and possibly sensitive in scratches.
I loved your styling, especially on your leather bracelet! By the way, how did your dog react on Billy’s appearance?
All the best for your new baby! Thank you for the wonderful review! ♥♥♥
Hi Chrysa! Aha, I know, his whiskers seem miles long in comparison to the rest of him. His eyebrows are ridiculous as well. ^^ You don’t notice it so much in person but whenever I take a picture of him I’m tickled by them all over again.
Oh my gosh, that’s such a good idea! In fact, it’s perfect. I will definitely see about having that engraved as I was just thinking that I don’t like that there’s so much plain silver on the back of the charm. Thank you! :D
Well, the first few days after he arrived, Ruby (my spaniel) was so excited. She kept trying to play with him, but he was nervy of her and kept swiping her away. So she then got quite sad and left him to it. ;) He’s been growing in confidence with her ever since, though, as we’ve been letting him play more with her. But now she doesn’t seem to want to know. It’s like he’s mortally offended her by rejecting her advances in the first couple of days haha. But at least they don’t hate each other – I’m sure they’ll come to be good friends in the end! ;) She also keeps trying to steal all his toys and even his bed, even though she doesn’t fit at all haha:
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Thanks for your lovely comment as ever Chrysa! Hope all is well with you. ♥♥♥
Congrats Ellie! Billy is so super cute! Oh, and your sweet Ruby too. Haha, I’m sure they will become good friends in no time. :)
My cat Harvey is 5 now. I adopted him from an animal shelter when he was 2. I was definitely drawn to this Curious Cat charm when I saw it in stores a few days ago. I’m looking forward to the promo next month as there are some older charms that I’ve had on my wishlist for a long time (also my birthday is next month). After the promo, I plan on going on a Pandora ban for a while as I’m sad about their recent North America price increases. :(
Thanks Tia! I certainly hope so, but they’ve seemed mutually disdainful today. ;)
Ah, how lovely! Ruby is a rescue puppy, technically. Her mum was in one of those awful puppy farms where the breeding dogs are treated very badly. They thought that she couldn’t breed anymore, and threw her out – little did they know that she was pregnant with ten puppies! The rescue shelter rehomed her and all ten of the babies. :D
I’m sorry to hear about your disillusionment :( I totally get it, though. If they did the same in the UK, I would be extremely grumpy right now. :/ Especially when other brands are producing such great stuff, too!
Poor Ruby and her mum. :( But I’m thankful that they are in much better homes now. I just hate puppy mills and animal breeders in general.
Oh my goodness, they better not do that to the UK! When I do the conversion, I realize that you guys pay WAY more than collectors in other countries. I guess I shouldn’t complain too much about the NA price increase.
Yes, they’re such terrible places. It’s very frustrating – I don’t understand how they’re legal, or at least not better regulated.
Aha I know! I would actually just stop buying in UK stores I think, haha. Writing up previews that have the US and UK prices side-by-side is always quite depressing. ;) But you still have every right to grumble about the NA price increase. Just because ours are even more pricey doesn’t meant that yours aren’t expensive to start with!
I just recently got the cat charm along with the heart clasp bracelet. I wanted the cat charm because I had 2 cats when I was growing up and I have had quite a few strays that I have taken care of.
Guess what yesterday I rescued a kitten that was extremely thin and weak. I now have her. I’m trying to put some weight on her but I’m not sure if I’m keeping her since my apartment is not allowed animals. I suppose I could hide her haha. The charm has more of a meaning to me now. Your kitty is very cute. We named the one I found Tippy since the top of her ear is missing. Thanks for a great review
Oh wow, how amazing that you’ve taken her in! The poor little thing, where did you find her? Is there a shelter you can take her to if you can’t keep her? ‘Tippy’ is such a cute name! And thank you! <3 My little kit cat has grown so much just in the last week alone and is getting more and more adventurous by the day. I hope yours is on the mend now, and that she puts on some weight.
I'm glad you enjoyed the review, Linda – thanks for commenting! :)
I just recently got the cat charm along with the heart clasp bracelet. I wanted the cat charm because I had 2 cats when I was growing up and I have had quite a few strays that I have taken care of.
Guess what yesterday I rescued a kitten that was extremely thin and weak. I now have her. I’m trying to put some weight on her but I’m not sure if I’m keeping her since my apartment is not allowed animals. I suppose I could hide her haha. The charm has more of a meaning to me now. Your kitty is very cute. We named the one I found Tippy since the top of her ear is missing. Thanks for a great review.
I found her down the block from me, actually my 5 year old spotted her but I did all the hard work trying to grab her from under the car. She’s eating very little mostly the juices from the inside of the cat food can. I’m going to wait a few more days to see if she eats a little more than I might have to take her to the place I worked in more than 10 years ago. It was a hospital/ animal shelter.
If you get your hands on the Blush and green muranos do you think you may review them ! Thanks
I’m glad to hear that she’s eating a little. My fingers are crossed for her!
If I do decide to get one of them I will definitely review them! :)
Firstly what a little poppet. Kittens are so cute – just wait till he tries to climb up your curtains.
I have 2 cats so particularly like any new cat charms. I already have the silver cat, the cozy cat, the love kittens and the my sweet pet charm. I’ve withheld from buying any of the new ones as its my birthday next month and I hope my subtle hints have been picked up by my boyfriend. By subtle hints I mean emailing him the new collection details.
I don’t have a specific cat bracelet but I do like to have a cat somewhere in my styling. I am very much a fan of the murano beads and my favourite at the moment is the midnight fizzle from last winter.
Thank you for the review.
Haha, thank you, Suze! He’s already up to curtains – and my leg! I’ll just be sat at the table, minding my own business, when he just climbs up to see me with very sharp claws. ;)
Aha, yes, my boyfriend is also familiar with those ‘subtle’ hints. I hope that yours hit the mark! This new kitty is very sweet. Having said that, I just got myself the Cosy Cat in the Rue La La sale as I feel like one cat charm is not enough. ;)
Yes, I have most of my pet charms spread out throughout my bracelets as well – I like to blend them in! I am a big murano fan as well, and I almost always design my bracelets around them. The Midnight Fizzle is gorgeous, and I have two paired with the LE Aventurescent murano from the same collection.
Thanks for commenting! <3
What do you think of the dog bowl and cat bowl? They both are sooo cute. I purchased both the curios cat and the puppy charm but then had to get the bowls. The cat bowl with the fish bone is awesome. I wonder how well it will sit on the bracelet? I’d hate for it to stay upside dow and same with the dog bowl. I also got the round charm with I heart paw print. It looks so much prettier in person than in the photos. Now I just need to figure out where to put them.
I have a dedicated bracelet for my 12 year old Chichuahua that died suddenly of a heart attack so maybe a couple will go there.
Anyway this was a very good post ( as all are).
Thanks
I find them adorable as well! I was very tempted but was good in the end and just stuck with the Curious Cat to represent the new kitten. It was tempting to get the dog bowl as yet another charm to represent my cocker spaniel Ruby as I swear all she thinks about is food! ;) I imagine that they would be pretty good at not spinning as the weight looks like it would be fairly evenly distributed, but I’ve not had them to try. :)
I’m sorry to hear about your chihuahua :( the lovely spaniel I grew up with died last Christmas, at the ripe old age of 15. He had a lovely long life, but it is hard. I have the dog bone pendant on a leather bracelet for him. :)
Glad you enjoyed it Cheryl – thanks for reading and commenting! <3