Today’s post brings a review of Pandora’s newest limited edition release for the UK – the Pudsey Bear charm, which is being sold in aid of the UK children’s charity Children in Need. Retailing at £40, 20% of the proceeds will go straight to Children in Need. The charm itself is a lot of fun, and really quite different from Pandora’s usual style with its use of fun, primary colours.
The charm officially launched in the UK a couple of days ago on the 5th of October. Pandora have been promoting the charm with the hashtag #PandoraxPudsey and lots of colourful campaign posters – although I did drop into my local store yesterday and couldn’t see any advertising out for the new Pudsey charm in store yet. The charm will be sold until the Children in Need telethon airs on the 13th of November.
The charm
The Pudsey Bear is modelled on the Children in Need mascot, a cuddly teddy bear with a colourful bandage across one eye:
The charm follows Pandora’s recent style of doing portrait representations of animals, featuring only their faces instead of their full bodies. I’m not really sure how instantly recognisable he is as Pudsey (his face has a teensy weensy little hint of chipmunk to me) but he has, nevertheless, a very sweet little face, with an enthusiastic smile. ^^
Pudsey’s bandage goes almost all the way around the charm, and features white enamel studded with red and blue enamel spots, and green and yellow cubic zirconia. The overall effect is really quite colourful, especially when it catches the light and the colours sparkle. This charm is threaded, and feels nice and solid to hold. The hallmarks are on its base.
I have to say, one of my favourite aspects of this release is the cute packaging that comes with it! Your Pudsey charm should come with this cute little sleeve to slip over the traditional white Pandora charm box. I am a little disappointed that I didn’t receive the packaging with my Pudsey Bear, enough that I am tempted to pop back into my local store and ask if they have any sleeves spare that they can give me, haha.
Styling
Let’s be honest – while this charm is pretty cute, it’s not the easiest to style with its bright colours and unique aesthetic. My first styling offers a way of blending it with a more generic theme: a teddy bear’s picnic styling, utilising 2013’s LE Bear my Heart charm and the two-tone Bear Hug to keep Pudsey company. I’ve also included the cupcake, teacup and Coffee Lovers charms to supply the refreshments, while the Butterfly Kisses murano and white enamel Darling Daisies conjure up a pretty, natural setting.
Children in Need fundraisers often opt for cake sales, or fun days out for children, so this whole idea is still in keeping with the whole idea of the charity’s fundraising too! ^^
My second styling leans into the whole Children in Need campaign a little more fully. Here, I’ve gone for a red leather bracelet, and I’ve added the Precious Boy & Girl to represent the children that the charity is raising money for. This is a sweet and simple styling to show your support for the cause!
Finally, Pudsey is symbol for a very worthy cause and he definitely carries a simple leather bracelet styling all on his own. Here I have gone for a soft pink, but he will go with pretty much any colour you choose!
Conclusion
I was always going to buy this charm – it’s limited edition, sold for a good cause and, for me, it comes with a hearty dash of nostalgia for childhood fundraising in primary school! Pudsey may not be the easiest charm to style, but he’s much cuter in person than the stock image suggests, and I still think it’s fantastic that Pandora have done something that is both creative and in support of a lovely charitable cause.
The Pandora Pudsey Bear charm retails for £40, with 20% of the proceeds going to the Children in Need charity – you can purchase your Pandora Pudsey Bear from authorised retailer John Greed. Please bear in mind that official retailers are not allowed to ship internationally, so if you live outside of the UK you will have to find a friend there who can get hold of one for you!
Are you a fan of this latest charitable release from Pandora? Have you indulged in a Pudsey Bear, or will you be trying to obtain one?
I love him in between the boy and the girl charms, how fitting! I agree with you that this charm is a bit different than most Pandora charms and is WAY different than all the portrait heads we have been seeing lately (take note Pandora, u can add some pops of color to your portrait heads and perhaps people will like them more, imagine the giraffe head with brown enamel spotting??) The most important part of this charm is the fact that it is a serious cause and helps for this charity and for that I think this charm is lovely and a great piece, wishing it was avail worldwide and not an exclusive. why does the US not have something like this for children? love your review as usual <3
Thanks Alex, I was racking my brains as to how I could actually style him and then the CIN styling with the little boy and girl popped into my head ^^ I completely agree with you – it’s so great that Pandora decided to do something that’s a little different from their usual style and in support of such a worthy cause as well. It would be amazing if they followed suit with more charitable releases in other regions too, such as the US (although I know that they have released a breast cancer awareness charm in Canada this season)! They used to support this Danish charity event called Indsamling, and they would do exclusive charms for it every year (those go for crazy prices these days) but they decided to stop doing it. More like that and this new Pudsey charm would be fantastic!
Thanks so much for commenting Alex, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the review ^^
I’ve had my charm reserved for weeks since it was first announced! Working in a pandora store I’ve known about him a while and saw him weeks ago. Naturally I bought him as soon as he was available to buy and is a nice addition to my meaningful silver/Autumn 2015 collection bracelet. The most important thing for me is the charitable donation; 20% is quite a lot of money as I’m sure this’ll be a hugely popular charm. It’s rather Disney-esque in the way of the Winnie the Pooh charm and so the more people buy; the more money to charity that can be donated and that’s the most important thing! X
Absolutely, the CIN charitable aspect is definitely the highlight of this release and I love that Pandora went to the effort of producing a charm especially for it. Pudsey is such a fun design, and I do hope that you’re right and that it will sell well and bring in a lot of extra donations for CIN! Glad to hear that you are loving yours as well, and thanks for commenting :D x
I agree, love Pudsey best with the boy and girl! I always enjoy your reviews Ellie!
Thank you very much, Bebe! They’re a lot of fun to write and photograph so I’m so pleased to hear that you enjoy them :D
He looks adorable Ellie! I just love your Teddy Bear Picnic bracelet :-D Such cute charms you’ve chosen for it. He looks nice on the leather bracelets as well. I could see him on a Christmas or Disney themed bracelet too, or styled with Muranos or Facets in coordinating colors.
He is super cute – I don’t think the stock images do him justice. :D I think you are spot on with the festive/Disney bracelet ideas, as well, as he has that bright, fun aesthetic that would go well with either theme. I could also just imagine him with some bright, primary-coloured muranos and would have loved to do a styling along those lines, but alas I don’t have any plain blue or yellow murano glass beads. It’s a great idea though! Thanks for commenting <3
I’ve seen this in store and it does look nice. I like the detailing they’ve done on it.
I think he looks nice on his own, he stands out.
What’s your next review going to be?
Yes, I agree – this charm is really cute in person. I don’t think the stock image in the top campaign image does him justice!
My next review will most probably be the new Dragonfly Meadow – I just finished doing the photography for it! Then I’ll probably be moving on to some of the more wintery pieces like the starry safety chain and the Layers of Lace clips :D
Interested to read your review of the dragonfly meadow. I have two of this charm and love it, it has so much detail on it.
Yes, the details are lovely, especially when you see the charm in person. It was really easy to photograph/style, it’s such a beautiful charm!
I love this charm it’s so cute I’m definitely going to get one it seems very popular ,there lots of pictures on Facebook.
You should! He’s really very sweet in person. :D I’ve seen lots of pictures online as well, and it’s making me want to get my hands on that cute packaging even more, haha.
Looks super cute paired with the boy and girl charms.
Thanks Lozzie! I think they make a nice combo! :)
Besides hearts, bears are my soft spot. I really like this Pudsey Bear charm. I think he is adorable and the little bandage across one half of his eye makes him look so vulnerable too. Makes me wish to hug him and give him a kiss. His cheerful smile melts my heart too. Oh, why is this charm only available in the UK? I will really love to bring him home. Love especially, how you style him with the Precious Boy and Girl charm but he really is pretty enough to hold his own ground.
Glad to hear that you are loving this release as well, Ariane! :D I think that’s exactly what Children in Need were going for when they designed Pudsey as their mascot – he’s very sweet, but vulnerable, just like the children the charity is designed to protect. It’s a shame that Pandora collectors abroad can’t easily support the cause and buy one of their own :) Thank you, I think I will be wearing him on his own leather bracelet but I do have a soft spot for the styling with the boy and girl as well ^^
I got my Pudsey! They had the little box sleeves too, which is a nice little touch. He is better in real life than the stock pictures, you’re right. He’s quite wide though isn’t he. No idea where he will eventually go, but I’m glad I got him and that some of my money spent on my charm addiction is going to help a good cause!
Oh good, glad you were able to get a box sleeve! I’m still tempted to go into my local Pandora and ask for one. ^^ He is on the larger side, but not so much so that he’s hard to blend in with other pieces, which is good! It is great that our expensive charm habit is helping such a great cause, and I hope Pandora do some more charity releases. They are fun for collectors and good for fund raising! ^^
Hi Ellie!
I just love it when Pandora shows sensitivity and supports people in need of any kind! I hope they’ll keep doing it! :-)
The teddy is sooooo adorable! It’s like he has escaped out of a fairytale! Although I didn’t like the animal portraits of the autumn collection so much, I find this one really cute! All these colours on his bandage make this charm even sweeter!
Your styling ideas are great as ever! I like him on the picnic bracelet and mostly next to the precious boy and girl (so touching picture!). Personally, I wouldn’t leave him on a plain bracelet, he seems lonely… I think he belongs with toys and colours! How would a “kindergarten” styling be? Along with the boy and girl, we could add the ball, the fairytale book, the carousel ( I ‘m sure you could think of more!)…
I hope Pudsey will be really popular! Do they usually announce the number of charms sold and how much they give to the charity purpose?
Thank you for this great review, Ellie! So sweet and colourful!
♥♥♥
Hi Chrysa! Absolutely, I completely agree with you! The limited edition aspect makes it really fun for collectors while generating a lot of extra donations for the charity. It’s definitely a win-win :)
Thanks Chrysa! ^^ I hadn’t thought of him being lonely, haha! If it makes you feel any better, I wore him on his own on a leather today but stacked him with my fairy-tale bracelet which has a lot of animals so really he was part of quite a busy stack ;) I very much like your kindergarten idea – adding the Carousel and some other fairy-tale charms would be so much fun! The charm that strikes me as perfect for that would actually be Chamilia’s box of pencils… it has the same primary red, blue and yellow and fits that idea of nurseries and learning really well ^^
http://ca.chamilia.com/Box-Of-Crayons-Bead-i1140029W240.jpg
Pandora don’t usually announce the final totals, no, but Children in Need may prove a special case as they do a big televised telethon where they tally up all the donations from various people so they may well mention Pandora’s campaign and how much was donated from them. We’ll have to wait and see! I hope it does well!
Thanks for commenting Chrysa, glad you enjoyed it :) This review was a little rushed but very fun to do nonetheless!
Thanks Ellie, always look forward to your reviews :)
I just love bears, so this is a must have if I can get someone to help me, if the price is right !
I am in Melbourne Australia, if anyone can let me know the price with shipping that would be sooooo great?
Thank you in advance, Pandora friends :)
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Julie!
If you’re looking for a Pudsey, have you tried the Pandora Facebook pages? Pandora’s Tribe or Pandora’s Angels are good and there are ladies helping out with this one there. :) The cheapest international shipping from the UK is about £3 btw!
Thank you Ellie, I have tried to contact both groups on Facebook, unfortunately no response :(
Oh no, have you tried messaging the admin of the Angels page? They have a public page with instructions here:
https://www.facebook.com/Pandora-Angels-647772335329871/timeline/
If not, send me an email and I’ll see if I can help you find one!
Trollbead LE Red Cross Charity bracelet U.S. $51 white leather bracelet with one red murano bead will be release soon,100% of the sales will donate to Red Cross. It is beautiful and meaningful!
Wow, 100%! Amazing job, Trollbeads! :o
Ellie… I did just that! I returned the one I got originally just to feel the Pudsey spirit (another one with the sleeve! lol). I’m a child at heart =P
Ahaha! I went to a Pandora store a couple of days ago and when I was there just showed them my Pudsey and explained I didn’t get a sleeve. They gave me one ^^ I probably looked like a bit of a headcase but I did get my Pudsey sleeve – so I don’t blame you one little bit! :P
Hi
Please Help! I’m brand new to Pandora and I’ve bought Pudsey as my first charm, and I’m so glad you’ve said he’s hard to style, as I thought it was just me. I love his detail, he’s just gorgeous but as a beginner I’ve no clue which clips to put him with or anything. I want to either bring out his white or the colour of the stones but I also want clips that will work well for a Christmas theme. My bracelet has the love heart clasp. Any ideas desperately recieved. xx
Hi Libby! Welcome to the rather addictive world of Pandora, haha. Pudsey is a great start to your collection, and for a very good cause. ^^
So, those are quite specific guidelines, but here are a few ideas you could try in terms of clips! There aren’t that many multi-coloured or white clips. If you want to bring out the white in him, then the white Darling Daisy clips might be nice:
http://static.pandora.net/consumer/jewellery/01/400×400/791494EN12.jpg
http://static.pandora.net/consumer/jewellery/01/400×400/791259EN12.jpg
They’re not that Christmassy, but they go very well with just about anything and would blend in nicely with any festive charms you might have.
Some more Christmassy clips would be either the Twinkle Twinkle or You’re a Star clips. They are clear pavé, which would contrast well with his coloured stones or work to bring out the neutral white in him:
http://pandora.vveebly.net/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/P/a/Pandora_You_re_A_Star_Paved_Clip_Charms_KT067_N.jpg
http://static.pandora.net/consumer/jewellery/01/400×400/791058CZ.jpg
Finally, you might also try the Snowflake Burst clips… these have a little bit of two-tone in them, which goes nicely with both the white and coloured stones. Plus, Pudsey is meant to be yellow! The snowflake design is also great for Christmas:
http://static.pandora.net/consumer/jewellery/01/400×400/790988CZ.jpg
If these aren’t what you’re looking for, tell me a little bit more about the design you might like to do and we can think again! ^^ xx
Thank you so much for you’re suggestions, they’re really helpful. I’m thinking of the Snow Flake clip, I like your idea of the yellow and the clip is stunning. Although after reading your exciting post about Black Friday in the UK, I could go for that offer and use the clips that come with that as part of my Christmas theme and get the Daisey clips for Pudsey.
Do you think the Black Friday deal will sell out fast ? Can we order from the US site for the US BF Charm? Sorry so many questions.
I’m completely addicted already ! Your blog is amazing, I’ve found it so helpful. Libby xx
You’re welcome! I like the Snowflake clip as well, it’s beautiful. If you do go for the Black Friday deal, you could always come back and get the Snowflake clip later – lots of people put a clip by the end of their bracelet, to stop charms swivelling off when it’s unclasped. :)
I don’t know how long the Black Friday deal will be available for unfortunately. I wouldn’t have thought it would sell instantly, as Pandora will want to make as much money as possible on it. You cannot order directly from the US unfortunately. :( You will either have to find a friend in the US or Canada to get it for you or use a US mail forwarding service like comgateway. It’s real pain!
Thank you! That’s so nice to hear, I hope you continue to enjoy both the blog and Pandora haha. xx
Ellie,
I had a quick question, I just was able to get my hands on a pudsey bear charm and I noticed that the two lighter stones were white, however you mentioned that they were yellow in your review above. Looking at the different stock images I also saw that one of the photos showed more of a yellowish color however the others appear to be the clear. Did they make different ones, or is the clear correct? Just curious. :)
Thanks
Hi Emily, good question! I had noticed that about the stock images, but I’m pretty sure that my Pudsey has yellow stones so I didn’t think much of it. I will check mine when I get home (I’m away until Thursday night!). Looks like they might have made two versions though…
Ok thanks for looking into it for me. The one I got has clear, and didn’t know if they made two or if I didn’t maybe have an original..?? Again was curious :)
Thanks
Hi Emily, I’m looking at my Pudsey now but it’s super hard to tell what colour the stones are under electric light. So I’ll have a look for you tomorrow in the daylight! They actually look like they might be clear in this light though. :)
Hello, this is years late commnent since the posting of this 2015 Pudsey. I am just to find out about the 2015 stamp mark of this Pudsey. I can’t find any picture showing the 2015 mark. So does the 2015 Puds? had the year mark on it? Thanks for any info or pictures with the year mark. I always enjoy your posting and updates on what’s coming up, also reading on retired and HTF pandora charms. Thanks for all your hard work.