Today’s post brings my final Pandora Christmas 2015 review, with a closer look at the Prancing Reindeer bauble pendant! This charm has been another popular choice from the Winter 2015 collection and, although I wasn’t planning on getting this one (as I have two very similar charms already!), it won me over as soon as I saw it in person. ^^
On another note, I apologise for the lack of a Black Friday 2015 charm review! Despite being posted a few weeks or so ago, it has not yet made its way to me from Canada. From reading feedback from others online, it seems like Canada Post has quite a backlog, so it may well not arrive in time for Christmas. :( I hope there may still be interest in a review after Christmas time! ;)
Anyway – in the meantime, we have the Prancing Reindeer charm! Read on for some close-up shots and inspiration for bracelet designs. :D
The charm
The Prancing Reindeer’s red enamel has nice depth of colour, with a slightly iridescent finish to it. It’s a simple design, but it still has some nice touches, including the snowflakes engraved on the bail of the charm.
In North America, it’s a Jared-exclusive charm, which means that unfortunately it’s not available in Canada. This seems a real shame, as it’s one of the more subtle offerings from this year’s collection – offering that festive red enamel, but more elegantly.
It follows two previous ornament pendants that were released last year – the limited edition Black Friday charm, and the regular collection’s Christmas Ornament. All three are lovely designs, but I do feel like the red enamel reindeer give the Prancing Reindeer a slight edge over the previous two. ^^
The red enamel reindeer go all the way around the charm – the silhouette is graceful, and not at all cutesy. I like that this charm has no cubic zirconia detailing whatsoever, and it’s a pleasingly solid plain silver design – it’s quite heavy, as dangles go.
Styling
My first styling combines all of Pandora’s three ornament charms: the 2014 Christmas Ornament, the Black Friday Christmas Wish charm and the Prancing Reindeer. The ornaments are quite heavy dangles, and they’re a little awkward to wear so close to each other – but they look so cute that it’s worth it! ;)
For my next styling, I wanted to do something a bit more unusual. Last year, in Pandora’s advertising for the Pandora Rose collection, they included some Rose Christmas designs with red enamel, which looked surprisingly good – so I decided to try my own Pandora Rose Christmas styling!
The pink finish of the Rose charms complements the red enamel surprisingly well and its elegant finish helps to offset the cutesier Christmas Bear and Puppy.
Finally, I am currently wearing my Prancing Reindeer in a mini-Christmas bangle design, along with the Disney Snow White murano for a nice vibrant red. This styling is a little unorthodox from me, as it includes two Chamilia beads as well, aha. I picked out the adorable Gingerbread House from their latest Christmas collection and the lovely Rudolph as well.
Just to finish off, I thought that the Chamilia Gingerbread House deserved a closer look – the detailing is just so delightfully whimsical. The little door handle, the chimney at the back of the charm, and the miniature steps leading up to the door – all very prettily done! If you haven’t looked at Chamilia before, and you like Pandora’s quirkier Christmas pieces, Chamilia offer some cute charms that go really nicely with them.
Conclusion
The Prancing Reindeer may well be Pandora’s prettiest ornament charm yet – enamel detailing has long been a favourite of mine, and I love the little burst of colour that the leaping reindeer give to the bauble design. At the same time, it’s more subtle and elegant than other red enamel Christmas charms, which means that you can more easily get away with wearing it all year round, too!
The Prancing Reindeer is $60 or £40. If you’re in the UK, you can purchase it along with the rest of the Pandora Winter collection from authorised retailer John Greed.
Did you buy this charm, or is it on your wish list?
Great review, Ellie! I don’t have any of the ornament charms, I do think they are pretty. All of your stylings are beautiful, the 3 ornaments look cute on the bangle together, I love your Christmas/red/Rose combo (I’m wearing my Rose Christmas bracelet today ;-) aha), and especially your bangle with the Chamilia charms! You picked out 2 really cute charms for your first non-Pandora, I think the Chamilia reindeer is one of the best reindeer charms I’ve seen, and I love your gingerbread house too :-D
Thanks Natalie! I love the ornaments – I think they’re a really great option if you want something Christmassy on your bracelet, but not too OTT with red enamel etc. :D
Oh yes, I forgot that you also have a gorgeous Pandora Rose design! That must have influenced me to try it too. ;) The Chamilia charms really took me surprise – a lot of their charms in the past have been too glittery for my tastes, but if you actually go through the catalogue they have so many nice ones, too. :D
I love the gingerbread house charm, although I think the quality of the stones in it makes it look a bit cheap…
It’s just so cute! The stones don’t look cheap to me in person, especially when you put it with other Pandora pieces, and they make the white enamel on the roof look quite iridescent. The whole effect is just very quirky and whimsical, and the detailing on the actual silver is really nice. :D
I like this charm, as well as last years ornament with the snowflakes on. I am tempted by them both. I might get them at some point in the future.
Love the stylings on the 1st and 3rd ones. Think the last one is my favourite, as it matches so well with your other charms with a bit of red on.
All three ornaments are lovely, although the Christmas Ornament and the Prancing Reindeer are probably a bit more subtle than the Black Friday with all its sparkle.
Thank you Sarah! That last one is how I actually wear my Prancing Reindeer so I’m really glad that’s your favourite. The Snow White murano is kind of perfect for Christmas designs, it’s a real shame that it’s not available here in the UK. :(
I love the red murano, never seen it before. The gingerbread house is really pretty. I definitely have to check out Chamilia; they seen to match very well with Pandora charms as per your photos. I never heard of Chamilia before until my brother (who works in advertising) worked on some Chamilia promotional campaigns. He told me about Chamilia :)
It’s the Disney Snow White murano, so it’s not available in the UK. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and if you get one without too much glitter, it’s a really true vibrant red. It’s a shame that it’s not available in the UK, as the Signature colour muranos are really versatile and don’t need to be limited to Disney at all.
Oh yes, you should definitely check out Chamilia! Some of their beads don’t quite match Pandora for quality for me, but others are so cute and fun. How fun that your brother gets to work on the campaigns! ^^ You just need to get him into Pandora as well now. ;)
I really like the ornament charms pandora makes. The black friday charm 2014 is one of my favorite pandora charms actually. Unfortunately I think I’ll have to pass on this one because it’s a Jared’s exclusive here in NA and I really don’t like the customers service there. Recently I’ve been enjoying more trollbeads designs, and I am anticipating the arrival of their Spring collection. Pandora hasn’t been releasing many designs I would want, so I think I’ll just indulge in trollbeads more. Are you planning on getting anything from Trollbeads?
I second trollbeads. Am thinking of getting a trollbeads as well but its soo expensive :(
There’s a bracelet offer running right now, where you get a free bracelet when you buy a lock I think:
http://www.trollbeads.com/united-kingdom/en-gb/bangle-and-bracelet-offer
I adore both Pandora and Trollbeads. Earlier this year, I completed my very first Trollbeads bracelet because I was utterly besotted with their Spring 2015 Collection. Trollbeads is expensive, but if you take advantage of the free bracelet with purchase of a lock special, it is definitely more affordable. In fact, some of the retailers in my area, (in the US), offer this deal ALL OF THE TIME. The glass beads are stunning and the Tier One beads retail for $34. Considering Pandora’s recent increase in price, most of the muranos and petite facets are actually more expensive. Although, I will admit that Trollbeads silvers are rather pricey, and of course the cost of the 18kt gold is beyond outrageous!
Yes, I do keep meaning to do that lock/bracelet promo but there’s always been something Pandora to get instead it seems ;) If Pandora’s Spring collections prove disappointing, then perhaps I will look about me and see what other brands are offering. :)
The Trollbeads silvers are what I find pricey. Perhaps a bracelet combining their murano glass with Pandora/Ohm silvers would be something for me to consider! ^^
Oh, that’s a shame about Jared. I have heard a lot of people say the same, unfortunately – but perhaps they offer it online? You could always order it, perhaps.
No, I don’t have any plans to get Trollbeads yet. :) I love a lot of their stuff, especially the breathtaking murano glass, but I’m still a Pandora gal pretty much through and through. I expect I will at some point, as I am just starting to dip my toes into other brands – but I would prefer to stick to brands that are compatible with my Pandora bracelets, for now.
Maybe the new unthreaded bracelet will allow compatibility with more brands. I like pandora bracelets, but it’s really annoying to wear them. Most of the time, they are for show in my room. ^^ Maybe I have the smallest wrists or something, but I don’t appreciate that most pandora bracelets only go down to a 6.7 in. :( I mostly wear my pandora on trollbeads bracelets because I wear a 5.5 inch. I still can’t get enough of their limited edition bangles because they are so cute, but I can slide them on without even unclasping them. I wish my bones were thicker!
Maybe! I’ve never tried to put a trollbeads charm on a pandora bracelet – I’m not sure whether it’s the threads or just the thickness of the chain that makes them incompatible. Wow, you must have really petite wrists :) I can get my bangle on and off when it’s clasped but I wear a 19cm!
The chains I think are the same size, it’s the threads on Pandora that Trollbeads won’t fit over. Some random silvers actually will fit, I have just 5 Troll silvers (no glass, but I know the glass won’t fit), 3 of my 5 Troll fit Pandora actually. Of what I have, Wings of Freedom eagle, Rose of June, and Narcissus of December all fit Pandora bracelets (leather is iffy, but definitely bangle and snake chain). I’ve found in general the bangle to be most forgiving with the thinnest threads, then snake chain, and then leather is the thickest threads. I also have Troll Jewel of the Sea split fish and the Big Butterfly, neither will fit any Pandora I’ve tried but they fit all my other brand bracelets that don’t have threads, I actually don’t have a Troll bracelet.
You could always just get 1 non-Pandora bracelet to wear charms that won’t fit, I did that pretty early on in collecting as I inadvertently ordered an adorable 2 tone seahorse bead that turned out to be small cored, I could have returned it but liked it too much :-P After that, I didn’t care anymore if they fit Pandora or not, I prefer them to fit as I have a lot of Pandora bracelets but not a deal breaker since I also have a few non-Pandora bracelets now.
I’m hopeful that the new non-threaded Pandora moments bracelet will fit other charms, I’m guessing it will? I’m also intrigued by the Essence bangle, as I’m thinking that may be useful for small core charms I want to wear on a bangle to showcase just a few. I have a bangle that looks just like Pandora but no threads, but it only comes in 7.85 inch which is perfect full for me, but I’d like a smaller size for wearing less charms. Trollbeads makes a cuff bracelet, but I don’t feel as secure with it open like that, I really prefer a closed bracelet.
Ah, thanks very much for clarifying that, and for your detailed feedback on the other kinds of Pandora bracelets! That’s good to know. So Trollbeads potentially would be compatible with this new bracelet then!
Yes, I keep being tempted by getting just one Trollbeads bracelet to keep for small-cored beads. But there always seems to be something Pandora to get instead whenever there’s a Trollbeads bracelet event on. ;)
Yeah, I’ve heard mention of an Essence bangle from a few sources now. That would be really exciting, and apparently more secure than the regular Pandora Essence bracelet too. I am happy with the two Pandora Essence bracelets that I have now and wouldn’t really want to add more to them, so it would be good to have a new kind of bracelet entirely for any future Essence charms I might like. :D The cuff-style bracelets don’t really appeal to me either, I’m not sure why. I just don’t like the look of them as much, I think – I like charm bracelets I can fill up!
Yeah I think Trollbeads (or any other small core charms) should definitely fit a non-threaded Pandora bracelet! The new Pandora would be so easy to change up too, that’s one thing I do like about my other bracelets, I can have all the beads off it in a second (just let them fall off into a pile).
I think Pandora Moments charms (or other brand) that are small in scale would work well on the Essence bangle! I saw a picture of the Forest Fairy on an Essence bracelet, and it looked really cute and proportional.
Yeah, unscrewing charms off threads makes rearranging Pandora bracelets so time consuming haha. Putting bracelets back together after doing a review takes me forever! :P
Definitely! I actually put the Forest Fairy on an Essence bracelet for my review pics as well, coincidentally – the petiteness of the chain just suited it better close-up!
Aha, it must have been your lovely bracelet I saw then! I will have to look back at that review :-D
Perhaps – I only put it on an Essence chain for close-up shots of the charm itself! ^^
I went back and looked at your review (Forest fairy looks good on Essence with the petite size, I also bet it would be really easy to stuff a silicone piece in there to keep her upright), the bracelet I was thinking about had Essence beads on it with the fairy, I think I must have seen it on Facebook :-)
No, I didn’t think it was the same one! I bet it looked nice though!
A wonderful review! I wear my Christmas Wish dangle as a pendant on a silver chain and receive many compliments. Fortunately, I have a cousin who lives in the States and she is picking up the Prancing Reindeer for me. I will wear it as a pendant as well until I start a Pandora Christmas bracelet. Thank you for posting! Merry Christmas!
Thank you Marilyn! ^^ I was going to mention how wonderful the ornament dangles look on a necklace chain in this review, but forgot. I also wore my Prancing Reindeer pendant on a necklace until I got this bangle from Rue. Yours will look lovely!
Merry Christmas to you too, and thank you for commenting! <3
Also, what type of earring promotion are they having next year? I think I wear earrings the most despite having way more charms and bracelets than I do earrings. (sry for being so random) :)
No need to apologise for randomness – as long as it’s Pandora, you’re pretty much on topic here. :P But I’m afraid I have no clue what the earring promo will be yet. I imagine maybe some kind of GWP! I don’t have any Pandora earrings – I love earrings and wear them all the time, but for some reason I would rather buy the rings and bracelets from Pandora. :)
Hi Ellie I really like this charm, the hint of red is very striking.
Hi Nicola, glad to hear it! The red is really striking, especially if you put it with other beads of a similar colour. :D
This charm wasn’t even on my radar before your review but I would consider it now. I’m a little Christmas charmed out for this year, but I’ll check it out in person in time for next year.
Aha, I am a little glad to have finished my Christmas reviews. It has been really fun doing all the festive styling, but it’ll be nice to review some regular charms again :) you should definitely have a look at this one next year though!
Hi Ellie! All 3 bracelet designs look nice. It’s neat to see the three ornament beads together in the first bracelet styling. In the second, the Pandora Rose beads are quite pretty. I don’t have any Pandora Rose beads. Seeing yours makes it tempting to consider them. The third bracelet styling is certainly cute with Rudolph and the gingerbread house. I think next year you should add the Pandora candy cane right next to the gingerbread house. I say next year because I know you’ve bought enough Christmas beads this year (as many of us have!).
Hi Judy! Thanks, glad you like them. The Rose charms are some of my favourites, I was so pleased when they came to the uk! And they look great with a surprising amount of different colour combinations and murano glass beads. ^^ the plan is definitely to add the candy cane pendant to the Rudolph bangle eventually – but as you said, I just couldn’t manage it in the end this year! :P thanks for commenting!
Whoa, whoa, whoa! What’s this I’m seeing here? Ellie, are you starting a Chamilia collection too!? ;-) The Gingerbread House is so lovely. I wish I bought Rudolph when I had the chance. Now, it would be too difficult and pricey for me to get Rudolph since he’s a retired piece. :(
Ahaha, yep, it finally happened! I don’t know about a Chamilia collection, but I had to have those two for my Christmas bangle. ^^
I don’t have any experience with this store personally, but a friend of mine in the US found the Rudolph charm from The Paper Store online:
https://www.thepaperstore.com/p/chamilia-rudolph-bead/32729400005
Ooh, thanks for sharing this with me, Ellie! Sadly, they won’t ship to Canada, but it was defs worth a try!
Oh, and as fate would have it, I ended up finding Rudolph from the Chamilia website! They have an outlet section on their site which they usually open up during certain holidays/events such as Black Friday and Boxing Day. I managed to get Rudolph at 30% off! :D
Oh! Even better! ^^ I’m very pleased to hear that you managed to find one, I’m sure he’ll have a good home with you. ;)
I like three dangles together the most.
They do look great together, even if they’re a little heavy all grouped together on a bracelet. ^^
Hi Ellie!
My Christmas holidays have just started! I’m away from Athens in my little hometown and I ‘m really excited! My parents’ house is full of Christmas smells! My mom has baked pies and all kinds of traditional Christmas cookies and sweets! (She obviously has a plan that I should take some kilos before leaving!) Oh, it’s so good to be home! :-)
And guess what! The Prancing Reindeer is already on my Christmas bangle! Mom insisted I should open this particular present before Christmas, to enjoy it more! Oh, it’s just gorgeous! I love all the details: the snowflakes, the bow and the slightly sparkling reindeers, which are different shades of dark red! I thought they were bright red, but the colour is darker in person, in fact one of my reindeers is almost brown! You’re right this dangle will be much more versatile than the other festive red charms!
I adored your styling! The first one is like a mini Christmas tree, with all three dangles (it’s perfect you’ve collected them all!) and I was surprised of how elegant is the combination of red and rose charms on the second one! Your final design was your best by far! It reminds me of these german christmas markets with elfs and wooden little houses of deliciousness (does this word exist?)! And the Snow White’s murano is just perfect! Unfortunately my Disney Wishes charm didn’t make it on time for Christmas, but it’s ok! It will look good on the Midnight Love as well! :-))
Thank you for the great review and all your Christmas ideas since November! May you have Merry Christmas, with Health, Love and Happiness!!! ♥♥♥
Hi Chrysa! Oh that sounds wonderful! I can just picture it! I am unfortunately working both Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, but I can’t wait for the big day itself. ^^ We will all be cooking as well, and it’ll be nice to have all the family together again!
Yay, you got the Prancing Reindeer! It’s nice that you got it a little ahead of Christmas, so you can enjoy it in the run-up too. ^^ The colour of the reindeer is definitely darker in person than in the stock image, mine are kind of a lovely shimmery dark wine colour. So pretty! They look redder when you put them with other red charms. :) Glad you love yours too!
Thanks, Chrysa! I was surprised by how well the Rose charms went with the red, too. I was a little stuck for new Christmas stylings (this is my sixth christmas review this year :P), and then that Pandora Rose Christmas campaign image popped into my head. I’m pleased that you like the last bangle best, though, as that’s one of the designs that I actually wear! ^^ The Snow White murano is gorgeous and great for Christmas – it’s a shame that we don’t have it in Europe and the UK. Hopefully it’ll make it here in the end though. I’m sorry to hear that your Wishes bead didn’t make it in time, but it will be perfect for the midnight theme instead. Luckily it’s not a Christmassy bead in itself! Unfortunately my Black Friday bead hasn’t turned up in time for Christmas (well, it has tomorrow to make an appearance but I have my doubts!), and that is a little Christmassy haha.
You are very welcome, I’m so pleased that you have been enjoying them! Thank you for all your lovely comments, they are always a pleasure to read. A very merry Christmas to you too, I hope you have a lovely few days! <3 <3 <3
Hi Ellie, I got this charm after seeing it in person on holiday in Australia. It is a lovely weighty silver charm and was a great price at AUD69. They had the free bangle promotion for AUD150 spend so that helped! The other Christmas baubles never tempted me but I’m a sucker for red so this won me over. Even in your picture with all 3 baubles, it is the reindeer that stands out for me. I have it currently on my bracelet with the Christmas teddy, 2 red fascinating muranos and 2 white efferverscent muranos.
On a separate note, I finally caved and bought the Chinese lantern after your post earlier. Here is wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Hi Bebe! Glad to hear that you got this one too :D I love the red detailing on it as well – it’s a bit more sophisticated than the other red enamel charms I feel. ^^ It sounds like a beautiful bracelet combination you have there, I love red and white together for Christmas bracelet designs!
Yay, the Chinese Lantern is one of my favourites! I’m so pleased to hear that the post won you over. :D Have a very Merry Christmas yourself and thanks for commenting! <3
Omg I was actually looking at this in person too & I had loved it soo so much but I honestly just COULDNT get it sadly of the money I’ve spent on Disney Exclusive Pandora charms which I kinda wanted more anyways but still I wished I would of gotten this one it would of been nice but too bad it’s exclusive too
Aw that’s a shame, but you could always come back for it next year! :) It’s not a limited edition charm so it’ll still be there if you decide you have the funds for it later ^^