We’ve had a lot of previews recently on Mora Pandora, but this weekend I’m returning to my Summer 2016 reviews with a look at the new Pandora Club charm for 2016! This is the third limited edition Club charm that Pandora have made so far, following the 2014 Hidden Heart and the 2015 heart & crown.
This year’s Club charm has been very popular with collectors – and rightly so, with its intricate design. Read on for close-up shots and some styling suggestions! :)
Pandora Club Charm 2016 Review
It’s another heart design, yes – but it stands out from the rest. (From the looks of the previews of next year’s Club design, Pandora seem pretty committed to the idea of heart-shaped Club charms). Its openwork design not only adds to its sophistication and delicacy, but also brings the price down a little for the UK, which is nice (it’s £5 cheaper than last year’s Club design).
The other exciting thing about this year’s Club charm – it comes with its own special box, which has ‘2016’ written in side and ‘Pandora Club’ on the outside. I am a total sucker for all glitzy packaging and extras, so this really was the icing on the cake for me! Australia didn’t get the special box for some reason, but all other regions seem to have.
Anyway – back to the charm itself! The polished hearts are so gorgeously shiny in person, and nicely offset by the oxidised beaded detailing around each one. The date is there at the centre of the charm, but it is small – it doesn’t distract from the overall design at all.
The only thing about having a more complex design is that the details of the diamond and the year get a little lost, the diamond in particular. It doesn’t stand out very much among all the other details.
Or, at least, not as much as in previous designs. While the Club charm for 2015 was simpler and received criticism for it, the stripped-back design did draw greater emphasis to the diamond as a result:
Stylings
Obviously, I couldn’t resist getting my previous two Club charms out as well and putting them all together! This is a mini bangle design in honour of all the Pandora Club charms to date, with a little dash of gold and moonstone cabochon to finish off the look. I usually prefer bracelets with a little more colour, but the Club charms do hold their own!
I have my previous two Club charms on my midnight-themed bracelet – this new one fits right in with the whole thing. The little diamonds look beautiful against the deep blue muranos, and the whole effect is rather dramatic!
However, I don’t actually have space on that bracelet for the Club charm to stay there. I’m adding it to my threadless bracelet design. The Club charm is so generic that it can fit with pretty much any theme you like; the heart patterning really reminds me of the suit of hearts in a pack of cards, and so I wanted to put it with my White Rabbit charm.
I’d love to emphasise the Alice-y aspects of this bracelet more – the long-retired HCA top hat charm would be such a great addition! With the vibrant colours and fantastical animals tucked away amongst the flowers, this bracelet easily functions as a more subtle tribute to Alice in Wonderland.
This is one of my favourite bracelets at the moment, and the addition of Miss Hedgehog has improved it all the more for me! I’m planning on adding the Charming Owls when they come out, too.
Conclusion
The previous two Club charms were a bit hit and miss with collectors; some loved the 2014 Club charm’s originality, others found it too boxy. On the other hand, the Club charm for 2015 was much easier to style but some thought it a bit boring. I think the 2016 Club charm offers the best of both worlds; its design is intricate and interesting, while also being highly decorative and aesthetically pleasing. It’s so easy to style while also adding a bit of interest to your bracelet!
The Pandora Club charm is $65 USD or £50. Unfortunately my recommended retailer for the UK, John Greed, have sold out of this lovely Club charm, but you can purchase the rest of the Pandora Summer collection from their website.
Have you indulged in this year’s Club charm? What do you think of its design?
Love your newsletter…look forward to receiving it.
I tried joining Pandora’s Tribe and Pandora’s Angels as I have se eral retired charms I would be interested in selling but somehow I cannot get to join these groups…they do not acknowledge my requests.
Can you please give me other ways of selling these charms other than eBay. Thank you sooooooo much and keep up the good work. I am a fan.
Same story here! Exept I would like to buy old designs. Im highly alergic to any other metal but silver and gold and simply cant take risks on ebay. Pitty that both pandora angels and pandoras tribe seems to be unresponsive for months. Are there other ways to aquire retired charms? Wish there would be a responsive group for that… @Monique maybe you have some charms I want to buy :D
I would recommend trying some of the other FB pages to start you off. Avoid eBay, Etsy, etc. for the most part, despite the temptation of lower prices, as fakes are rife on secondhand selling sites!
Hi Laura
The retired charms i want to sell are
Changing Season 790980
Simple Flower White Pearl 790535
Tunnel of Love 790275cz
Climbing Ivy 791036
Lotus Flower clip 790995
You’re in my heart clip 790959
I’m surprised about Pandora’s Tribe because I was accepted right away…though that was a couple of years ago. Pandora’s Angels is very difficult to get accepted to, especially now, as I believe someone has to vouch for you (and have had a successful transaction from you). There are a couple of other Facebook selling pages as well. They are not quite as popular as Tribe and Angels, but they do contain a lot of members from the other groups. I know of Pandora Worldwide, Pandora Crowned!, and Pandora Freedom. It’s worth a try!
Great advice – thanks, Joanne!
Hi Monique! I would second Joanne’s advice. Try joining a couple of the other pages that she mentioned (I’m also a member of Pandora Freedom) and taking part in some transactions there (checking good seller and buyer lists before you do anything). Once you have a few good transactions under your belt, you might be able to get a few other sellers/buyers to vouch for you on the Angels or Tribe pages. :)
Hi Ellie, this Club charm is definitely in my wish list !! It’s beautiful :) I adore how it looks in your Pandora Club mini bangle, but it seems so delicate in the threadless bracelet. Since I looked in the preview I’m thinking about make a special Pandora Club bracelet with the club charms, the Pandora bag and the Pandora signature charms, but not sure… First I’ve to finish another bracelets.:(
Hi Priscilla! It definitely deserves to be there, it’s a lovely offering for this year <3 that dedicated Pandora club bracelet sounds wonderful if you decide to do it, especially with the Pandora bag! You should also have a look at the King Crown, which is the old retired two-tone charm that looks like the Pandora 'O' :)
A lovely review Ellie. I think it’s the best club charm they’ve done so far. I’m just not keen on it having the year on.
I think it looks lovely with all your designs. I like your idea of the Alice in wonderland themed bracelet. Glad to see you’ve found a home for your white rabbit. I love my white rabbit, I hope they bring out more little characters like the white rabbit and Eeyore.
Thanks Sarah <3 I didn't use to like the dates but now it's kind of fun to look back through your collection and see all the years you've been collecting!
Absolutely, the Disney character charms are by far my favourite! Mickey & Minnie are cute but they're just not as interesting! Eeyore definitely needs more friends from the Hundred Acre Wood :)
I like the white rabbit with the florals. And the bracelet with the dark blue muranos, is beautiful. I have those too. i am interested in the dark purple murano coming out in the fall or winter. i bet it will be pretty with the sparkly effect.
Thanks very much Sherry! I expect that one will be beautiful too. The contrast between the darker purple and the shimmer should be lovely!
I got this club charm. I love it :) But here in Slovakia we do not get that box with it. It is a pitty :(
Oh noo :( I thought everywhere apart from Australia/New Zealand had received the box. What a shame!
Yes, it is a shame :( Maybe next time we will have it.
Fingers crossed! The UK never used to get special boxes ever, so there’s hope!
Hi Ellie,
The club charm for this year is a winner, it is so delicate and shiny. Last year’s was too similar to the princess charm I already had, but I did get 2014’s, which I liked because of the unusual box shape.
Just wanted to let you know that my local concept store finally got the frosty mint muranos, after weeks of waiting. Well, they really have a frosty mint hue! It’s very subtle, but has a different effect than the flecks that show pink or blue. It gives off a frosty mint glow! I love them and bought 3. Pandora must have gotten better batches with the true minty effect, as they produced more.
Hi Lisa! I totally agree; and this year’s benefited from being an original design again. I think 2015’s similarity to the Princess charm put a few people off, as you say.
Oh that’s very interesting! I quite liked the examples with the pink/blue shimmer. I will have to go along to my concept store this weekend and see what they have to sell. It was surprising to see how little mint the original examples had in them, so it makes sense that Pandora have taken steps to correct that in later batches! Thanks for the info!
Not a fan of the club charms to date, but I really like the look of the 2017 dangle choice! I will definitely buy that if it proves to be the winning design.
That was the one I liked better too. It looked to be winning by quite a margin when I last checked, so here’s hoping!
I voted for 2017 dangle, I need dangle for the Club charm bracelet.
Me too! A dangle would be nice and a bit different.
I put 3 Club charms on bangle like yours.
2016 diamond is smaller than 2015 so won’t show as nice as 2015, kind of disappointed, Pandora keep cutting cost to reduce diamond’s size and silver’s weight. 2017 we will get a diamond’s sand, :(
Ah, do you think the diamond is actually smaller? I thought it was just all the patterning around it that took away from the diamond’s effect in this charm.
I am not really a fan of hearts, so I won’t be getting it. Like Valentine’s Day, this is a release I can ignore.
However, I have enjoyed seeing your imaginative stylings, especially the Alice in Wonderland tribute. Thanks, Ellie!
This one gets a pass from me, despite being another heart, as the patterning is so pretty and I love the deck of cards feel to it. The hearts can get repetitive, but every now and again they make one that really stands out!
Thanks so much Angie! Glad you enjoyed them. :D
Your Alice in wonderland design is really pretty. I like all the pretty colours and interesting charms in it. I have all three club charms in a classic pandora bangle. Intend to add one each year and slowly upgrade to proper bracelet. That might take 20yrs!!!! Haha…..
Me too, I would like to build a Club charm only bracelet or bangle.
That would be lovely!
Thanks! :D I have plans for the rest of the charms I want to add to it, it’s just getting round to funding them all haha.
Oh wow! That might be a long work in progress, but how pretty it would look at the end :D
I think once I got four or five club charms, can put on a proper bracelet with clips as a mini design to work on. Perhaps adding some beautiful murano for pop of colour. Just an idea, see how it goes with the future collections to come.
Definitely! :) And you could always add some of the Pandora-themed charms that aren’t Club charms, such as the shopping bag or the signature charms, if you wanted to bulk it out a little.
I love this Club charm, I still want to get it, I didn’t really care for the past 2 and did not get them. It looks great on your Alice in Wonderland bracelet Ellie, I can see why it is a favorite bracelet of yours! <3 Miss Hedgehog is one of my all time Pandora faves :-D
Glad to hear that Pandora have finally tempted you with this one! ^^ I have and like them all, although 2014 and 2016 are my favourites.
Thanks Natalie! Miss Hedgehog is adorable – I have no idea why I added her to my collection so long after she came out. All the detailing is just adorable!
I don’t mind to collect Club charm full set. I don’t want to shop around for a particular charm after many years of collection.
Some of them do become very hard to find!
Hi Ellie I think this is my favourite from the collection I did like last years to. I also love your styling. Also has the watermelon charm being released in the uk. I saw a pic of it on a necklace and it looked lovely.
Hi Nicola! It’s a very worthy favourite! <3 I have not heard anything about the watermelon charm making it to the UK unfortunately. I don't know why we missed out on that one and the cherries. Clearly Pandora think that UK collectors appreciate fruit less than the rest of the world... :S
Hello Ellie!
Thank you for this review! I am very excited about this year’s charm; I plan to purchase soon once I reached one of my trajected milestones to mark my accomplishment. I love how delicate, yet elegant the pattern looks. I am very pleased with this year’s design. I agree that this year’s design seems a bit intricate and interesting!
Cheers!
Hi Margaret! Sounds great; Pandora charms do make great personal rewards. And the commemorative date on this one makes it even more appropriate!
The design is lovely, and you only truly appreciate the beautiful shine on it when you see it in person. Hope you reach that milestone soon! <3
Disappointed that Australia did not get the special gift box. Your styling is lovely as always.
That is really very disappointing. Maybe get in touch with Pandora Australia and let them know? The UK doesn’t usually get the special boxes either but it was a nice surprise to see that we did this year.
Thanks Lozzie <3
I do like this charm, I am really taken with the design and I especially love the tiny diamond, I really wish Pandora would use real stones more even if they are really small, it adds so much more to the charm for me personally. I was not going to get ot as I didn’t want to have a charm with 2016 on, but I would definitely get it otherwise. I adore both your dark blue bracelet and the Alice one! The Alice one is my favourite too, I love the way the little animals are hidden among the flowers!
Absolutely, I do miss the original gemstones they used to use. The cabochon spacers I regret missing out on!
Thanks Debbie! The little animals hiding in the flowers was exactly what I was going for… and I love that both of them (Miss Hedgehog and the White Rabbit) are dressed up like fairy-tale characters. Thanks for commenting! <3
I got the club charm this year because I really like the geometric design. I think it’s a versatile bead. It goes well with your white rabbit. The 2016 imprint is really tiny! The store I bought my charm from had a magnifying glass on hand to view the charm. I wasn’t straining to look, rather the sales person offered it up as soon as she got the charm out.
It is very versatile; Pandora have hit the nail on the head with it… it’s generic enough to go with lots of different designs but still interesting enough to stand out!
Haha, yes, the date is very small on it. But that suits both camps to a certain extent I think. How funny that your SA had a magnifying glass to hand!
I absolutely LOVE the 2016 Club charm as I am a big fan of hearts.
I have the bracelet eith the pave heart clasp and all the charms are heart themed and it is my favorite bracelet.
I have several charms that I would live to sell but I have teied Pandora Tribe, Pandora Freedom, Pandora Angels and have had no success in being accepted by any of them.
I need to sell some of my charms (many retired ones) so I can buy more. My taste changed and some of the charms no longer appeal to me. Any help you can provide would be really appreciated. Thanks a million.
I really enjoy your site. Keep up the good work. Thanks for providing good infos.
Ah, then the Club charms are right up your street! :) As it looks like Pandora are going to keep going with the heart theme for the Club charms for the time being. Your bracelet sounds lovely!
I’m sorry to hear that you’re having such tough going :( I’m surprised to hear that you haven’t managed to get hold of any of the FB groups. Perhaps try some others such as Pandora Crowned, I think someone mentioned? Have you tried getting in touch with the admins and introducing yourself?
You are welcome :) good luck!
Love how you styled the two tone bangle!
Thanks Jahndra :D I felt like I had to make a bracelet with them all on it!
Your two tone bangle is classy and timeless
Thank you! :D
Hi Ellie,
this is the first Club charm I’m excited about, the other two didn’t do it for me.This one looks like it would go with any bracelet stylings. Is £50 a bit high for a silver only charm do you think, or seeing it in real life is it worth it?
You always do such inventive stylings, you just have an eye for it. What are the three blue charms on your Midnight bracelet, if you don’t mind me asking? They are gorgeous and really caught my eye. I seem to have a lot of girly charms, hearts and pinks, so it would be nice to go for something blue and maybe more edgy.
Great post as always.Im having a bit of a tough time at work at the moment, and your blog posts really cheer me up and help me escape for a while into the world of Pandora. Thanks for all your hard work on your blog.
Hi Agnes! £50 is absolutely fine, considering the fact it has the little diamond in it :) If it were just a CZ, then £50 would be way too high. B
Thanks Agnes :D The blue charms on the Midnight bracelet are the Fascinating Aventurescent (which got retired very quickly in 2014 due to production issues, you can still find them occasionally in stores in the UK) and then two Midnight Fizzle muranos, which are still around.
Ah, I’m sorry to hear that you are having a tough time at work <3 I hope that straightens itself out soon! I use the blog as a very similar means of escapism from time to time, so I am very glad to hear that it helps you to do the same <3 Thanks for commenting Agnes!