Has anyone bought Turtle Dove wrist warmers recently?

[Bjorkdidit]

A few years ago I bought some Turtle Doves wrist warmers as recommended by Mumsnet.

I still wear them often and noticed they have a sale on so was thinking of getting some more. However, the reviews say the quality has declined and they're not as soft and thinner than they remember. I notice that some are now made overseas and are also described as 'cashmere blend', whereas some are UK made and apparently 100% cashmere.

If anyone has bought these recently, what's your experience?

I ordered some for Xmas pressies and sent them straight back as I didn't think they were worth the price! Very disappointing 😕

I sent back ones I ordered too- thin, and tiny.

They have started to use a studio overseas. It's very disappointing as the original business was bought out a while back and I've decided not to buy more from them. The fabric is much thinner and the construction of each pair of gloves is more generic. I'll see if I can take a photo to show you what I mean.

I bought some and they were too small (I don’t have massive hands!). They kindly sent me replacement pairs but they were also very small and thin. Luckily some were in ‘school’ colours so my 8 year old wore them for school and I put the rest in the charity bag.

Yep, exactly this. Bought some a couple of years ago, loved them and they’ve lasted well. Asked DH to get me another colour pair for Xmas and quality doesn’t seem as good, no Turtle Doves label on them and a little disappointed in colour compared to image/description (wanted a dark brown and these are light brown)

Try www.nearlynewcashmere.co.uk- their stuff is excellent.

Definitely thinner. I have a pair from years ago, and bought another pair recently but they are much thinner. I would look for a different brand next time. Such a shame really, I would be happy to pay full price if they were the same quality as they used to be.

The pair in the middle were the first ones I bought. Soft cashmere from the bottom edge of a jumper & still going strong around 10 years later. The ones on the left have a similar feel and are gradually showing signs of wear & tear but are the same age (I have a pair in every coat!)

The ones on the right are much heavier and more felted. I haven't washed them. They have been cut from the middle of a jumper with no ribbed cuffs. The top part has has been stitched onto the hand. They are already bobbling. The full price has gone up, but they appear to have special offers and half price sales regularly. Definitely seem to be trying to turn them over as quickly as they can.

I bought two pairs this week. They now say they are made in the UAE but they do still say 100% cashmere. The reason I bought two new pairs is that my original lovely soft pair had worn thin after years. The new replacement pairs are unfortunately as thin as the worn out old pair.

I suspect there is just not as much high quality recycled cashmere around so they are using materials which are already a bit more worn.

I think some variation is to be expected. Ive bought various pairs over the years (bought as gifts etc) and only one of them (one of the pairs from this week) has ever had ribbed cuffs as per the photo above since that is just to do with the jumper they were made from.

Part of the attraction was that it was a recycled product made in the UK creating local jobs, not shipped in from UAE.

I agree. I bought a pair two years ago which are lovely and soft - made in the UK and have a little Turtle Doves ribbon tag with the Union flag sewn onto the cuff. My mum loved mine so I bought her a pair back in December for Christmas (from John Lewis). They are nothing like mine and look just like the new ones in your picture - more “felted” than soft cashmere and such a disappointment 😔

I bought from Turtle Doves over a period of a couple of years (I was the OP on the Christmas bargain thread a few years ago when the 'seconds' were on ebay for £7.99) they were a bit hit and miss size wise, the price went up and I went looking for alternatives.

This lady is amazing. I've used her for the past year and ordered loads for myself, DD and my Mum (we are all disabled / have reynauds) the quality and workmanship is faultless and I love the fact that I'm supporting a small business (which clearly TD isn't anymore)

www.ebay.co.uk/usr/seabeach2012

Thanks all. I've looked in my emails and I bought the ones I've got in 2018 (off a MN bargain lucky dip thread - I got black which suited me perfectly), worn them loads (I pretty much live in them in winter) and they're still in great condition.

Disappointing that the quality does seem to have reduced and they've been sucked into the modern day marketing phenomenon that is near permanent offers and discounts.

Although thanks to @unsync for the suggestion for Nearly New Cashmere - I'm not too far from their shop and it's somewhere I can go walking so a browse of the shop or free click and collect is an option instead of paying for delivery.

Here's a pic of a couple of pairs I've bought recently from Tazzies / seabeach on ebay. She also made me some custom ones when I sent her my own cashmere jumpers.

I recently bought some alpaca wrist warmers from Etsy if you are looking for an alternative. I wear them much more than my turtle doves but it is the turtle doves that have got a hole in them.

The hole isn't in a high wear area, in fact it is almost entirely under the turned back part which makes me wonder if there was a small defect.

The company has been taken over and the majority of their products are made in UAE. I recently ordered and sent them back as the quality is not so good and certainly not a luxury product worth the full price of £37. They were thin and the seam looked like something a child would do in needlework in school.
The cuff of the glove had been sewn on and the seam had three pieces of fabric and was not stretchy when pulling over the hand. I’ve seen them advertising their products at a very low price for some time and it makes me wonder if they are in trouble.
I’ve just ordered with Tazzies as pp and they are good and I’ve also seen that a new business has popped up which is based in Shropshire not far from the original base of Turtle Doves so that make me wonder if it’s an ex employee. Their gloves even have a similar tag to the old Turtle Dove one, with the Union Jack on it.
editied the website
www.whinberrygifts.com ]

Can I ask why these are useful please? Surely the bit which gets cold is your extremities ie fingers. I’ve heard of wrist warmers but just don’t understand why they are a thing now.

Here’s the Whinberry site. It has the same type of paper label as Turtle Doves used to and you can see the pink label is also similar.
The grey gloves are the bulky seams of the gloves I received from TD

I like my fingers free to deal with toddler out and about. Constantly taking gloves off is very annoying. These do keep fingers warm somehow. I suppose because they keep your circulation warm. And I am someone who really feels the cold.

I also find a lot of coats, jumpers and other tops stop short of my wrists, so they get cold and the wrist warmers help with these. I also like the layered look they give.

Ditched Turtle doves for all the reasons people say.
I got my last pair from Nearly New Cashmere Co.
Cheaper, better quality and made in the UK.

My grey gloves didn’t go through so here they are.
@Mittens67 I love them and use them all the time. I can go shopping and never have to take my gloves on and off to get money out etc. I wear them in the house when watching tv as I have arthritis in my wrists. My elderly Mum also wears them in the house as they keep her hands warm when reading in a cold room.

I'm talking about fingerless gloves rather than wrist warmers

I'd definitely say that's an ex employee @TherebytheGraceofGodgoI and good for them if so (I'd imagine they must have lost their job if TD now outsource to UAE)

Mine cover my hand as far as the knuckles, and I find they keep me toasty.

I suppose part of the explanation might be that you have blood vessels near the surface in both your wrist and the back of your hand. These constrict when cold, meaning less blood reaches the fingers.

Keeping the hand warm up to the knuckle ensures a nice flow of centrally heated blood to the fingers.