Pandora bead bracelets - so lovely, so expensive! cheaper alternatives?

[MargotBeauregardesGavel]

I'm not bling at all.. But this brings out the bling in me. I want one

wow

troll beads

troll beads.. they are very nice & much cheaper:

troll beads

ive got a pandora bracelet and just add to it on special occassions. Charmilla and biagi do slightly cheaper alternatives as well though

How much is the basic bracelet spugs?

Some of the ready made up bracelets have too many things on them imo. About four beads would look lovely.

I will look on line for Charmilla and biagi.

Thanks all, mx

Oh no - I want some of these - anyone splashed out?

I'm going to stop buying cheap things. No more faux leather handbags, no more jewellery from Next or Topshop. I'm going to treat myself properly once in a blue moon (i haven't a bean, what AM i talking about?!)

Got mine on Ebay - is a fake, but you would have to have a real one right next to it to tell (I am told the beads are bigger..but everyone I see asks me if mine is a Pandora).
When I say a fake - it does not claim to actually be a Pandora bracelet, so not an illegal fake IFYSWIM. Try Pandora Dees ebay shop - and then bargains.

I haven't looked really properly - but are trollbeads not more ££ than the Pandora ones?

What brand is it ksld,

'fake' wouldn't bother me if it was silver fake iykwim. fake as in 'not made by pandora/troll'.

fake as in made of tin with a sheen that will wear off in 48 hours! that I don't want!

big difference to me. I like it becuase it looks nice. haven't heard of any of these brands before now.

I think (pretty ignorant here) that they are silver plate or sterling silver rather than real silver, so may not be what you are looking for. But they look lovely, the bracelet is pretty enough to wear without any beads, doesn't look cheap and fake, is heavy with a good colour and a secure clasp. The beads I have are mainly glass with a 'silver' bit in the middle where the bracelet goes, and they all look great. I have 2 'silver' charms which are OK - bit less detail to them than I expected, but look silver. I got it for Xmas so not sure how hard/long wearing it will be...

Also try love links

My mum has one and I've used this website to buy beads for her - they are very good.

Not sure how they compare price wise to panora tough!

just googled Pandora - the lovelinks are about 70% of the price for the beads and bracelets considerably cheaper.

Mum's is lovely

The Bracelet 'chain' should be sterling silver, if they are not the 'wear' of the beads will tarnish and rub the plate off almost straight away.

Here's the one I have

www.palmermetals.co.uk/ChainReadyToWear/SterlingSilverBracelets/Sterling-Silver-Snake-Bracelet-7.5-i nch-11723.aspx

• I use the site for my jewellery business and to be honest I wasn't too bothered about a 'Fancy' chain, in my opinion the beads are what make the bracelet.

Also there are a lot of British Lampworkers making Pandora style beads, they are all individual one of a kind beads, so make your bracelet really individual.

Here's a link to them

www.britishlampwork.co.uk/

to find more just google lampwork artists- they'll be hundreds come up.

Hope that helps

wow, good links! I can have a go at building my own later, about 3,000 $ cheaper than the pandora ready made 'love' bracelet, which is lovely, but also sort of looks like something my daugther (7) might like to wear.

The bracelet say it's 19cm long. That sounds very big. I love that lovelinks website, but can't find a smaller bracelet on it.

all the bracelets here

It does say that the average adult female lengh is 18 - 19 cm. I guess because the beads make it smaller IYSWIM.

They suggest measuring your wrist and adding on 3cm

I bought a simple bracelet and a couple of 7.50 charms from www.link-ittogether.com

THey're not as nice as the pandora beads but cheaper and compatable with troll/pandora/lovelinks.

I got one with writing on it from www.scarlettjewellery.com - they call them something else...Mojos rather than beads but they fit on my pandora bracelet.

I got the 'carpe diem' one after having a rough month which was a nice sentiment! They are quite small mind, but I think they look really cute!

I would just head down the bead shop with that pic, show it to them and get them to help you pic out the right beads - would be easy to make and probably cost under a fiver. Obviously they wouldn't have the posh writing on or be made of anything precious, but apart from that you could make something very similar.

I've made loads of very similar bracelets.

I scout around charity shops and antique markets and buy pretty looking things, then take them apart and thread them onto fine silver chain.

I have a trollbead bracelet (am wearing it now) and have made it cheaper by sticking with trollbead originals for the bracelet, clasp and charms and by buying cheaper 'troll/pandora/biagi' type beads for the coloured beads from ebay.

My other half bought me a Pandora bracelet for Christmas but its too nice and expensive to wear during the day so, I bought myself a couple of cheap sets of beads from this online shop:

www.simplymurano.co.uk

They are really pretty and were only 6 quid for a set of 5 beads - bargain!!!

I've started a bit of a trend at work now - LOL :-)