All the jewellery on this site, as you know, is hand crafted with bought in componants being kept to the occasional lobster clasp. However, for two diverse reasons I have spent many hours researching the 'Pandora' and its many cheaper clones with a view to making the chains and supplying some of the beads. The first reason I do this is that a number of people have asked if I have the 'Pandora'. The second is that at Fairs you need some cheaper items to bring people to the stall and gain their interest, BEADS agh!

So, desision made, onto the research. Real 'Pandora' is a top class piece of jewellery made from the best chain and comes with different clasps. The famous clip clasp with Pandora stamped on it is imposible to obtain at reasonable cost. However, they also makr a lobster clasp version. These chains retail at anything up tp £100 with the cheapest around £55. The chain is a 3mm snake chain with a solid silver core, it is not hollow, that is the important bit. I have sourced the same chain but 3.2mm diameter which I will make up and sell at £25. You may say that is still expensive but this is the real deal and pure quality.

Imitations are numerous and there are a minefield of problems. Most are not silver, some not even plated. They will give you a green wrist in weeks. These are usually found on the internet and on market stalls. Then there are the sterling silver chains which are hollow, better, but very light and will easily break. These are the ones which most clones are made from and retail around the £30 mark. So if you want a quality chain ask if it is solid core or hollow. If solid, it should weigh a minimum of 8 gms with a lobster clasp. A hollow bracelet can also be wound into a close pinwheel but a solid one cannot be tightly wound.
I have given details next to the picture of how to select a size which is right for your wrist. The price above is for just the Chain.
On the next page I will continue my research on BEADS for the 'Pandora' which was even more interesting.