Happy New Years everybody!! I wasn’t planning on making a post, but then I realized I skipped the entire month of December. I usually post about upcoming sales and promotions, and I usually showcase my Pandora Christmas bracelet but for the first time since I started this blog in 2015 I had nothing new to show. I didn’t add any new Christmas charms and really, it’s not surprising seeing where the brand is heading. Yes, yes I know, there goes Jahndra again complaining about Pandora lol. Yes, yes I am, I was able to preview the Valentine’s Day collection and I was not impressed, but more on that later.
This is the time of year where I reflect on the past year and I talk about possible new goals for the new year. I don’t even know where to start though since last year was such a cluster f* for a lot of us. I am grateful and blessed that the pandemic didn’t affect my husband and I, nor my family. Well it did in the way that we had to stop seeing our friends and family, and that we could no longer go out, but we are all healthy and good. 2020 brought us a whole different type of stress and problems that we didn’t foresee, but we got through it. This new year has brought a “new normal” which still sucks, but at least life is sort of going on.
In relation to my blog and social media presence, I think you all know I had a really crappy time with that aforementioned company that practically ruined my love for them, and it’s made me a bit jaded. A lot of you might think that I’m just bitter about the entire experience, and I might be, but I think I’m also not seeing the brand through rose colored glasses anymore. I’m seeing their products objectively, and really if you read my previous posts and reviews about them, you’ll realize I’ve been complaining about them now for awhile LOL. I bring this up again because it really affected me. It made posting on social media not fun anymore, especially because now I feel that every time I post, someone or some people are spying on me, waiting for me to post something I shouldn’t or didn’t know I shouldn’t post so they can report me. And that really just ruins the experience. I am still posting here and there, but like I said, always have that feeling that someone is lurking in the shadows waiting for me to mess up.
Getting back to that company, I think what happened not only jaded me, but it also kind of made me grow up a little. I realized I had so many pieces that I never wore, that I bought on impulse because it was a good deal, or because it was a classic, collectible piece. I was buying just to buy. I realized I need to invest my hard earned money on quality pieces, not light weight charms that are worth $25 but have a $45 price tag. My tastes are starting to change a bit, and I came to the realization that the reason I kept buying more and more is because I kept creating themes for bracelets. I thought I was done when I finished my first star themed bracelet, then I started a second one, and now I’m on a third one. Then I finished my gold and green floral themed bracelet, and earlier last year I was thinking of starting a second floral one with pink and white colors. I finished my pink hearts bracelet then I started and finished my two toned one. Then I saw Tink Pandora’s bird themed bracelet and I thought to myself that is a great idea, I want to start one too! When will it be enough?
Not that creating beautifully themed bracelets is a bad thing, it’s not. Who doesn’t love color? Who doesn’t love being creative and making beautiful bracelets? The bad thing comes when you have a bit of OCD and you can’t stop thinking of new themes for bracelets lol, the bad thing is is when a certain company starts to cheapen the quality of their products and charge more for them. I say this because I was lucky enough to preview the new collection that was just released. I’m sorry to say I don’t love it. There’s literally two or three items I really like and that’s it, and even those items have issues with them. I’m also very sorry I was unable to give my usual blind preview in fear of repercussions again. While everyone else is oohing and aaahing the new collection, I’m over here literally gagging over the crystal amulets that look and feel like plastic. And the cabochon charm? They are super elegant, but I have this nagging feeling that they’re also plastic. I mean I can’t confirm that the amulet charms are plastic, but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…? I’ve decided to stop making new bracelets and just keep to what I already have, (with the exception that I might quit on the works of progress I’ve been working on, or try to finish them). I think I’m going to keep purging in order to feed a better addition and that is to start hunting for pre loved Tiffany pieces, now that’s a company that makes quality items. Yes, waaay overpriced, but quality!!!
Once you all get a chance to see the new collection, I’ll let you all decide for yourselves what you think about the quality. The cassette dangle and the open work heart charm with roses were my absolute must haves, although upon closer inspection of the cassette dangle I found it super light weight and thin, a huge disappointment.
Getting off my soap box now and getting back to plans for my blog, I don’t have any huge goals for this year. Last year I talked about starting a podcast and thanks to a new app call Stereo, I kind of was able to do it! Thanks to friends like Jill and Debbie I was able to do two “podcasts” and it was a ton of fun! I kind of got away from it because then December hit and of course I got busy with the holidays and now that the holidays are over I’m busy playing catch up with everyday things like my two mountains of laundry that I need to get to and other things of that nature, however I plan on getting back into it soon!
As for my social media and this blog, I’ll still try to post whenever I feel I have something to say or share. With the way my hand got slapped last year, I really do find it hard to post with the same passion I once did. I’m scared that even if I do a review, someone will report me and I’ll have everything taken down again. With YouTube, it’ll be the same, I’ll still post my collection videos and I have other video ideas that I’ve been want to work on. The thing is, once I make them I’m clean out of ideas, so who knows what will happen to my channel as well. Gone are the days of the big hauls, I might still have them but they will be more rare.
And so I conclude, I hope I didn’t bring anyone down, I meant for this post to be more uplifting, but when I started to think of 2020 in review, there were more bad parts than good. Let’s hope 2021 is a bit better, I plan on stressing less and loving myself more and not caring whether my social media following is great or not, I just want to post what makes me happy and that’s it! Thank you guys for always being there for me!! Xoxo
Happy New Year Jahndra! I’m happy to hear you and your hubby are healthy and safe. These past months have been so scary. I can’t wait till things can start getting back to normal for everyone!
Did you go to the Pandora store and see the new releases in person? I am wondering how you feel about the open works with the roses.
I do want the Mickey and Minnie teacup. It looks adorable!
Happy new year!! I did go back to my local store and was able to get a sneak peek!! It was very cool to see the new stuff, but like I said before was sorely disappointed to see what looks like plastic on the charms. I’ll wait for others to weigh in, there’s tastes for everyone and I’m sure some people will like it regardless lol. The open work hearts with roses is soooooo adorable I love it!! Wish it had more oxidation, I’d i get my hands on it I would probably oxidize it to bring out the details on the roses. It’s a strange charm, a bit bulky yet lightweight at the same time. It’s a very romantic and classic charm in my opinion. Wish I had pics to show you!
I don’t think I saw the Mickey and Minnie teacup, what I saw was a red flat disc dangle with cherry red enamel and it was Mickey and Minnie kissing I think.
The teacup is a Disney park exclusive.
I was asking about the rose charm, because I have a design in progress and am thinking about adding this, or the rosegold heart charm. I guess I would have to see if the sliver openworks rose charm is too bulky for my wrist.
Oooh ok no wonder I didn’t see it.
It did seem a little bulky but I don’t think it’s that big, once people start posting it wearing it you’ll get a better idea I think.
Can you please be more specific? Exactly what do you think is plastic? The stones that are described as crystals?
There are charms called amulets, they look like the new age store crystal pendants, I thought they were going to be released online but I didn’t see them, my store had them though. They came out in pink, purple and clear. They are opaque or matte. They look and feel like plastic. When you see them I think you’ll know what I’m talking about. I took pictures of course buy out of fear of being reported again I can’t show them.
They are posted on the art of pandora if you want to know what they look like, I’ve been collecting jewelry for years and I’m sorry but these look and feel like plastic. They might be real crystal but look like plastic.
Thanks. I have no interest in the pendants, so that’s probably why I’m not too concerned with them. I am, however, curious to see the cabochon charms as they look very pretty in the pictures. They would go great on some of my bracelets. I also like the Heart bar bracelet, but I’m wondering about the practicality of it when being worn. Wonder if it “works?”
No problem! Let me know what you think once you get to see them in real life. The cabochons are truly gorgeous, but like I said I hope I’m wrong, they just don’t feel heavy and aren’t too cool to the touch which would be the case is they were real crystal but who knows anymore lol.
yep, they look cheap, and the single stone clips snd rings look like Chamila or some other cheaper charm company. And I think they are all lab created crystals now, not Cubic Zirconias. 👎☹😭
Agree! On one of their store’s instagram account someone asked about the materials they used on these new charms and I piggy backed on the question and asked the same thing, the response was that they used lab created nano crystals so that they would be uniform in color and shape, and that these amulets specifically are frosted to give them that look. So at least we know it’s not plastic, but boy do they look like plastic.
Hi there!
Happy New Year!
I suspect your opinions are colored by your experiences of the past year, and I hate that those things happened to you.
I disagree with you a little bit about the new collection. I bought two of the green cabochons, and I think they are beautiful. They aren’t plastic, but crystals. I suspect they are lab created crystals rather than mined ones in keeping with new Pandora’s sustainability policies. The detailed work on the sides of the charms is still commensurate with Pandora’s hand finishing techniques.
The 2021 Club charm is also beautifully detailed. And I bought the Mix Tape as well. They are much lighter than charms of old, but when I’m wearing a full bracelet of older charms it feels really heavy on my arm after a while. And I don’t think I sacrifice beauty when I mix in some of the lighter charms.
I love Tiffany too and have some of their pieces. But they were just purchased by LVMH. I hope they stay true to the brand after the merger.
I am glad you have made the decision to take the pressure off yourself and stay true to your passions. I think it will give you more peace of mind.
Wishing you all good things in the New Year!
Thanks Deborah!! As always I value your opinion and input! You’re right, that’s why I admitted a might be a little jaded lol, and yes they might be real crystal, but the reason I said plastic was because crystal is cool to the touch, when I first handled these they didn’t feel super cool but almost room temperature which indicated to me that something was off. I mean they still might be crystal and maybe the store was warm or maybe I wasn’t really feeling what I thought I was feeling. But I shouldn’t have to question it, it should be obvious that it’s crystal or glass and not plastic. I don’t know, they’ve also changed their item numbers and instead of cz which stood for cubic zirconia it’s now just a C which doesn’t denote what the material is really. I’ll try to do more research, the sales girls had no idea what the C stood for.
And it’s perfectly ok for you to disagree with me! This is an open forum and I welcome different opinions and viewpoints as long as we are all respectful, I know not everyone is going to agree with me lol! It’s good for me because sometimes someone will say something that makes sense and I’ll be oh I didn’t see it that way or realize something and it opens my eyes. I think you’ve done that quite a few times already and I appreciate it!
Btw who is lvmh? Is that Louis Vuitton?
Yes. LVMH is the parent company of Louis Vuitton.
Ahh ok yes I heard about the merger, a bit strange lol. I remember talking to one of the sales associates about it and he said that everything should stay the same, let’s hope so!!
Happy New Year Jahndra! It’s good you back)))
I don’t like new collection, they look like very cheap bijouterie from aliexpress. maybe 1% is made good, the other is crap. Replace cheap CZ to more cheaper glass (crystall?) is bad idea. a lot of rose alloy (wich considered as bijouterie in my country) too. New ring so tiny so they look like may broke in my hands.
From all collections 2020 I bought only two pieces (O beaded pendant and pair openwork star and moon charms), all other things i got last year was from old collections. I just don’t like nothing else, at least not enough to buy it.
I love our domestic jewelry brands and better spent on them my money (not mention I can buy white gold piece or piece with diamonds for the price of pandora pieces).
Wow, I don’t even have to write my own text. Olga, you said it all.
Did anybody notice the change in the Shine collection? That’s a new low…
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Jahndra, Olga and everybody who’s reading Jahndra’s lovely blog.
What have they changed about the Shine collecting?
It used to be 18k gold plated sterling silver.
Shine items did have the S925 mark in it. That stopped when they started to use an ‘unique metal blend’ to replace the sterling silver.
yikes! I think I remember seeing that as well. I think it’s because the core is palladium? I don’t remember anymore. I think the core used to be sterling, then palladium, then something else, then the rose gold or 18k gold plating. But I agree with you, when they say it’s a unique metal blend, it sounds shady.
Yikes!! Yes I completely understand!! I rather spend my money elsewhere too if I can get better quality like white gold and diamonds for the same price!!! I also haven’t bought much from the recent collections which is nice because I’m saving money, for Christmas though I did buy a lot of the winter collection because of the celestial themes, the fall and winter collections are usually my favorites and I don’t usually care for the rest of the collection lol.