Pandora vc Chamilia

[dthogue]

If you had to chose one over the other, which would it be. I know Chamilia has Disney charms - can you wear them on the Pandora bracelet? I know Pandora is more expensive and a little harder to find (Chamilia is in more shops in our area at least). I'm leaning towards Pandora, but love the Disney Charms. I do love the Little Miss that Chamilia offers for girls though - I'm going to lookk for them tomorrow - it would be a great Valentine's Day gift.

Tammy

 

[lovingthemouse]

I have a Pandora bracelet filled with Disney charms, many of which I got at the jewelry store on Main St in the MK. They do fit very well. My Chamilia bracelet, my first bracelet, has many Pandora charms on it too. I find them easily interchangable.

 

[quentina]

I have the Cham bracelet and it got all sorts of charms on it. Everything seems to fit and they are all interchangeable. Most of my beads are Disney beads....

 

[3boymthr]

I recently posted about this and went thru the same debate as we were buying one as a present for our Cub Scouts Den Leader and I was the nominated shopper. As PP have mentioned I was informed that the charms are interchangeable. I went with Chamilia for several reasons:

1) Pandora will void the warranty if you use any non pandora beads on the bracelet - admittedly the warranty is very limited, but still, really?

2) Pandora has some threaded stoppers built into the bracelet that make it stiffer and a little more difficult to place beads. I was told by the saleperson at the Pandora location that the only way to truly cover them is to buy locks.

and... 3) this being the budget board Chamilia is cheaper about $10 per bracelet and the beads are marginally less expensive because they offer sales.

Funny thing, I think I can offer a little insight into why Chamilia is more widely available. I was chatting with the woman at the jewelers where I bought the bracelet about that very thing just last week. She told me that last summer they went thru all the approvals with Pandora to get the bracelets and beads in the store. After a month of fussing with store inspection and then all the paperwork and references and credit checks they were told they were approved then they were informed that they would be eligible to sell the beads in 18 months. She told me that on the other hand, the Chamilia sales rep came to the store, did all the paperwork and had the bracelets and beads in the store within 1 week of them contacting Chamilia. Also, she told me Pandora requires that stores sign an exclusive with them but Chamilia will allow stores to carry other brands such as Troll. She also told me that one of the reasons the beads and bracelets are so compatible is that the man who started Chamilia used to work for Pandora as a designer and decided to go out on his own (oops! somebody forgot to get a non-compete contract signed. ).

 

[Kathi OD]

My DSIL works for an independent jeweler. Her store carries Chamilia two reasons, the first being the one stated above: too many hoops to jump through, and the second: Chamilia beads are manufactured in the USA.

I have both Pandora and Chamilia on my bracelet, as my sister bought me one before DSIL's store started carrying Chamilia. The beads are of equal quality. This past summer I swapped out my Pandora bracelet for a Chamilia one. I had a tough time w/ the clasp on the Pandora bracelet, and Chamilia has a bracelet with a "snap lock" clasp, that is much easier for me to operate.

As always, YMMV.

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

If you get the Pandora I would suggest you not put Chamilia beads on them. My neice has a Chamilia bracelet. The Mickey and Minnie head bead got stuck on the bracelet and the bracelet split when she tried to remove it. If it were on a Pandora, Pandora would not have fixed it. The lady where she purchased the bracelet and beads was able to take the bead off and gave her a new bracelet. HTH