Today’s review features one of the Pandora Autumn 2015 collection’s most popular – and elusive – charms: the Arabian Coffee Pot! Also known as the Dallah charm in some regions, this little charm has been very well-received by Pandora collectors due to its beautifully intricate detailing and original design.
The charm is based on a traditional Arabian dallah; from what I gather reading online, coffee drinking as a tradition has a lot of currency in the Middle East, and these intricately-designed coffee pots have a deal of significance.
This charm was not released in many regions, and has proven quite hard to find. From what I understand, this charm is available in some European countries, including France, the Czech Republic and Greece, and some Middle Eastern countries. I’m not sure if it is available in any other Asian countries. It is not available for purchase in the UK, Australia or North America.
I was able to snag mine from Republic of Jewels before it sold out (they are apparently no longer stocking it – who knows why they had it initially), and happily enough it arrived pretty speedily! It was priced at £25 or 29 euros, when it was available.
The charm
Every detail is just exquisite in this charm; I find it hard to think of a Pandora charm that matches it for sheer intricacy. The other pleasing thing about it is the originality of the design. It’s nice that, in amongst the high volume of hearts, flowers and family motifs, Pandora can still produce gems like this one. It would be nice to see them reach for fresh ideas more.
In person, the charm is pretty true to the stock image, and just as gorgeous – the silver swirls and hearts are accentuated by oxidised shading that add beautifully to the vintage look of the charm. However, the thing that struck me most when I first saw it in person is that it is absolutely TINY. It’s amazing that it boasts so much detail, as it really is small – even for a Pandora charm. It is very slim; the base is about as a wide as a Pandora Essence charm, perhaps even a little smaller.
The ALE hallmarks are unobtrusively placed on the base of the charm, which is encircled by some more little hearts.
Styling
I’ll admit that I had a little trouble at first when I was trying to think of stylings for this charm. It’s beautiful, but its very distinctiveness and character make it a little hard to blend in with other charms. Your instinct is to make the rest of the bracelet design work with it perfectly. Nevertheless, I did come up with a few combinations that I liked 😀
This one is a mini-Arabia-inspired bangle design, featuring my two Arabian charms – the Dallah and the Camel, which also features an amazing level of detail. The hint of two-tone and the green spinel stone of the Vintage Allure adds a little opulence, and works to set off the other two charms nicely.
My next design is based on a loose interpretation of an Arabian Nights theme. I’ll confess straight away that I haven’t actually read the Arabian Night stories, and have only gleaned snippets from hearing them mentioned in other books. So these are just charms that fit with my hazy notion of what an Arabian night might entail. 😉 I’ve gone for the Midnight Fizzle murano to represent the night sky, and then some other fairy-tale two-tone motifs to complement it.
You can also really appreciate how tiny the Coffee Pot is from these styling pictures, though! I’ve found that, on a full bracelet, you have to be a little careful as to what you style it with. It can get a little swamped and obscured by bigger charms.
My final styling offers something completely different, and is much more on the cute side! This is an Afternoon Tea themed bracelet, with a focus on tea, cake and coffee. ^^ I find this sort of design rather whimsical and very comforting – it would be great on a bangle, too. If you can’t get hold of the Dallah charm, you could always substitute it for the two-tone Teapot charm (which is retiring soon, so grab it while you can!).
I don’t actually know how I’ll be permanently wearing this charm in my collection yet, however. I’m quite tempted to put it with a couple of the new blush charms – particularly the new Radiant Hearts. I haven’t got around to getting those yet, though, so I’ll have to try them together in a later review! 🙂
Conclusion
This is an absolutely beautiful charm, and one that proves the level of originality and elegance that Pandora can still achieve. I love both the elegance of its design, and the fact that it’s an unusual and original concept for a charm. My only reservations are that it’s so small (although that does make its RRP quite reasonable) and the fact that it is a little hard to style, as it is both very delicate and very full of character.
It is a shame that so many regions have seemingly opted not to offer this one, seeing as the beauty of its design holds universal appeal and it has proven incredibly popular with collectors.
Are you a fan of this design? Have you managed to obtain one?
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