Today’s post continues my wintry reviews, with some inspiration featuring the Pandora AW15 Red Robin charm! This may have been an Autumn 2015 piece, but it seems to be equally as suited to the winter season.
A common sight on snowy Christmas card designs, the robin is both a quintessential marker of the winter season and a motif that offers more versatility for use throughout the rest of the year. 😀 Read on for some close-up shots and some inspiration for both nature-themed and Christmas-themed bracelets!
The charm
One of the nice things about this charm is that the robin’s breast is a little more burgundy than red, offering something a little more subtle compared to all the bright red enamels of the other Christmas charms. The stock image is true to the charm’s actual colour when you see it in person, as well – it’s an exact match for the Spring 2015 Ladybug, if you have that one.
Now, this is a very chubby little charm. He is rather wide, and takes up a fair bit of space on a bracelet! I assume that this is to accommodate the pavé breast detailing. This gives him rather a cute look, if a little removed from the robins that you tend to actually see in the garden! He has little bird feet, with oxidised detailing to give them more depth – small details like these are a big part of why Pandora’s critter charms are so popular.
You can see more of these cute little details at the back of the charm, which is plain silver – the wings and tail feathers of the robin are very nicely sketched-out.
The only thing I don’t like is its CZ eyes. I feel like they look a little vacant and glassy, and I would much have preferred the usual plain silver oxidised detailing instead. Robins have those sweet beady black eyes, and the clear CZ seems a bit wrong. It’s not a deal-breaker or anything, just not to my personal taste.
Stylings
While this charm is a good option for any Christmas-themed bracelet you might like to do, it’s also just a nice natural charm. It did originally début with the Autumn 2015 Magnificent Kingdom collection after all, which celebrated the majesty of nature.
Consequently, my first bracelet styling for the Robin is a Secret Garden design. I don’t know if anyone read the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett or saw the film, but it is truly wonderful, and a robin plays a rather key role in it. Here, I’ve included some bright greens, little animals and floral pieces – to add to the sense of the ‘secret’ garden theme, I’ve added the Key to my Heart charm as well.
If you don’t want to build a whole bracelet around this design, you can do a stripped-down version on a leather bracelet. Here I’ve used the brown leather for a natural look, with the Wild Flowers murano.
Moving on to the Christmas theme, this is how I’ve used the Robin on my own Christmas bracelet! I have put him next to my pastel green Looking Glass murano to really enjoy the traditional green/red festive contrast. This bracelet is now complete – I’ll show it off properly in my upcoming dedicated Pandora Christmas 2015 reviews. 😀
Conclusion
While there are details that I don’t love about this charm, overall its cute and chubby look totally won me over and I had to have it for my Christmas bracelet. 😀 It is great for festive red-and-green themes, or with most nature-themed bracelets, and its burgundy detailing means that it’s a little more versatile than traditional Christmas reds.
Going into December, I’ll be focusing the more explicitly festive charms from the Winter 2015 collection in the run-up to Christmas itself! I’ll also be looking at other design ideas for Christmas other than the one I’ve featured so far. 🙂
The Pandora Red Robin is $60 or £45. If you’re in the UK, you can purchase it along with the rest of the Pandora Winter collection from authorised retailer John Greed.
Have you bought this charm, or is it on your wish list?
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