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INTRODUCTION
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Last week I received this silver heart Pandora charm as part of my Valentines Day present from my lovely boyfriend. Some of you may have read my previous review about my Pandora Charm bracelet, and this heart is another charm to add to the rapidly growing amount of charms that are weighing down my wrist. Hearts have long since been the symbol of love, so what better charm to buy to show your love for that special someone on Valentine's Day.

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WHAT IS PANDORA?
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For anyone who is not aware of Pandora, they are a global jewellery company who were founded in Denmark. Although Pandora sells necklaces, earrings, watches and rings, the company is best known for their customised charm bracelets. Pandora jewellery is now sold in over 50 countries including UK, America, Germany, Australia and of course Denmark where it first began.

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THE CHARM BRACELET
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The Pandora charm bracelet is a modern twist on the traditional charm bracelets that have been around for years. Pandora charms come in bead format which screw onto the bracelets and can then easily be removed, replaced, and moved around. The bracelets come in silver, gold, and leather, and prices range from £40 to £1,100. The bracelets fit around 25 charms on it depending how long the bracelet is (i.e. the bigger your wrists, the more charms you can fit on your bracelet!) Pandora have made a massive range of charms which is growing all the time, and there are several types including star sign charms, age milestone charms, animal charms, and coloured beads.

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THE CHARM
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I received my charm in a small square white box imprinted with the Pandora logo, which is how Pandora charms are always packaged. Upon opening the box, the charm was fastened to the interior with a small piece of white/cream ribbon that was threaded through it. I always think this method of packaging is lovely and looks classy and expensive.

The charm itself is the perfect size to look good on the bracelet and is also a good size in proportion to the other charms that live on my bracelet. It's around 8mm tall and around the same width and is a perfect heart shape made from shiny silver. It is stamped '925 ALE' to show that it is sterling silver, as are the rest of the silver Pandora charms that I own.

The charm is easy to add to the bracelet, as the bracelet has a clasp which easily opens, and then the charm is screwed on to a small screw point of which there are four on the bracelet, and the clasp is clipped shut again.

This charm is plain silver but it's also available with a small round cubic zirconia in the middle, in plain gold, or in gold with a sapphire, ruby, or diamond on it.

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UK PRICE AND AVAILIBILITY
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The RRP for this charm is £30 for the plain silver version, but you can pay anything up to £600 if you opt for the gold heart with the (very tiny) diamond on it. Surely there are better things in life to spend £600 on than one charm for a bracelet, but hey, each to their own!

There are many places to purchase Pandora charms, they're widely available. The official website is www.pandora.net where you can purchase charms or look for you're nearest stockist. There are also an increasingly large number of stores around the UK. The two stores I normally go to are the York store, as well as the newly opened High Wycombe branch, and I have been to a couple in London. As well as the Pandora shops themselves, Pandora is also stocked at several other jewellers, just check on the website where your nearest is if you're not sure, or order online.

I have done quite a lot of trawling the net for places to purchase Pandora charms at discount prices, including looking on Ebay. Unfortunately it would seem that any charms that are discounted by more then a couple of pounds are fake ones so beware! There are literally millions of beads and charms out there that will fit onto the Pandora bracelet but if you want to purchase authentic Pandora charms then I recommend only buying from Pandora themselves or one of their stockists-just to be on the safe side.

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OVERALL OPINION
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I was thrilled to receive this heart charm and wear it with my pride on my Pandora bracelet. It is so simple, yet stylish and cute, and was a great way for my boyfriend to give me a romantic gift on Valentine's Day. Price wise I think that Pandora products in general can be a little overpriced, and this charm is pretty much in line with the rest of the range. Having said that I do think Pandora make high quality goods, and as this is an item that would be purchased as a gift or treat, it's not too bad. Luckily for me I dislike gold jewellery so my bracelet and charms are all silver, which is considerably cheaper than the gold range!

I highly recommend this charm to any guys who have a girlfriend/wife who has a Pandora bracelet as it is a lovely gift. Also to any girls who have the bracelet and just want to treat themselves to a cute and pretty charm!