Product Review: Cutey charm bracelets

Ever since I was a little girl, I've always been fascinated by charm bracelets.  There's just something so cute and well, charming, about a loop of chunky, colorful charms, each with their own story.  Its that last aspect, the personal meanings behind each charm, that captured my young imagination which was forever weaving stories out of dust balls and random bits and bobs.  It's no surprise to anyone then that I jumped at the chance to get my own charm bracelet when UK charm bracelet maker Cutey, called my way.

Cutey's mission is to provide "stylish, quality and easily customizable jewelry."  The bracelet I received for review is the Hypnos and features a string of multi-colored plastic beads resembling Murano glass, as well as a glass crystal, and several silver charms on a silver chain.

Having recently received a very nice Pandora charm bracelet, I was primed to compare Cutey's affordable option to Pandora's pricier one.

Material: I'm not sure if Cutey's bracelet is pure silver, probably not, so I'm guessing sterling silver, which isn't too too bad since you won't have to clean it much.  Pandora's charms and bracelet however are made of silver.

Charms: The Murano looking beads on the Cutey are obviously plastic when you look close up, whereas Pandora beads are actual Murano glass, so the colors are much more vibrant.  Both sets of metallic charms on either bracelet were much closer in comparison, with the Pandora edging the Cutey out in terms of sheen.  Also, there's no meaning towards the charms I received for the Cutey, except that they're pretty - which is still a decent enough meaning I think!

Bracelet itself: the look of both bracelets was the same, using a coiled silver loop chain; however the clasp on the Cutey was a standard necklace clasp which I found hard to undo.  Luckily the Cutey bracelet is just stretchy enough that I can put it on without having to undo the clasp. The Pandora one was custom fit, so it goes on and off easily.

Final Verdict: For 12£ versus a few hundred dollars, it's kind of an unfair comparison, but I actually think the Cutey stands up pretty well.  It looks quite cute on, and you could buy a few bracelets and mix and match the charms to create endless combinations for the price of 2 Pandora charms.  So would I buy one? For sure!