With the growing popularity of Pandora and other european style charm bracelet companies like Troll and Chamilia in recent years, there has also been been a steady rise in the number of counterfeit and imitation pieces that try to copy their distinct and beautiful style. It’s especially difficult given that for a lot of us collectors, buying online is the only way to get our hands on some of the rarer pieces that were either retired before we got into Pandora or were not available in our country. In this post I’ll write about some tips and basic information on how to spot a fake Pandora charm.
Does it have the right Pandora markings?
All Pandora products are engraved with several distinct markings that can be used to distinguish them from imitators or other brands.
The ALE marking
The first and most notable marking is the three letter marking “ALE”. This marking comes from Per Enevoldsen, the original founder of the Pandora jewelry company, and are the initials of his father Algot Enevoldsen. All Pandora charms and and accessories will have this ALE hallmark engraved on the piece, usually close to where the sterling silver or gold mark is. If the piece does not have this mark, then for sure it is not a genuine Pandora piece.
This used to be an easy identifier of a counterfeit, but the imitators out there are getting better at copying the Pandora pieces and will often include the ALE mark now so it’s not a guaranteed indicator.
Crown over the O
This marking is only on the barrel clasps – another good indication that the bracelet is authentic. However, older Pandora bracelets/necklaces do not have the crown over the O (my two-tone necklace does not have the crown) because they did not come with the crown before 2008. This is usually because the store had older inventory, so no need to worry if that’s the only oddity.
The Sterling 925 and Gold 585 markings
These two numbers, the 925 for sterling silver and 585 of 14k gold, is an international standard and required markings for jewelry pieces made from these two materials. While it sounds nice to have something made from pure silver or gold, these precious metals are actually very soft and benefit greatly from having other metals mixed in with them to form an alloy. Sterling silver must contain at least 92.5% silver, so hence the 925 marking that’s seen on all Pandora sterling silver pieces. The same goes for 14 karat gold, which must contain at least 58.5% gold. Pandora gold pieces are engraved with the number 585, again usually near where the ALE marking is placed.
In addition to the 925 mark on Pandora silver jewelry, beginning in June 2011 Pandora has added an “S” in addition to 925, a change in the international standard to identify silver jewelry. So don’t worry if some of the older charms have no “S” and only the traditional 925.
As for two-tone (duotone) charms and jewelry, Pandora will only stamp it with the S 925 or 925 mark since all the two-tone charms are still mainly silver with gold accents.
Like the ALE trademark of the Pandora line, the lack of a 925 or 585 numerical marking on a piece is a surefire sign that it’s a fake piece. Counterfeiters are getting wiser, however, and will often include these marks on the higher end imitation pieces even if the charm or jewelry piece is not actually made from that material.
Is the piece in the Pandora official catalog, or if it’s been retired, was it ever in the catalog?
Beyond the markings, the next step you can do when trying to verify if a Pandora piece is authentic or not is to consult the Pandora catalog. Pandora’s website is a good first stop when trying to lookup a charm or accessory; all of Pandora’s current collections are laid out in relatively easy to browse sections with high resolution pictures that you can look at. If the charm you’re examining is not on the website, or if it is but it looks “off” in some way, like with significant color variations or sculpting differences, then you may have a counterfeit charm.
The complication though is that Pandora is pretty aggressive about retiring portions of their collections on a regular basis. When they retire a piece they also remove it from their website, making it a bit more difficult to verify older charms that are no longer carried in retail stores. These pieces will usually have some kind of web presence, however, either from other jewelry websites and blogs (like Charms Addict! 
) that will talk about them or have listings for these retired pieces so some Google searching will help you here.
How is the actual quality of the piece?
The craftsmanship and quality of a charm or jewelry piece is often difficult to determine unless you are handling it in person. If you’re buying online, you’ll probably only have access to photos (hopefully high resolution photos) of the piece that you are looking to buy. If the photos are good, you may have enough information to make a determination. My advice is never to buy a charm off eBay with only a stock photo provided – ask the seller for an actual picture of charm, and if they refuse then it may be an indication that they’re trying to pull a fast one.
How is the craftsmanship and detailing?
Pandora charms are all beautifully handmade by artisans that work directly with the precious metals, stones, and colored Murano glass. Authentic Pandora pieces will have a high level of sculpting and detail in their silver and gold pieces — lines will be crisp, and the sculpts will be polished and well shaped. If the detailing on the piece you’re looking at feels flat or a bit “soft”, then it’s possible that the piece is an imitation. Counterfeit pieces are often manufactured from molds that are taken of an original piece — these molds already lose some fidelity as a result of being a copy, and then they degrade quickly as more and more pieces are made from them.
If you’re buying a Murano glass bead, how does the glass look? Is the glass even and polished smooth, and are the details on it high quality and uniform? If the Murano glass looks cloudy or scratched, then it’s possible you are looking at a counterfeit that may be made of either lower grade glass or even plastic. The sterling silver or gold endcaps on Murano beads is another excellent indicator of the authenticity of the charm — if the caps do not look good, have poor Pandora engravings, or look like they are merely glued on rather than fused with the glass core of the bead, then it may be an imitation. Additionally, a common counterfeit for Pandora Muranos are ones made of “Swarovski” crystals – Pandora does not and has never made crystal beaded Muranos (maybe a future design idea ).
Fake Pandora Murano bead with Swarovski crystals.
Lastly, markings in particular are always engraved on Pandora products. If the ALE, 925 or 585 material marks, or the Pandora brand name look stamped on (the marks are not crisp and clean on the surface and just look “pressed on”) then it may be a counterfeit charm. Again, due to the molding and casting process that counterfeiters can use to mass produce the copies, small details like this are often lost. In some cases the copies are molded without these marks and someone goes back in later in post-production to stamp them — this is far inferior to engraving the marks, and can be spotted easily on rounded surfaces like bracelet clasps and Murano bead end caps as the stamps have a hard time pressing into the material evenly. If it looks fishy, don’t buy it!
Does the material look and feel right?
This is probably the most difficult dimension to evaluating a fake, as you will almost certainly need to have the piece in hand; it may be too late at that point to get your money back. It’s hard to quantify these in a blog post, but I’ll say that genuine jewelry pieces made from sterling silver and gold are HEAVY. There is a certain heft and weight to them that is very easy to discern if you compare a counterfeit piece next to a genuine one, even in something as small as a little Pandora charm. Silver and gold are hefty metals that can also hold a very fine level of detail — it is difficult to replicate both of these qualities in cheaper materials.
If the charm feels too light compared to your genuine Pandora pieces, or if it’s relatively the right weight but the detailing and polish of the piece is lacking, then the piece may be suspect. Steel and iron is often used in counterfeit pieces, sometimes coated with a fake silver and gold plating. One interesting trick to try is to place a strong magnet next to the charm or bracelet. Sterling silver and 14k gold is not magnetic at all, so if there is any attraction then it is definitely NOT made from precious materials (iron and steel are highly magnetic).
Does it have the threading on the inside?
Pandora charms and bracelets are unique in that they are made with a “threading” system — the ends of the bracelets, along with additional points on the interior, have special threaded sections on them. This was designed so that special accessories like clips can be attached to the Pandora bracelets, allowing you to easily divide up space for less-filled bracelets. All Pandora charms then are threaded on the inside so that they can slip by these threads and on to the bracelets, ingenious! However, Pandora did introduce a series “openworks” charms at the beginning of 2012 that are hollow and merely slip onto the bracelet (also true for most thin spacers). The hallmarks on these type of charms are very very tiny and hard to spot, so these are going to be one of those charms that are going to be hard to detect using the hallmark and threading indications.
Other brands, and especially imitators, do not have these threads. I’d imagine that these are difficult to manufacture for copycats that are trying to keep their costs down. A lot of imitators will often say that their beads are “Designed to fit Pandora bracelets” as a way around this; this means that the charm interiors are enlarged to allow them to slip over the threaded sections on Pandora pieces, rather than actually have threads. These larger pieces often look terrible in my opinion, and lose that elegant sculpted look that genuine Pandora charms have. Again this may be difficult to see in online postings as most sellers don’t try to take pictures of the insides of the charms to show the threads.
Imitation Pandora bead, note the lack of threads on the inside
What’s the price?
Since Pandora jewelry are commodities (gold, silver, gemstones) their pricing is tied to the value of these metals as these metals are the biggest cost in production. In addition, Pandora’s home office has strict Recommended Retail Price (RRP) on the prices of their jewelry and [most] stores that carry their products must adhere to their pricing structures — and that is why you’ll find that charms costs the same amount across the country even though the companies selling them are all owned and operated independently. Therefore, if you’re looking for a deal this is where you’ll find the most fakes. When charms are sold at a “preloved” price, the cost reduction is mainly because the charms are pre-owned and maybe have lost the luster of a brand new charm. However, when you’re looking at a new charm and the price is too good to be true, then beware! It probably is.
Since Pandora retires their charms on a regular basis, there are some charms that become so rare that their price, even “preloved” comes at a staggering 3-4 times the original cost. If you’re trying to find a rare charm and the price is low (or even reasonable), this may be a clue that it may not be real.
The surefire way to know you’re getting a real genuine Pandora piece is to buy it at an authorized Pandora dealer. But for those rarer and more exclusive pieces I know this sometimes isn’t possible — for my next post in this series I’ll talk a little bit more about how to spot a questionable seller online, be it a storefront with a website or an individual seller posting a listing on Facebook or Ebay.
Thanks everyone! The comments were getting a little long on this page so we’ve closed them for now — if you have a question please send us a note via the “Contact Us” form .
i was wondering if this website is selling real or fake pandora products? they do claim that their pandora charms are authentic but their prices are too low than the original price. please let me know, thanks
The charms look authentic, but US online retailers are not allowed to discount prices and they’re not on Pandora’s authorized retailer list. I wouldn’t risk it…but it looks real enough. Hope that helps.
Hi Please Can you check this website, I have just received two charms and one the two tone star dangle doesn’t appear to have a hallmark, there is a faint mark on the bale but not bold and easy to read. Thank you x
Hi Sally, I’ve heard tons of ladies buy from Unforgettable Moments with no problems; but since they can’t ship outside the UK, I’ve never bought from them. What are you other two charms? Sometimes the hallmark is very small or hard to find :/.
Great site! I am newbie to the Pandora world. You saved me from spending big bucks on an advertised “authentic Pandora”, discontinued “Swarovski” Murano, from the UK. I decided to do a little investigative work on the history of the bead and came across your page – I will definitely be back in the future! Thank You!
Thanks, Rebecca! Happy to help
. Enjoy your new addiction.
That you so much!!! You also stopped me from buying this charm that I found out was not pandora. P.S I love this blog!!!
Glad to help, Addie!
Can someone tell me where the markings on the Pandora Church charm are?
THANKS.
It should be between the two roofs – over the lower tower and under the higher tower. Hope that helps
.
Thanks. Could it be on the lower roof above the hole? I have had different people tell me that theirs in on the lower roof and theirs is authentic. I’ve had others tell me it is where you said. Someone else told me that they have a different retired Pandora charm, one older, one newer, and the markings are in two different places. Is this possible?
Yes, it is totally possible! The hallmarks move around on a lot of the charms; usually that means they were made at different times.
I am just wondering what marks you are talking about? I read the blog and see the mark numbers, 925 585, and of course the crown, but are you meaning different marks. Newbie here!
There are hallmarks, stamps, on each piece of Pandora jewelry that indicate authenticity. Each piece of jewelry should have S925 ALE (silver) or G585 ALE (gold).
Is this website real? Discountpandoracharms.com
No, sorry Dana, it’s not
.
I ordered a murano bead from eBay and it’s a little smaller than my other beads….I know there’s XL bead and regular size is there a third size?
Anna – there’s no third size but because the Murano glass is handmade, some of the beads have great variation. If you’d like to send me a picture I can take a look at it for you
. It’s leann(at)charmsaddict.com.
Hi I absolutely love Pandora, and got my first bracelet on friday, I was gifted a fake pandora charm bracelet for my birthday last year, this gift was thoughtful at the time, but deeply upset me when I realised thanks to this site. I now own an official proper one and will only be going to authorised pandora retailers here in the uk. Thank you for your tips
x
Aww, it’s definitely the thought that counts. It’s disappointing that there are so many fakes out there; glad we could help!
are charms sold on this page really authentic????
I’m sorry, but they sell fakes
. Here’s a list of authorized online retailers in the UK.
Is this website real?? Also how do you know if the spacers are authentic? Are they stamped as well??
Afraid not
. Yes, all the spacers are stamped as well.
Love your website, very informative for a new collector. I’m getting the mothers day special at the Pandora Concept Store. I was wondering if the above site is legit. They have almot 6000 positives on ebay and a facebook following. Saly, I was already scammed with buying a replica sold as authentic on Craigslist so not sure I would venture outside the Pandora store again. I would like a gold bead and the savings add up on the pricier items so wondering about the site above.
Thanks your your help!
Do you mean the popularpandora website? No, that one is fake. If you’re looking to save on Pandora jewelry, check this out.
Hi, I must have put the website in the wrong place, they also sell on ebay and are highly rated with high transactions, but that is not always reliable.
I looked at perden and I was wondering if the price you pay is whatever exchange rate your bank uses. Can that negate your savings?
I did get the mothers day special and saved the bracelet and textbook charm for my daughter, I still have to get her clips and a couple other charms to gift her this month. I did get the mothers day charm from my children and they applied the value to the mothers day deal so I got the discount and did get the clips I wanted – the pink sapphire double heart.
I’m thinking I will get my daughter two diferent clips, probably the same but with different gemstones. Any thoughts?
Hi Linda, the charms look genuine on that site, but it’s hard to tell until you have them in hand. If you change the currency on Perlen, that’s the currency it will charge you on your credit card, but there is a small transaction fee, usually 1% but depends on your credit card company’s policy. It’s nowhere near negating the savings! I’ve gotten charms for about 20-40% off on there. Personally, I like matching clips, but that’s my taste. The clips are the only charms I have duplicates of though.
I bought a pandora bracelet from the official Pandora store and I also bought one on ebay and it was exactly like and the trademarks were all the same as the official one I bought from the store. However I also bought one from ebay which was cheaper and when I received it there was no crown over the O and on the inside it had 925 ALE but it was on a little square which was placed on the inside of the clasp but looked different than the other two and had no S I was wondering if it could be and older trademark or just a fake. It was supposed to be a new and only used for display.
Hi Darla, the older bracelets (made before ~2008) don’t have the crown over the O, neither would a bracelet made at that time have the S in front of the 925. Hope that helps!
Hi,
I recently purchased a pandora bracelet with three murano charms on ebay from a seller with good feedback that claims the items were authentic. I am currently working with paypal to get me money back as it looks like the products are not authentic as stated in the listing. I suspected the charms were not as soon as i saw them. Have compared to other charms on line and in the end took them into a store that it is a pandora stockist. They said they are not real, and were unsure on the bracelet as its marking looked pretty good – but i have my doubts as the seller lied on the charms so its a good chance the bracelet is a fake too
Paypal has requested i show them to a third party and get it written on letterhead stating they are not real and why not so i can complete the claim to get my money back. Are you able to help me with this or point me in the right direction? The jeweller i originally went to said they cant. A pandora store told me to bring them in but the salesperson was unsure whether they could help me on the spot or whether we would need to send the items away. I have phoned paypal and the telephone operator told me to get online and see if somebody could check photos of the items and help me that way. What a mess! Certainly wont be making a purchase this way ever again
Hi Bianca, that’s too bad! What a hassle indeed
. I don’t think they’d take my word for it, it’ll probably have to come from a Pandora retailer. Do you have a Concept Store nearby? Usually they can tell by weighing the charms (the fake ones would probably be lighter). Also, if that doesn’t work, email heather (at) pandora.net if you’re in the US, she can probably help you. Good luck!
I am a Pandora newbie (it’s been a week and I ALREADY have almost 1 full bracelet!), and I have been researching my best on how to tell the difference between authentic and fake Pandora. I just have one question: Have you ever seen a fake Pandora that is actually made of .925 sterling silver? I’m still too scared to purchase from auction sites, but if I learn more hopefully I can snag a couple retired beads I have been wanting
Thanks so much for all your help, and I have to add this site is AMAZING! Thank you for all your hard work putting this together!
Hi Shelly,
I haven’t heard of any fakes that were made with actual all .925 silver. I think if they did, the bracelets would be just as pricey as actual Pandora ones (maybe even more expensive). It’s possible that they may be coated with a thin layer of sterling silver though.
Pandora doesn’t have silver plated beads have they?? This website below claims they do. Also, their prices are very low. €12.91 for a birthday stone bead. €22.80 for a silver/gold letter bead. Must be fake, isn’t it?
pandorabraceletscharmstheone.com
No silver plated beads, that site sells fakes
.
Love the blog – tips are helpful. Can you tell me where the markings are on the celebration bead?
That’s a good question, Cindy! I looked all night and couldn’t find it on mine. It might be on the part of the bead with oxidation.
I was wondering the same thing – not an easy marking to spot! Thanks for the reply – feeling better about my bead
I just got 2 Celebration beads and can’t find the markings either. I was using a magnifying glass too. I think we need a jeweler’s loup to see it!
Hi
I want to ask if this page is selling real Pandora
http://www.thepandoracharms.com
thank u
No, I’m sorry
. It’s not; while some charms are actual Pandora, some are most definitely fake – plus, their explanation on the home page is false as well.
Hi Leann, can you tell me when Pandora started adding the crown over the O on the clasp? My store sold me one without the crown and I really wanted the crown. Thinking of exchanging it.
I think they changed the design around 2008. Usually the ones that don’t have the crown over the O are the gold or two-tone bracelet/necklaces since they don’t sell as quickly.
Thanks, Leann
Wow, I’m surprised the store would have such old stock. Very interesting!
Cautionary Tale!!!
I love Pandora. But I want to warn you guys out there of the many fake pandora sites and believe it or not it is cheaper and less hassle to use the authorised Pandora sellers because you will be sadly disappointed with the cheap poor quality crap these ‘cheap online sellers’ send you and you will never hear from them again once they have your hard earned cash. Even though they use the terms authentic and genuine numerous times it is such inferior quality you will throw it away, because you never wear it.
Because these websites change their names its worth following a few basic rules:-
Click on the “contact us” on their web page. If it is difficult or to impossible to contact them. run a mile.
Make sure they have a physical address and telephone contact details.
Check them out before you commit. You can always google earth them.
Be especially cautious when buying from overseas companies outside the EU you will be stung for postage and have fewer consumer rights and agencies to appeal to.
If they don’t speak English or the website is littered with bad grammar give it a miss. You don’t want counterfeit goods after all.
Check sellers’ privacy policy and returns policy. though this did me no good because the website was very plausible
Use an appropriate, safe means of online payment to get some protection against non-delivery (see Make payments online safely). You may have some come back but you’ll have to fight for it and use up your valuable time.
So learn a lesson and save your money through my experience and payless in the short and long run by using recommended / authorised Pandora companies because the money you spend on these dubious websites will be money down the drain that you could have spent buying Pandora from a genuine online retailer.
Hi,
I just stumbled upon this website. I just received a charm on an auction site. I am very cautious who I buy from. It is a dark blue flowers charm. It’s smaller than the ones I have now. My concern is this; the flowers are on the ‘inside’ of the charm sorta like from the inside out. It has white flowers with a green center BUT in this green center, it has a air bubble. All the markings look genuine except the ‘silver’ looks a little lighter and brighter than my other beads. My other ‘flowers’ charm has the flowers on the outside of the charm and has a yellow center but almost like it’s painted on. I know those came from Pandora. How can I be sure this is an original? It looks different than my other ones. Any help would be greatly appreciated.