Boyfriends: Five reasons why Pandora charms make great gifts

This is a continuation of the Pandora Faceoff, on:

10 reasons why I love Pandora and I am proud of it

10 reasons why I never want to own a Pandora

If you’re pretty clueless about buying gifts for your girlfriend, Pandora is a god-send. Five out of five guys interviewed shared that they would most definitely buy a Pandora for their girlfriends, if she likes it.

(For those studying, it was a little different given that one has to buy Pandora with the allowance given by one’s parents, therefore it’s a different story altogether.)

Most of the men interviewed were working, earning a decent income. All agreed in unison that Pandora will be bought for The Girlfriend if she likes it. Here are five reasons why Pandora charms make great gifts:

1. Pandora charms are not that expensive

The men I interviewed said that Pandora charms are not as costly as compared to luxurious Prada bags which set you back by USD2,000 at one go. Or Tiffany necklaces which have a price range of USD100 to USD1,000. For working adults, Pandora charms do not have a high ‘sunk cost’ and ‘capital outlay’.

I did ask if a single Pandora charm will create expectations for more Pandora charms in the future. The reply I got was, “Haha, I hope not.”

I should wave a red flag here and highlight that the ‘investment’ in Pandora charms may eventually come up to be the price of a Tiffany, depending on how demanding your girlfriend is.

Therefore, managing expectations is paramount.

2. Pandora charms are light and easy to carry around

According to Friend H, Pandora charms are portable and can be easily carried around in their light-weight paper bag and box. As opposed to giving one’s girlfriend a large vase for example, or a large table, or a super huge ass soft toy, one does not have to exert a large amount of physical strength or look embarrassed when carrying the gift on public transport.

3. You can’t go too wrong with Pandora

As you can with other necklaces, bags and dresses. If your girlfriend likes Pandora, chances are, she’s gonna love the charm you just got for her, especially if you come up with a good ‘rationale’ for it. You know what I mean.

4. Pandora charms makes the gift-buying process less onerous (ley-chey/ troublesome)

Unlike purchasing bags, dresses and all sort of other accessories, all one has to do is to visit one store, (queue a little) and pick out a charm. Takes less than 30 minutes unless you’re the indecisive sort. For bags, where a lot of comparing has to be done, as well as checking the prices of branded bags overseas and online. What if The Girlfriend doesn’t like it? What if she finds this ugly? What if she wants to return it? You don’t have to worry about such things with Pandora.

5. Pandora charms can be quite sweet

Okay, not one guy told me directly that Pandora charms are sweet. But as compared to a Prada bag, Pandora charms allow for some form of personalisation and the writing of a heart-warming message.

For instance, my Friend H’s girlfriend is a baker, and for Christmas he got her a Pandora charm in the shape of a pair of mittens. (thumbs up!)

It’s like when giving the gift of a Prada bag, here’s a version of the note that I imagine, comes with it:

Happy Birthday Dear,

Hope you like this Prada bag.

When you use it, do think of me!

Love, your dearest.

Versus the note when giving the gift of a four-leaf clover Pandora charm:

Happy Birthday Dear,

Saw you looking at this four-leaf clover while we were at Ion the other day.

I know this will bring you all the luck you need (especially for your appraisal tmr!)

Whatever happens, remember that I, like this four-leaf clover, will always be there for you.

Love, your dearest.

Haha, well, my love-note writing skills are quite bad but you get my drift.

Pandora Etiquette

Before I end this post, I want to highlight that there is something called Pandora Etiquette. While most guys shared that they will buy Pandora for their girlfriend if she likes it, do not assume that Pandora is an automatic gift choice. The Boyfriends could also have better gift ideas up their sleeves.

This happened to my friend’s brother.

His girlfriend’s friend had bought her a Pandora charm, without the bracelet. Expecting that he, the boyfriend, would be happy to get her the Pandora bracelet which costs about $150-$200. And this happened when he had already prepared a gift for her.

So when in doubt, do ask. While most guys are fine with giving Pandora as gifts, they could have even better gift ideas up their sleeve, and it’s not nice to assume that they would be happy to buy a Pandora bracelet just because you got the charm.

If you want to give a Pandora as a gift, give it its entirety. Ensure that the recipient has a bracelet before buying the charm. If not, be prepared to give both the bracelet and charm.

Are you a Boyfriend, or a potential Boyfriend? What do you think of Pandora as a gift idea? Please share your commets.