The origin is in Copenhagen, the production in Thailand and the pieces distributed in jewelers all over the world. We’re talking about Pandora, the jewelry brand that made beaded bracelets a phenomenon and is celebrating 40 years since a couple opened a small jewelry store in Copenhagen. Today they are present in more than 100 countries around the world, but there is much more besides the famous beads. The collections are currently being created by a couple of Italian designers who spoke to the Observer about the brand, its history and the importance of jewellery. “Pandora’s values ​​of making jewelry accessible to all made perfect sense to us, so we realized the brand was a perfect fit for us.”

A. Filippo Ficarelli tells that his grandmother was a great influence. She “She was a great jewelry collector and she would always tell stories about the pieces that she brought back from her trips. She liked to live in the present and she used her jewelry collection as a unique form of expression”. He says it was her grandmother who taught him to “play” with jewelry. “With her I learned that it is the experiences of those who use the pieces of jewelry that create their true value.” But it was only later, when she started working in jewelry, that he realized what a treasure trove of inspiration he held so close to her. With Francesco Terzo, they form the duo of creative directors in charge of the Pandora collections since 2018, a brand that grew with the project of bracelets that tell stories.

A. Filippo Ficarelli and Francesco Terzo are Italian and the creative director duo of Danish company Pandora

They are Italian and they say that they bring “the essence and sophistication of savoir faire”, as well as “a beautiful chaos”, typical of their country, to the Danish universe. “On a personal level, we have enjoyed living between the Danish and Italian cultures which we find so creatively inspiring.” They met while they were still studying and immediately felt an “undeniable synergy”. “We are a creative duo by nature and what works best for us is being able to leverage our differences to create a unified vision.”

A. Filippo Ficarelli and Francesco Terzo began creating menswear, which allowed them to meet many names in the industry. “Through that we opened our own agency and we had the opportunity to start working with jewelry, which was an area that we always liked.” They met Stephen Fairchild, Pandora’s Senior Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, who challenged them to create something for the brand as consultants, and the project was a success. “From there, we were invited to join the Pandora team permanently, which was a very exciting opportunity for us to work with a brand big enough to become globally influential.”

The first collection designed by Francesco Terzo and A. Filippo Ficarelli as consultants “Light as a Feather”

40 years of jewelery from Copenhagen to the world, passing through Thailand

In 2022 Pandora celebrates its 40 years of existence and the creative directors ensure that the brand’s values ​​remain the same since its inception, “above all the values ​​of sustainability and inclusion is something that is rooted in its culture, added to the principles of credibility, honesty and transparency”, and see it as part of their job to translate them into their collections. “Another value that Pandora has always had and that we admire is the ambition of the brand. From the founder to the current teams, the brand has always had high aspirations and this is something that has made it what it is today.”

Pandora’s origins lie in the kingdom of Denmark, when in 1982 Danish goldsmith Per Enevoldsen and his wife Winnie founded the brand in a Copenhagen jewelry store. They often traveled to Thailand looking for jewelry to import, but increased demand led to a change in the company structure, and in 1987, there was an in-house designer so the brand could focus on creating its own jewelry. . Two years later, the production moved to Thailand. In 2005, the brand opened full-scale production facilities in Gemopolis, the area of ​​the jewelry industry on the outskirts of Bangkok, and in recent years expansion has continued with the opening of new spaces in that country.

Per Enevoldsen and his wife Winnie’s shop in 1982 in Copenhagen

How is a collection born?

“Everything starts with a vision”, Terzo and Ficarelli explain about the creative process that leads to the creation of new jewelry collections. “Vision is key and the wide range of people who will use the parts are the most important things to consider in the design process.” The starting point is a mood board with a series of images and, from there, they develop a creative universe with all their inspirations. “We see the design process as a conversation between us and our clients.”

The next step is to transform all this into a design and then there is a team in charge of the technical aspects of each piece. “It is essential that the designs are the result of a dialogue between the members of our team because, after all, there is a great variety of people who will use each collection, so the creative process of each piece must be equally extensive and analyzed. .”

They like to combine materials and work with all metals because they say that “everyone represents a different challenge”, especially silver, “because it is a historical and living material that is not easy to manipulate”. And then there are the diamonds, which are “stunning”.

Actuality is the basis of his vision. “We want to represent the current reality and influence people to reflect on the principles of sustainability and inclusion through our work.”

Once upon a time… the famous Pandora beads

It was in the year 2000 that Pandora launched the concept of the beaded bracelet, which would become a signature of the brand. The first beads had simple shapes, but over the years they multiplied thanks to the creativity of the brand’s designers and different shapes, colors, materials and inspirations contributed to a wide range of these pieces. Around 35 million have already been sold, according to the brand. The idea was that each bracelet would tell the user’s story and, in this case, each account would add a story.

A brochure of the first bracelet created by Pandora

“Pandora is a brand that gives people the opportunity to tell their personal stories,” says the design duo. This idea came to fruition through “charms”, as they prefer to call them, and they see them as a way for people to “express themselves”. This is one of the strengths of the brand, which has become “a unique entry point into the universe of jewelry”.

The bead bracelet was first launched on the Danish market and quickly became a true international phenomenon. Public interest led to the growth and expansion of the brand, which in 2003 entered the United States of America (which the brand says is currently its largest market) and the following year Germany and Australia. “Pandora has become a destination for people to tell their stories and this is something that transcends cultures,” concludes the design duo.

Portugal arrived 16 years ago and in September of this year it was announced that the brand would stop being distributed by Visão do Tempo to officially become Pandora Portugal, a subsidiary of Pandora International.

An image of the Christmas 2022 campaign, with the classic beaded bracelets.

“Pandora’s rise to become the world’s third-largest jewelry company and a stock market sensation was largely the result of the customizable bracelet concept,” wrote the New York Times in December 2011. Since 2010 , the brand is listed on the stock market. exchange. The newspaper reports that revenue nearly doubled each year and profit margins were among the highest in the industry. However, some investors questioned whether the brand would be able to sustain this growth. And, in fact, it was not so. The outlet reports that in 2016 the brand lost value on the stock market and there was a significant drop in demand for products in markets such as the United States and China and even followed a restructuring of the brand.

In 2019 they presented a plan to bring it to life, with a new logo and the renewal of 2,700 stores around the world, among other projects, although they continued to present impressive numbers, with the sale of 100 million pieces in 100 countries each year. years old In 2021, they announced that they would stop using diamonds from the mines, using only synthetic stones produced in the laboratory. Physically, chemically and visually they will be the same, without environmental costs or human rights problems. As for metals, the brand says it will use recycled silver and gold by 2025.