A world beyond charms: Pandora’s creative directors on the brand’s next chapter

Headquartered in Denmark since it was established in 1982, Pandora is a brand whose sentimental association has reverberated with so many, creating a level of recognition to rival some of the biggest jewellery labels in the world. Whether a cherished piece gifted or given on an anniversary, graduation day or discovered under the Christmas tree, Pandora has formed part of the world’s special moments for decades – usually in the form of its signature charms.

Through these much-loved charms, Pandora has become a brand synonymous with customised storytelling and in the words of Francesco Terzo, one half of Pandora’s creative director duo: “a universe that is based around personalisation.” For many years, serving as the canvas for the adored charms and unique clasps was the Snake Chain which, united with the charms, formed the Pandora Moments collection – pushing the brand from its Danish roots to become the world-renowned jewellery purveyor that it is today.

For Terzo, together with Filippo Ficarelli, taking the reins as the brand’s creative direction in 2018 was no small feat. Somewhat under-the-radar names at the time, the innately talented pair had proven their worth through consultation with high-end fashion heavyweights like Dior (in its Raf Simons era), and in establishing their very own menswear line. Now, based between Milan and Pandora’s home of Copenhagen, the Italian pair have been tasked with – and already proving momentum with – driving the brand to something of a renaissance. The first step for both was to pay close attention to its heritage and true DNA. “Pandora is one of the biggest jewellery brands in the world – that comes with the responsibility to make a positive impact on the life of the people that are attracted to our jewellery,” Ficarelli says. “For us, this is the moment to really embrace and redefine our relationship with our communities”

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The biggest challenge for Terzo and Ficarelli in taking on Pandora? Generating that same meaningful brand relationship, based on personalisation and sentimentality, with Gen Z and today’s younger generations. “We’re really proud to have the occasion to continue to influence the story of Pandora by curating this space and continuing to keep it relevant through time,” Terzo tells me. “Being tasked with keeping the brand interesting for newer generations within the culture today is super cool and to be able to do that in a universe that is based around personalisation is really intriguing.”

To keep the brand interesting, as Terzo puts it, their approach has been based on what he describes as an “evolution of a language”. Following the great success of the Snake Chain, the duo felt a new addition to Pandora should be “another canvas with a different attitude, which could create a different kind of experience between the charms and the carrier,” Terzo says.

Cue the Studded Chain’s entrance to Pandora’s repertoire, as a new mainstay for the Moments collection. “We wanted to create a chain that didn’t exist on the market,” Terzo explains, “that would become an alternative option to the Snake Chain and would be a great canvas for people to build their own personalised pieces.”

“The Studded Chain reflects the mixture between masculine and feminine elements we see in society today, which allows it to have a balanced aesthetic with both hard and soft elements,” Terzo goes on. “When we are in our creative process, we always try to think about the variety and the diversity of the people who would wear the piece and we want to embrace all of them. For this project, it was important to make sure that we weren’t only appealing to people who wear bracelets, but also necklace lovers.”

The introduction of the Studded Chain signals the exciting and disruptive approach that Terzo and Ficarelli bring to Pandora. “We like taking risks,” Terzo professes, “in order to infuse our point of view into the brand without ever forcing out vision into the brand’s narrative. At Pandora, we want to drive a conversation that’s all about creativity.”

There is also a shift happening, Firarelli describes, with jewellery “really having a moment.” “People are starting to think about jewellery first when styling an outfit. This shift adds a whole new dimension to expressing your style and who you are through jewellery – a mindset that has always been at the core of everything we do at Pandora,” he says.

In this modern-day jewellery landscape, to maintain the relationship with its existing legions of brand fans, and to harness the hard-earned attention of a younger clientele, it’s about offering unique pieces that truly facilitate meaningful connections and true, individual expression: the very stuff of Pandora’s DNA: a fact that Terzo and Ficarelli know well and are laser focused on fostering. The Studded Chain, by adding interest and enhancing the ever-evolving, interactive nature of the brand, is a steadfast step forward by Terzo and Ficarelli, making Pandora – even following its 30 year legacy – an exciting brand to watch. “Our favourite part of our Pandora journey is happening right now,” smiles Ficarelli.