TrollBeads Bracelet and Flower Lock Review

Charms For a Troll. Makes sense that I would own a Trollbeads bracelet then doesn't it? Good thing that I do actually love Trollbeads too. So here goes my review on my Trollbeads bracelet.


The picture below is my first Trollbeads haul err... bracelet and beads purchase. I can't actually wear it like that as the beads made the bracelet far too small to close around my wrist. I took this picture for record keeping and didn't give much thought into bead placement, but it still looks quite pretty to me.

My first Trollbeads Bracelet

From left to right: All beads are Trollbeads

Flower Lock, Beige Bubbles, Purple Wave,

Uniques (7), Unique Small and Beautiful, Unique,
White Stripe, Unique, White Flower,
White Heart, Purple Wave, Beige Bubbles

A bit of background on how I discovered Trollbeads. I had initially started my collection with a ThinkGeek bracelet. They didn't have a wide selection of charms and I started poking around on the internet to see what my other options were. There was Pandora of course, and various other jewelry store brands and then I found Trollbeads and starting reading about them.

Sometime later, I stumbled upon a going out of business sale at Trollbeads At The Commons (too bad they had to close -- very nice people from my limited experience with them). The beads looked so pretty that I pounced on them. And then, while I was hemming and hawing over my choices, some beads disappeared from my cart, so I hurriedly purchased what I had chosen. Quite a haul from my impulse purchase.

Bracelet
The Trollbeads bracelet is a sterling silver foxtail chain, 3 mm in diameter. One end has a simple oval loop on which to slide the beads over and the other end has a larger round ring (6 mm in diameter).

Now a slight quirk with purchasing Trollbeads bracelets. The bracelet length given is the length of the bracelet + 2 cm lock. Some locks are longer than others so do keep that in mind if you are purchasing a bigger lock.

This is my 6.7 inch / 17 cm bracelet. As you can see it is really a 15 cm chain.

But voila, add a lock and now it is 17.3 cm. The flower lock is a little over 2 cm.

Markings: You can see the Trollbeads metal stamp 925S (Sterling silver) and LAA on the round loop end of the chain. I heard that the LAA stands for Lise Aagaard.

Pro: All competing brand beads fit on this chain. The oval loop on the end is 3 mm as well, so everything fits.

Pro: Extremely strong sturdy chain. This chain was made without soldering any parts. Don't ask me how they do it as I have no clue. I really love how it feels.

Pro: Doesn't stretch. Unlike snake style chains that stretch over time, I never have to worry that my Trollbeads bracelet will get too loose.

Pro: Love how there is nothing for beads to get caught in. I do not like it when my beads get caught in the threads on my Pandora bangle or leather bracelet. Same with my ThinkGeek bracelet where the beads can get caught in the clasp area.

Pro/Con: You will need to buy a lock to go with it, as it is not wearable without a lock. On the bright side, you can customize with whichever lock you wish. I only own one Trollbeads lock at this time, but have worn this bracelet with my Novobeads clasp.

Flower Lock
This sweet Trollbeads Flower Lock is made of sterling silver and was designed by Lise Aagaard.

I initially thought the flowers on the lock were merely generic flowers. Turns out after reading the description, that the flowers are Hydrangeas. I was so used to seeing Hydrangeas in clusters that it simply did not click, until I looked closer at the individual flowers.

Annabelle Hydrangea from my Garden

Dimensions: 2.3 cm long, 1.05 cm tall, 0.8 cm deep
Measurements are not official, just what I measured using a ruler.

You'll note that the flowers on each side are not identical. On one side, one of the petals is very much smaller than the others.

4 Different Sides of the Flower Lock

Markings: The Trollbeads metal stamp 925S (Sterling silver) and LAA are on the bottom arm of the Lobster clasp.

LAA and 925S Metal Stamp

One end of the lock (the smaller side) is a simple spring mechanism whereby you just push on the lower arm and it goes in. This part is where you hook the oval loop of the bracelet onto the lock. The other end of the lock is simply the stylized lobster clasp which you use to hook onto the larger round ring of the bracelet when you want to wear the bracelet.

Hooks to small oval loop

Hooks to larger round ring

*Now you might have noticed in my pictures that there is what looks like a little wire sticking out. I'm pretty sure that that is a defect on my lock, so you shouldn't see it on normal locks. As you know, I bought this lock during a closing sale as mentioned above. When I received it, and noticed the defect I contacted Trollbeads At The Commons and asked if I could send it back to get a replacement. As it was a closing sale, they had sold out of the Flower Lock. They very generously offered to refund me the cost of the lock and informed me that I should be able to go to a local Trollbeads dealer and have them do an even exchange.

I declined their generous offer as it didn't seem right for me keep the lock for free. It still works and really it is not really all that noticeable. At this point having worn it regularly for quite awhile, there are a few dings and scratches so I'm sure it is no longer eligible for an exchange.

I quite like this lock. It's not very ornate, but I find it very elegant in its simplicity. I usually wear mini combos and if I'm wearing a combo with a dangle than the lock is on top for me to admire.

Other times, it is on the bottom for when I have combos that I like on top. Since the lock tends to lay flat it is very comfortable when it is on the bottom. Especially for work where I do a lot of typing on the keyboard.

Pro: I love that it is a decorative lock. Allows for customization of the bracelet.

Pro: To me this lock seems quite sturdy. I don't have other Trollbeads locks at this point in time, so I cannot say how it compares to the others. However, in comparison to other lobster clasp bracelets I've worn in the past this is indeed a strong lock.

If you own this lock and others, can you let me know how it compares?

Con: Putting on the bracelet can be a bit challenging. This is true of lobster clasp bracelets, since you have to pull back on the lever to open it, so that you can hook it to the other end. I find it especially hard when I've just cut my nails as it then digs into the soft tissue of my thumb (what I usually use) when pulling back the lever.

I pretty much wear bracelets all the time prior to discovering Trollbeads so this wasn't something unexpected.

Con: This may have been a fluke or perhaps due to my slightly defective lock, but I did on one occasion have the bracelet come off the lock and fall off.

I believe the lobster clasp opening/gap was a little too wide, thus allowing the ring to slip off when the bracelet got caught on something. I was putting my trolling into the carseat when that happened. I pushed the head of the lock against the table to narrow the opening (added a minor dent to my lock) and now I always wear a safety chain with my bracelet. Of course, since I've started wearing a safety chain, I haven't had the lock fail me at all.

From what I've heard it's quite rare for a lock to fail. Most people haven't had any issues and wear it just fine without a safety chain. Along that same vein, I also wear stoppers on the ends of my bracelet. I'm rather paranoid about having beads roll off.

Conclusion: I love my Trollbeads Bracelet and Flower Lock. It's comfortable, pretty, strong and it fits all brands of beads. Which is perfect for me since I mix and match indiscriminately.

Here it is in action with a Pandora Dragon dangle thrown into the mix.

From left to right: 

Small Silver Stopper ("homemade")

Trollbeads Fairy
Trollbeads White Heart
Pandora Dragon Dangle
Trollbeads White Flower
Trollbeads Angles Triangles
Small Silver Stopper ("homemade")