Precious Moments - Children of the World Series (Gretel of Sweden)

A new review~! Today I have a special review on a doll that's more of an antique. I went thrifting with my mom today, and came across this cute doll on the shelf. She is part of the precious moments series "Children of the World". This is a series of dolls of which each character represents an individual country (and there are many to collect). The girl I found is called "Gretel" and she represents the country of Sweden. 

A frontal view of the doll. She stands at a good 9 inches tall, and is able to stand on her own without a stand. Her hair was in extremely good condition for a 20 year old doll (this doll is labelled with the year 1994), with very little mess. I took the liberty of brushing out her bangs and pony tale to smooth out any loose hairs, and she looks great in the picture! Even her twin curls that frame her face are still held tight after all these years!

She is not porcelain, but vinyl. Additionally, she displays a decent amount of articulation. She is able to move her legs and arms, and her head can rotate as well.

A close up of her head. Her hair is a muted blonde colour, and is done up into a high ponytail that parts in the middle and held by a small pink bow. She has bluntly cut bangs, and two curls on either side of her face. A great thing about her hair that makes her unique in comparison to other dolls is the fact that she has no product whatsoever in her hair! Usually with designer or collector dolls, the hair is sprayed down with product to prevent it from becoming messy. I am impressed with the engineering of her hair - no product, and it manages to stay pristine within the span of two decades without a display case.  

A close up of her dress.  Gretel wears a silk white and black dress with a pink apron that ties into a bow from behind. Her apron is lined with tiny lace-embroidered flowers.Her sleeves are puffed and lined with a similar coloured pink lace.

A close up of the small lace.

Using flash, you can see the golden colour of her hair shine much better. 

Back of the doll. Her collar is also lined with the same pink lace as the apron.

Under her dress she wears white footed tights with removable black flat shoes.

On the bottom of her shoes, it reads "MADE IN PHIL" (Philippines). Being of Filipino decent myself, this sparked a tiny bit of patriotism in me. It is also quite refreshing in general to see things made in countries other than China. 

The back of her head around her hairline also has an imprint. "PRECIOUS MOMENTS CO. Made in Philippines"

Her tags. She was found with all her tags in perfect condition. No colour fading or rips. The tag features a suitcase with the Precious Moments logo, as well as the series name "Children of the World", The luggage tag features her name, "Gretel" and her country "Sweden".

Her second tag. This tag is more of a gratitude and feedback tag. It reads, "We appreciate your business and would welcome any comments that you might have about our dolls"

The back of this tag explains how to register the doll.

And that concludes my review! Overall, I think this is one of the cutest dolls I own. I was lucky to find her for a very low price of $6. Additionally, she was eligible for 30% off , which made her around $4.70 including tax. She retailed for about $22.00 when she first came out, and I've seen her go for as high as $80 (in good condition, with tags). This doll is in fact retired, making her somewhatly rare and limited to find. Thanks for reading, until next time!