19 Years of Personalised, Hand-Engraved Jewellery and the Stories That Made Us
- Merci Maman
- Personalised Jewellery Blog
- 5 Oct 2026
- 7views
Founded in 2007 by Béatrice de Montille at her kitchen table in Fulham (London), Merci Maman has been hand-engraving personalised jewellery for customers in more than 50 countries for the past nineteen years. Each piece of jewellery is personalised within 24 hours in our Parisian workshop by engravers who are experts in the art of transforming first names, dates, and messages into precious keepsakes. More memories and stories than we could ever have imagined.
To celebrate our nineteenth anniversary, we’re looking back on our beginnings, the moments that shaped us, and the new creations launched to mark this special milestone.
- 19 Years hand-engraving
- 50+ Countries served
- 24h Engraving turnaround
- 2× Queen's Award winners
Where It All Began: A Kitchen Table, a New Mum, and a Single Engraving
It was 2007. Béatrice de Montille (a French designer and new mother living in Fulham, London) sat at her kitchen table and picked up an engraving tool for the very first time. She wasn't thinking about building a brand. She was thinking about her child.
She wanted to wear something that felt true to who she had become: a mother. Something she could carry close to her heart, something that held a name and a story no shop-bought piece could hold. So, she engraved one herself.
That first piece became the foundation of everything Merci Maman is today. A brand born not from a business plan, but from the instinct of a mother who understood, deeply, what a meaningful gift feels like.
From that table in Fulham to an atelier in Paris, the idea never changed: create jewellery that is genuinely yours, engraved by hand, made to last, impossible to replicate.
"Every piece we make carries a piece of someone's story. That's not a marketing line it's the reason I picked up the engraving tool in the first place." Béatrice de Montille, Founder, Merci Maman
For the past nineteen years, that story has multiplied into hundreds of thousands of engravings, shipped from Paris to homes across Europe, North America, Asia and beyond. Each one a name, a date, a heartfelt message. Each one is irreplaceable.
A Royal Seal of Approval, and What It Taught Us
In 2014, the world noticed something around the neck of Her Royal Highness, The Princess of Wales. It was a simple gold disc necklace, delicately engraved with the name and date of birth of Prince George. It was our Duchess Necklace.
The coverage was global. Overnight, what had begun as a quiet craft practiced in a Fulham kitchen became something the world wanted to talk about. But here is what we remember most clearly about that moment: the necklace itself hadn't changed.
It was the same hand-engraved piece, made the same way, for the same reasons. A mother celebrating her child.
What the recognition did was confirm something we had always known: the most powerful jewellery is not the most expensive, or the most elaborate. It is the most personal.
Since 2014, the Duchess Necklace has become one of our most gifted pieces, chosen by mothers, grandmothers, partners and friends to celebrate the people they love most.
We've also been honoured with the Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2017 and again in 2020. It is one of the UK's most prestigious business distinctions, awarded for outstanding contribution to international trade.
None of it, however, has changed why we do this. The Duchess Necklace your grandmother gives you for your birthday, engraved with the initials of her three grandchildren, carries exactly the same intention as the one worn in 2014. The intention is love, recorded permanently in metal.
Our 19th Anniversary Collection: Solitaire Birthstones and Crystal Stars
For our nineteenth birthday, we wanted to create pieces that felt like the brand in miniature: meaningful, personal and quietly beautiful. So, we made two new families of jewellery: solitaire birthstones and crystal stars.
Together, they capture what nineteen years of hand-engraving has taught us: every name shines uniquely, and every story burns a little brighter when it's shared.
Solitaire Birthstones: Wear Your Story in Colour
Twelve birthstones. Twelve meanings. One for every month of the year, and one for every person who matters. Our solitaire birthstone pieces pair these delicately colourful birthstones with the hand-engraving Merci Maman is known for.
In this way, the piece you give conveys two things at once: I was thinking of you, and I know exactly who you are.
Hand-engraved with your chosen name or date. Available in all 12 birthstones. From £99
A solitaire birthstone paired with a disc to engrave names, dates or a few meaningful words. From £109
Crystal Stars: Subtle Sparkle, Lasting Meaning
A crystal star catches the light differently depending on the angle, which, we think, is a perfect metaphor for the people we love. Our crystal star pieces bring a quiet sparkle to everyday engravings, making them ideal for gifting this season. Worn alone or layered, these pieces pair effortlessly with our Personalised Name Necklace and Personalised Bracelets.
A shiny disc engraved with your words, adorned with a crystal star in the centre. From £119
A delicate bracelet with a crystal star heart charm and personalised engraving on the reverse. From £129
Not Sure What to Engrave? Six Ideas That Turn a Piece into a Keepsake
The empty box asking for your personalisation is, for some people, the most exciting part of ordering. For others, it's the most daunting. If you relate more to the second option, here are six ideas that have stood the test of time, proven across nineteen years and hundreds of thousands of pieces engraved in our Paris atelier.
- Names: a child's name, a partner's, a best friend’s. The most chosen engraving we receive, and the most emotional to give.
- Dates: a birth date, a wedding anniversary, a first date, the day everything changed. Numbers that hold entire stories.
- Initials: one letter, or a cluster of them, each one standing for someone the wearer loves. Discreet, elegant, and unmistakably personal.
- Coordinates: the latitude and longitude of a place that exists only between you and someone else. Where you met, where you got engaged, where you’ll always feel at home.
- Symbols: an infinity loop, a heart, a tiny star. Small symbols that carry enormous weight when engraved by hand.
- A short message: a phrase only two people share. Something you have always wanted to say, now worn close by, always.
Ready to personalise? You can also create your own Merci Maman piece from scratch: choose your chain, add your charms, and engrave exactly what you want to say. Every piece is engraved within 24 hours of your order being placed when ordered before 1pm on a working day.
One Year from Now: Our 20th Anniversary
Nineteen is wonderful. But twenty? That's a milestone we've been thinking about for some time.
Next year, Merci Maman turns twenty, and we're already planning a celebration that matches the occasion. More new collections, more excitement, more stories shared with the people who have made this brand what it is: you.
For now, over the next two weeks, we'll be marking our 19th birthday with new drops, exclusive content, and a few surprises we're not quite ready to share yet. Follow us on Instagram (@mercimamangifts) to be the first to know, and to share the pieces you're already wearing.
Frequently Asked Questions About Merci Maman
What makes Merci Maman different from other personalised jewellery brands?
Every piece of Merci Maman jewellery is engraved by hand in our Parisian atelier. This means each engraving carries a natural, human quality: slight variations in depth and spacing that make the piece unmistakably handcrafted. We've been doing this since 2007, engraving within 24 hours of receiving your order. We're also the only personalised jewellery brand to have been worn by The Princess of Wales and to hold the Queen's Award for Enterprise (2017 and 2020).
How long does it take to receive a hand-engraved piece from Merci Maman?
Orders placed before 1pm on a working day are engraved and dispatched the same day. Standard delivery within France and Europe typically takes 2-5 working days. Express options are also available. Every piece is sent in a Merci Maman gift box, with no invoice included, so you can send it directly to the recipient if you wish.
What can I have engraved on a Merci Maman piece?
You can engrave names, dates, initials, short messages, symbols (such as hearts or infinity signs), coordinates, or a combination of these, depending on the size of the piece. Some pieces, such as our personalised name necklace, allow up to five separate charms, each with its own engraving front and back. Every engraving is done by hand by one of our trained engravers.
Are Merci Maman pieces suitable as gifts for births, anniversaries and weddings?
Yes, personalised jewellery is one of the most consistently meaningful gifts for life's milestone moments. Our pieces are regularly given at births (engraved with the baby's name and birth date), at weddings (engraved with the couple's initials or wedding date), for Mother's Day (with children's names), and on anniversaries.
