The know-how

Two perspectives, one standard.

Mère & Fille was born out of the meeting of two complementary sensibilities: that of Ghislaine, who is passionate about gemology and gemstones, and that of her daughter, Laurence Marie, a jewelry designer and illustrator.

Since 2014, they have been combining their expertise to design unique pieces of jewelry, carefully select gemstones, and work with each client to create a piece that reflects his or her personality.

From the moment the first stone is placed on the workbench to the gem setter’s final touch, every piece of jewelry from Mère & Fille is the result of a dialogue between , gemmology, design, and Belgian jewelry craftsmanship.

A Story of a Mother and Daughter

It all began a few years earlier with a mishap.

In 2010, Ghislaine returned from a trip to India with what she thought was a magnificent sapphire. The stone turned out not to be what she had been told it was. Rather than dwell on this disappointment, she decided to get to the bottom of it.

She studied gemology at the Royal Belgian Society of Gemmology, then continued her training in Antwerp, in the heart of one of the world’s leading diamond centers.

Meanwhile, Laurence Marie is drawing.

Passionate about jewelry, shapes, and gemstones, she developed her own creative style and studied jewelry design and gemology at the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA).

In 2014, their two worlds came together, giving rise to Mère & Fille.

Ever since, their complementary strengths have remained at the heart of the House: observing a stone, understanding what makes it special, imagining what it could become, and finding the design that will bring out its best qualities.

The sketch: the starting point for every creation

At Mère & Fille, drawing plays a key role.

Laurence Marie sketches each project by hand, to scale, and tailored to the client’s wishes. During meetings, initial ideas take shape as the conversation unfolds: a line becomes more defined, proportions shift, a stone is repositioned, and a detail emerges.

The sketches then allow us to examine the piece of jewelry from different angles and understand its dimensions even before it is made.

Beyond its aesthetic role, a sketch is a powerful tool for communication. It allows us to convey a desire that is sometimes difficult to put into words and to gradually create a piece of jewelry that reflects the personality, daily life, and expectations of the person who will wear it.

Custom work isn't about adapting an existing model. It starts with a blank page.

Gemmology at the Heart of Our Business

Diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, tourmalines, spinels, aquamarines… Each gemstone has its own characteristics—and its own personality.

Our training as gemologists allows us to view them in a way that goes beyond their mere appearance.

We examine their color, proportions, size, transparency, inclusions, and, when relevant, their origin or any treatments they may have undergone.

This expertise is essential to our creative work. It allows us not only to select the gemstones we offer, but also to examine those that our clients entrust to us as part of a custom project or the remodeling of a vintage piece of jewelry.

Because, as Mère & Fille notes, "stone isn't simply chosen to fit into a design: very often, it is the stone itself that inspires the design."

In Search of Unique Stones

Our proximity to Antwerp gives us access to an exceptional network of diamond dealers and gemstone merchants.

We like to select several stones for a single project and present them to our clients so they can examine them, compare them, and, above all, sense which one resonates with them.

Beyond the timeless classics, we have a special fondness for stones that possess their own unique character: a sapphire in an unexpected shade, a tourmaline with distinctive play of color, an unusual shape, or a stone whose color is hard to define.

Our meetings with specialty dealers, in Antwerp and elsewhere, allow us to discover gemstones from different regions of the world and to build relationships based on trust over the years.

"We aren't necessarily looking for the most perfect stone. We're looking for the one that's just right for the piece of jewelry and for the person it's intended for."

Understanding What We Choose

Gemmology is also about passing on knowledge.

We enjoy explaining the gemstones we showcase: why two sapphires of the same weight can be very different, what factors influence a diamond’s value, what an inclusion is, why certain colors are rare, and what treatments can be applied to gemstones.

This transparency extends to every aspect of our craft: gold alloys, gem-setting, the various stages of production, and the different trades involved in creating a piece of jewelry.

It's not about knowing everything before making a choice. Quite the opposite.

"Our role is to give you the tools you need to understand and make choices with confidence."

Belgian jewelry craftsmanship

Designed in Belgium. Made in Belgium.

Every Mère & Fille creation is conceived and designed in Belgium, then crafted by our workshops and master craftsmen.

The creation of a piece of jewelry involves several different trades. Goldsmiths, gem setters, polishers, engravers… each plays a role at a specific stage and contributes expertise that can only be acquired through experience.

A setting should protect a stone while allowing light to pass through. A setting should be delicate enough to blend into the stones, yet sturdy enough to last for years. A piece of jewelry should be beautiful from the front, but also balanced when viewed from the side and comfortable to wear.

It is often these details—which are almost invisible once the piece of jewelry is finished—that determine its quality.

Antwerp, at the Heart of Our History

Antwerp holds a special place in the history of Mère & Fille.

A city with deep-rooted ties to diamonds dating back several centuries, it still boasts, in just a few streets, an exceptional concentration of businesses related to gemstones and jewelry.

Diamond dealers, gemstone traders, experts, cutters, setters, foundry workers, goldsmiths, and engravers come together to form here a unique ecosystem.

According to Mère & Fille,“Antwerp is not simply a place where we buy gemstones. It’s a network of women and men with whom we’ve built relationships over the years and whose expertise informs our designs. This close relationship also allows us to conduct very specific searches for our custom projects: finding a diamond in a particular shape, comparing several sapphires of the same shade, or seeking out stones that will complement those in a family heirloom."

Create, Transform, Pass On

Today, our expertise is expressed in several ways: through our collections, our fully custom-made pieces, and the restoration of vintage jewelry.

In every case, our approach remains the same: listen, understand, select, design, and have the work carried out to the highest standards.

A piece of jewelry can celebrate a commitment, a birth, or a birthday. It may begin with a stone discovered in Antwerp or a diamond passed down through several generations. It may be entirely new or preserve a part of an ancient history.

It is this encounter between —a person, a stone, and a drawing—that lies at the heart of Mère & Fille ’s work.