Notre Dame de la Tendresse

Notre Dame de la Tendresse is an 18-karat yellow gold christening medal depicting the Virgin and Child. It sums up what we look for in a christening medal: a true drawing, a relief that catches the light, an emotion that can be read at first glance.

A Virgin and Child drawn to express a mother's love

Mary is seen in profile, her head covered by a veil whose folds fall in broad waves to the edge of the medal. With lowered eyes, she tilts her face towards the Child, whom she holds nestled against her cheek: he sleeps, head thrown back, one hand resting on her. The whole drawing lies in this contact between the two faces; the background is left smooth, without inscription or decoration, so that nothing distracts from this gesture. It is this simplicity that gives the medal its legibility, even at 16 mm.

What this Virgin and Child shows, every mother recognises: the weight of a sleeping baby against you, the head that settles by itself into the hollow of your neck, that moment when you hold your breath so as not to wake him. Our sculptor did not seek a Virgin in majesty but a young mother, absorbed, protecting. This is why this christening medal is so often chosen by parents and godmothers: it does not only depict a figure of devotion, it says what one feels when holding the child about to be baptised. Given on the day of the christening, it keeps that feeling intact, and the child, once grown, will find it again on looking at it.

A christening medal struck in the traditional way in 18-karat gold

Like all our gold medals, Notre Dame de la Tendresse is made by stamping: the 750/1000 gold blank is struck under an engraved die, which gives a sharper and more durable relief than that of a cast piece. The surface is then satin-finished to soften the reflections and bring out the volumes. The gold weight is 2.30 g at 16 mm, 2.90 g at 18 mm and 4.40 g at 20 mm. Exclusive Manufacture Mayaud design, registered model, made in France.

Diameter, engraving and variations

16 mm is the christening size: discreet on a newborn, it still wears very well into adolescence. 18 mm is the classic size, the one given to last a lifetime. 20 mm, more assertive, suits a communion, a confirmation, or a woman who wishes to wear her Virgin and Child every day.

The smooth reverse takes an engraving: first name, christening date, a few words. We carry it out in the workshop; simply add the engraving package to your order. To accompany it, an 18-karat yellow gold trace chain, whose fine links keep the medal in the foreground. The same Virgin and Child is available in gold and mother-of-pearl, in solid silver, in silver and mother-of-pearl and in an Excellence version with a deeper relief.