Bangla Begum, technically, means "lady from Bengal" but it is also a full name. It's the name of the imaginary character my brand is based on.

I was tired of mainstream storytelling, which I think are often flat-out lies, and wanted to embrace fiction as a way to talk about my work. 

Legit question, and I'll answer it as thoroughly as I can.

The reason I chose the name Bangla Begum is because I started my jewelry career in India, where I worked and lived for almost ten years. Although I lived in Rajasthan, I learned jewelry with Bengali karigars, and I wanted to honour that.

Although my products and my art direction don't have any Indian or Bengali influence, I did want one aspect of my brand to reflect the beginning of my career and the people with whom I first learned jewelry. Hence this name.

It was also important for me to choose a name with a Muslim heritage as one of the reasons I moved out of India, after almost ten years, was my sadness and horror at the way the Muslim community is being increasingly targeted by Hindu nationalists and the way Muslim culture is being erased from the official narration of India. 

It may sound very little, but to have Bangla Begum as a brand name, to me, is a small way to make this heritage visible in the global landscape. A few people tried to dissuade me from choosing a Muslim name for my brand - they said it would make my jewelry less attractive to some customers, less French too I heard - but I was determined.

Which brings me to another point, or maybe just an answer to remarks I sometimes get about my "profiting" from Bengali culture: I don’t think my brand name is helping my business. Quite the opposite in fact. If I had wanted an efficient brand name I would have chosen a single, short and simple word with a French detail, an acute accent maybe.

I do think that the name Bangla Begum is making my brand more obscure to my main audience. But I don’t mind. 

Also, I think that - but I understand that some people feel otherwise - making products and images taken from Indian and/or Bengali culture, that would be, to me, appropriation. I instead chose the name Bangla Begum as a reminder, a little sparkling sign of remembrance, not a body of designs and imagery I use in my work. 

To sum it up, my brand name is a little bit dissociated from my products and is meant to honour the place where my jewelry career started and the people I learned from. I don’t think it is helping my brand at all so I don’t think there is any advantage for me there. It’s just my story, and however weird, it still is my story.

My name is Fanny Boucher and I founded Bangla Begum in 2019. I have been designing jewelry for 20 years, first in India where I used to work, then in Paris where I co-founded a fine jewelry startup. Ten years ago I left my startup then worked as a consultant for a little while. In 2018, I decided to dedicate myself full time to my passion project, and Bangla Begum was born.

We love to play. Our pieces are fun and unique, sometimes even strange. They're also gender fluid and so is our communication. Technically, we use exceptional craftsmanship usually reserved for fine jewelry. We produce locally, in fact most of our pieces are made in-house in our Paris atelier. And our CSR commitments are rare in the sector, with a strong focus on the preservation of artisanal skills and the ecological impact of our packaging.

I often describe my work as poetico-political jewelry. If you need a more palatable word, I am also fine with literary jewelry! A friend of mine says that I make “jewelry with chutzpah" which I like too. And so many customers have told us that our jewelry gets remarked by strangers, friends, even men, that we started saying we make "remarkable" jewelry.

I do try to put thoughts and humour into my pieces and there is definitely a big narrative element in them. Literature, the written word, is very important to me and it shows, at least I hope!

What is sure is that for me, jewelry is not an accessory. It’s a medium, a shield, a talisman, sometimes a weapon and at the very least, a story.

Both! I’m in an open relationship with jewelry. I like the way costume jewelry allows us to play and experiment (as customers and as designers) but I also like gold, old cut diamonds and weird gemstones.

I have always been frustrated by the segmentation of the jewelry world: it’s either just gold, or just costume, or just bridal. Even workshops operate like this, even though it’s the same techniques.

With Bangla Begum, I didn’t want to price out anyone, but I didn’t want to limit myself either. And I think people appreciate this. They understand that some pieces are spectacular and difficult to make, hence expensive, and that some pieces are more fun and affordable. In fact, I think customers are highly sophisticated, they get it.

Absolutely. Supporting causes has always been part of who we are. Over the years we have supported the Casa Internazionale delle Donne, a historic feminist center in Rome, Lire pour en Sortir, a French nonprofit that helps incarcerated people through reading and writing, and the Center for Intersectional Justice in Berlin.

In 2022, we joined 1% for the Planet and committed to donating 1% of our annual revenue to environmental nonprofits. But in 2024, as we made our production more sustainable, we chose to focus our financial support where it felt most urgent.

We now donate 1% of our revenue to UNRWA and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Of course. Since we donate a fixed percentage of our revenue, a figure that isn’t publicly disclosed, we won’t share the exact amount. But we can provide an accounting certificate confirming that we do donate 1% of our revenue.

No. As in, I don't care.

Bangla Begum's level of CSR commitments is rare in the costume jewelry sector, with a strong focus on the preservation of artisanal skills and the ecological impact of our packaging.

Our design and manufacturing process is based, for each piece of jewelry, on four things: the proximity of the craftspeople who make it, the origin of the materials that compose it, the ecological impact of its packaging and the preservation of local savoir-faire.

We strive to honor local and historical manufacturing cultures and our jewelry is sustainably manufactured by French and European workshops, each specialized in a specific craft.

We are also committed to reducing waste and therefore produce only small series. We even created a fine jewelry collection, the Bin Bling collection, using only discarded material.

Most of our jewelry is made in-house in our Parisian atelier. We employ a team of jewellers and have our own chef d'atelier. A few pieces are made just outside Paris in a workshop led by a formidable woman, and our most precious pieces are made by an extraordinary fine jewelry workshop near Lyon. For some specific skills not available in France, such as resin and chains, we work with European workshops. And because a few specific skills and materials are available only in Asia, we have partners there too.

Because jewelry has always been a worldly trade. Specific skills in specific countries. Specific materials in others. Just like ultramarine pigment used by painters used to come from Afghanistan, cultured pearls, for example, have always come from Japan and China. We source skills and materials on routes that have always existed and we follow them when they move.

Beautiful sustainable packaging has been at the heart of the Bangla Begum project since the very beginning. When the Boob ring, our first design, came out, it was delivered in upcycled vintage jewelry boxes that quickly became our signature.

Today, our core packaging is made in Spain using FSC paper. Our shipping boxes come from Austria and are made of undulated kraft paper, a sustainable and durable material. We encourage our customers to keep them and use them for storage. The shredding in our shipping boxes is 100% recycled and our cards and stickers are printed in Paris. Our pouches are made in Brittany using upcycled linen and our velvet ribbons, in Auvergne.

Good question! My unpopular opinion is that any brand making a product should abstain from claiming they are sustainable. But what we can do is have high standards and do things in a way that is nice to people and light on the environment. That's what we do.

It all started with a joke. I wanted to poke (gentle) fun at people who wear signet rings. What better way to do this than by using a nipple instead of a coat of arms? Also, the shape lent itself to it. But when the first Boob ring arrived from the atelier, I realized it was way, way more than a joke. In fact, I will never forget unpacking this first prototype. What I had in my hands was a powerful piece of jewelry about women and feminity. A talisman too maybe. And in the end, very much a signet ring, but symbolic! It was as if I had received a grave echo to my first, humorous thought. A beautiful experience that turned out to be our best selling piece.

We know this can be issue, so we decided to ship a ring sizer (for free!) to anyone who needs one. All you need to do is order it here.

The first exchange is free! Just email Clémence, our customer care fairy, at aiuto@banglabegum.com and she will let you know how to proceed. Just make sure your ring still has its wax seal on, other wise we won't be able to exchange your ring for free!

There are a couple of ways to handle this. The first option is to order our free ring sizer and somehow make the person try it on. The other option is to order the Boob ring in any size, then email or DM us so that we put your order on hold and send you a calligraphed card announcing a Boob ring has been ordered for the person. Our calligraphed cards are a beautiful object to gift! Then the person can get in touch with us to confirm his/her finger size. Finally, a third option is to order a Boob ring in a size we have in stock (email us for this) and to exchange it later. In any case, we are always happy to help so do email us with any question or deadline and we will let you know what we can do!

You can return your Boob ring or request an exchange free of charge within 30 days of receiving it. It must be unworn, in its box, and its seal must be attached. Simply contact Clémence at aiuto@banglabegum.com and she will guide you through the process.

Yes, the Boob ring is available in sterling silver or 9kt yellow gold.

Yes, it is a theme I love exploring. I also made a ring in the shape of an antique statue's b*m and another one with a phallus on a bow.

I think that many people say this. Then they try on the Boob ring and they forget about it. I myself had never worn a chevalière before I made the Boob ring. Now I have a hand full of them.

I designed the Boob ring for the small finger and I still think that it is, so to say, its destiny, but it can be worn on any other finger. Personally, my favorite is two Boob rings, one on the small finger and one on the ring finger.

It is present. In a good way.

Sure.

You can return your order for free within 30 days of receiving it. It needs to be intact and in its original packaging. The Boob ring, the Marcellus ring and the Magic ring must have their seal still attached. To request a return, simply contact Clémence at aiuto@banglabegum.com and she will guide you through the process.

We do. Our beautiful boutique is located on 66 rue de Saintonge 75003 Paris. It is open every day including Sundays from 10am to 7pm.

We do! Every day!

Yes. All our parcels are independently insured. If anything goes amiss, you will be refunded immediately.

Jewelry is fragile and our lives can be tough on them. Please be gentle. Store each piece separately in its own box and keep it away from water and chemicals. Take it off to work out and take it off to make love. Use a chamois cloth to clean it. Beware of excess light and heat. And for your gold and silver jewelry, use ultrasonic cleansers (with caution please).

Repairs are free for one year if there is a technical defect on the piece. If the issue is caused by normal wear and use, we are happy to repair your piece for a small fee it if it is technically feasible. Email us at aiuto@banglabegum.com and we will guide you through the process.

You can bring your pieces for repair to the boutique every day including Sundays from 10am to 7pm. If our bench jeweller is there, she might even be able to repair your piece on the spot!

The Boob ring is made of silver, a fabulous and malleable metal. You can keep it radiant and shiny by using a chamois cloth. Please note that the shape of its band will slightly alter if you wear it every day, it's normal, especially if you ride a bicycle!