New · fine jewellery
Star Map Necklace
The real night sky of your date and place, laser engraved on a 20 mm coin. It arrives in a gift box, on a card with your own words.
4.9 from 326 reviews of Gift The Stars
$89
$111
Engraving, gift box and shipping included
Real sky
Computed by an astronomer
Laser engraved
Your sky and words
Free shipping
Tracked, in a gift box
Finish
Design your necklaceSee your engraving live before you pay · ships to the US, Canada, UK, EU and Australia
Every necklace arrives in a gift box, hanging over a card. Write a title and a message for it in the designer and we print them, free. Each engraving is checked by hand before it goes to the laser.
In short: A star map necklace is a pendant engraved with the night sky of one place and moment. Ours is computed from the Hipparcos star catalogue for your date, time and place and laser engraved on a 20 mm coin, with names or the date around the rim if you want them.
It comes in stainless steel ($79) or 18k gold or rose gold plate ($89), on a 45 cm chain with a 5 cm extender, in a gift box with a card printed with your own message. Each one is engraved in 2 to 5 business days and ships free to the US, Canada, the UK, the EU and Australia. The live preview is free and needs no account.
Your sky, at twenty millimetres
A sky map for a wall can hold thousands of stars. A pendant can hold a few hundred before it turns to haze, so we redraw your sky for the metal, in one of three looks.
Constellations
The brightest stars of your night, joined into their constellations.
Stardust
Stars only, no lines: the bright stars as they stood that night.
Celestial
Constellations inside an astronomer’s grid, like an antique star chart.
How a star map necklace is made
From the moment you choose to the metal in your hand.
- 1
You choose the night
Place, date and time. We calculate where every star stood over that spot at that minute.
- 2
We draw it for the laser
Every star brighter than magnitude 3.7 and its constellation, sized by brightness, nothing finer than a fibre laser holds.
- 3
Engraved and boxed
Checked by hand, engraved, finished in 2–5 business days and shipped free in its gift box, on your card.
It arrives with your words
Every necklace comes in a black gift box, hanging over a printed card. You write the card in the designer and watch it fill in behind your pendant as you type.
A title
Set in script above the pendant: “To my Love”, “Happy Anniversary”, a name.
A message
Up to 220 characters under it, signed however you like. Free.
Words on the coin
A line around the rim, engraved in small capitals: names, a few words, the date.
That night’s moon
At the foot of the map, in the phase it really had.
Worn close
Shown with an example sky. Yours carries your night.
Materials, size and care
Every pendant is 304L stainless steel, polished, or with 18k gold or rose gold ion plating. The coin is 20 mm across, a touch smaller than a US nickel, engraved on the front; the back is left smooth.
| Finish | What it is | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Silver-tone steel | 304L stainless steel, polished and tarnish resistant | $79 |
| 18k gold plated | 18k gold ion plating over the same stainless steel | $89 |
| 18k rose gold plated | 18k rose gold ion plating over the same stainless steel | $89 |
- Coin 20 mm across.
- Chain: 45 cm chain with a 5 cm extender (17.7 + 2 in).
- Take it off to swim or shower; polish with a soft dry cloth.
- A gift box and a card printed with your message, included.
A real sky, not a pattern of dots
Many star map necklaces carry a decorative scatter of stars, or a printed picture under resin. Ours is computed and engraved. Gift The Stars is run by Mayukh Bagchi, a PhD candidate in astronomy who builds balloon-borne radio telescopes, and every pendant starts from the Hipparcos catalogue for your exact place and minute.
| Decorative pendant | Gift The Stars | |
|---|---|---|
| The stars | The same pattern for everyone | Computed for your place and minute |
| How it is made | Often printed under resin | Laser engraved into the metal |
| The moon | A drawn crescent, if any | The real phase that night |
| In the box | A generic card, if any | A card printed with your own words, free |
Sky computed by Mayukh Bagchi, PhD candidate in astronomy · Page updated
A star map necklace for
Anniversaries
The sky over your first date or your wedding night, with both your names around the rim.
Valentine’s Day
The night you met, worn every day, and a love note on the card in the box.
Mother’s Day
The sky the night a child was born, with their name and birth date around the rim.
A new baby
A push present: the minute they arrived, in gold, close to the heart.
Weddings
The sky over the ceremony, for the bride, a bridesmaid or a mother of the bride.
In memory
The night someone was born, or the night they left, kept close.
For Christmas, order by Dec 9 (United States), Dec 2 (Canada), Dec 8 (United Kingdom), Nov 25 (Australia), Dec 2 (European Union).
Star map necklace questions
How much is a star map necklace?
$79 in stainless steel and $89 in 18k gold or rose gold plate. The engraving, a gift box with your own printed card and free tracked shipping to the US, Canada, the UK, the EU and Australia are included.
What is a star map necklace?
A star map necklace is a pendant engraved with a map of the night sky as it looked from one place at one moment, such as the night you met or the night a child was born. Ours computes that sky from the Hipparcos star catalogue and laser engraves it on a 20 mm coin, with a line of your words or the date around the rim if you like.
Is the star map on the necklace accurate?
Yes. Each star is placed for the exact latitude, longitude, date and time you enter, from the Hipparcos catalogue, the data planetarium software uses. The engraving shows every star brighter than magnitude 3.7 (about 200 to 250 of them) and the constellation lines that join them, so the pattern on the pendant is the pattern that was overhead. The charts are built by an astronomy PhD researcher.
How big is the pendant?
The coin is 20 mm across, a touch smaller than a US nickel (21.2 mm). It hangs on a 45 cm chain with a 5 cm extender (17.7 + 2 inches).
Can you actually see the stars at that size?
Yes. A 20 mm star map works when it is drawn for the size: about 200 to 250 stars, bright stars engraved larger than faint ones (0.2 to 0.56 mm dots), and constellation lines 0.1 mm wide that run into their stars. The designer has a "Closer look" loupe and an actual-size view so you can judge it before you buy.
Can I add names, words or the date?
Yes, around the rim of the coin: up to 32 characters in small capitals along the bottom edge, such as THE NIGHT WE MET · 14 FEB 2021, two names, or a place and date. The designer fills the date in from your night with one tap. The back of the coin is left smooth.
Can I write a message on the card in the box?
Yes, free. Every necklace arrives in a gift box, hanging over a printed card. Give it a title, such as To my Love, and a message of up to 220 characters, and we print them in white on a navy card with gold stars. You see the card with your necklace on it as you type. Leave it empty and the card carries just the stars.
What if I do not know the exact time?
Use the closest time you know, or 9 pm for an evening. The sky turns about one degree every four minutes, so within an hour the same constellations sit in nearly the same places; the moon’s phase changes by less than a day’s worth.
Does it work anywhere on Earth, including the southern hemisphere?
Yes. The sky is computed for any latitude and longitude, north or south, so a night in Sydney shows the Southern Cross and a night in Paris shows the Plough. The time you type is read as the local time at that place.
How is it different from a constellation or zodiac necklace?
A constellation or zodiac necklace shows one star pattern, the same for everyone born under that sign. A star map necklace shows the whole sky over one place at one moment, with every constellation that was up, so no two are alike.
What colour is the engraving?
A fibre laser marks the metal dark, close to black, on all three finishes. On steel it reads as a crisp dark drawing on silver; on gold and rose gold, dark lines on warm metal.
Is it real gold?
The gold and rose gold finishes are 18k gold ion plating over 304L stainless steel, not solid or gold-filled. The steel finish is polished stainless steel. Stainless steel resists tarnish and rust; plating can wear with friction over years of daily wear.
Can I wear it in the shower?
Stainless steel will not rust, but take it off for swimming, the shower and the gym to keep the plating bright, and put on perfume and lotion before the necklace. Polish it now and then with a soft dry cloth.
What does the moon on the pendant show?
If you add it, a small moon sits at the foot of the map in the phase it really had that night: full, a crescent, or anything between. A fine ring outlines it, the polished metal is the lit part and the engraving is the shadow.
How long does delivery take, and where do you ship?
From order to door it usually takes about 4 to 10 business days in the US, 5 to 11 in the UK, 7 to 15 in Canada, 3 to 15 within the EU and 12 to 20 to Australia: 2–5 business days to engrave and finish, then free tracked shipping. Necklaces ship to the US, Canada, the UK, the EU and Australia (not yet to Norway, Switzerland or Iceland).
Can I return it?
Because each necklace is engraved to order it cannot be returned for a change of mind. If it arrives damaged, misspelled or not as you designed it, tell us within 30 days and we remake it or refund you, with nothing to send back.
Gold from $89, steel from $79. Gift boxed, free shipping.