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I'm a creature of habit, and I get SUPER attached to things that I own. I'll save all my extra dollars and buy a pair of really great shoes, then have them resoled over and over again. I also don't mind if anyone notices that I have the same pair on every time they see me.
As I've gotten older, I really strive to love every single piece in my closet. If I don't pull it out and think, "I just adore ya," then I don't want to see it. That means gone! to the raggedy old sweater from ten years ago and gone! to that $400 dress I swore I would wear all the time but only wore twice. Oops.
I think the same philosophy applies to jewelry. The best pieces aren't necessarily the ones you save for something special. They're the ones you reach for so often that eventually you don't quite feel like yourself without them.
When someone is struggling to decide whether a piece of jewelry is really the one, I usually recommend asking yourself a few questions:
If you've answered yes to even one of those questions, there's a pretty good chance you've found something worth paying attention to.
I don't think jewelry has to be saved for special occasions to be special. In fact, some of my favorite pieces are the exact opposite. They're the earrings you put on without looking in the mirror, the necklace that somehow works with everything and the rings that feel strange when they're not on your hand.
That's always been a big part of what I want CMD jewelry to be. I want to make pieces that become part of your life rather than things that spend most of their time tucked safely inside a box. If you're deciding between something you admire and something you can already imagine yourself wearing constantly, I'd pay attention to the latter.
When I originally wrote this post in 2017, I talked about one of my favorite things to witness in our San Francisco shop. Someone would walk in and casually try on four pairs of earrings, and then she'd put on the right pair and suddenly her eyes would light up. I just love it when that happens.
The same thing happened at our Ring Bar. Someone would start playing with rings and suddenly land on a combination that made her feel like a million bucks. Maybe she'd discover that she loved square rings even though she'd never considered one before, or she'd put together a mix of metals she wouldn't have chosen individually. Then she'd leave with the shiny new stack already on her finger, no box necessary.
That's the feeling you're looking for. Not whether a piece follows some jewelry rule or is the thing you think you're supposed to choose, but whether you put it on and immediately feel more like yourself.
The San Francisco Showroom where I originally wrote this story is part of CMD history now, but helping someone find that can't-live-without piece is still one of my favorite parts of this job. Today, you can come play with jewelry in person during scheduled Open Hours at The CMD Shop in Asbury Park, visit us at a Pop-Up Event, or make an appointment when you need a little more one-on-one guidance.
Sometimes you know exactly what you're looking for. Other times, the piece you fall in love with is the one you never would have picked until you actually put it on. Either way, I'm still waiting for that little change in your face that tells me we've found it.
Here's to jewelry you never want to take off,
Colleen
© Colleen Mauer Designs. All rights reserved.
Published: November 21, 2017
Updated: August 13, 2026
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