Your Cart is Empty
TEXT RINGS TO +1 (833) 993-0491 TO GET 15% OFF YOUR NEXT ORDER
Over the last few years, solid gold has become a much bigger part of CMD through Custom and Reconstruction work and our growing Special Occasion Jewelry collection. But as we've moved further into solid gold, we've also been thinking a lot about how to make it more accessible.
The reality is that the rising cost of gold has affected nearly every part of the jewelry industry, just as inflation has affected nearly every part of modern life. You feel it at the grocery store, at the gas pump, in rent prices, shipping costs, and material costs across the board. Jewelry is no exception. In November 2024, gold hovered around $2,650 to $2,750 per ounce. By January 2026, it had climbed to a record high above $5,600 per ounce. Today, gold continues trading dramatically higher than historical norms.
For independent jewelers working with solid gold, that changes everything.
Last year especially, we found ourselves constantly needing to adjust pricing simply to keep pace with material costs. It was stressful for us financially, but emotionally too. CMD has always been built around inclusivity, artistry, craftsmanship, and creating jewelry people actually live in every day. We never want people to feel excluded from something they deeply connect with, especially when we know how personal jewelry can become over time.
At the same time, we refuse to compromise on craftsmanship, ethical labor, or material quality. Everything at CMD is still handcrafted in small batches with intention, care, and skilled labor. Our team is paid a living wage with retirement and health benefits, our pricing reflects real production costs, and the materials we work with matter deeply to us.
Rather than lowering our standards, we started getting creative. That creativity is what pushed us further into Reconstruction projects, metal recycling, heirloom redesign, and custom work. We realized many people were already sitting on valuable materials they could repurpose into something meaningful and wearable again. A broken chain, an inherited diamond, unworn wedding jewelry, or old gold sitting forgotten in a jewelry box could suddenly become part of something entirely new.
And during all of those conversations, one request kept coming up over and over again: “Do you offer anything in 10k solid gold?”
Eventually, we decided to test it ourselves, and honestly, we were surprised by how much we loved it.
Both 10k and 14k are real solid gold. The primary difference comes down to gold content. Fourteen karat gold contains 58.3% pure gold, while 10k gold contains 41.7% pure gold. The remaining percentage consists of alloy metals that help strengthen the material and affect the final color and durability.
Because 10k contains a higher percentage of alloy metals, it is slightly harder and more scratch resistant than 14k, which makes it fantastic for everyday wear. Fourteen karat gold tends to have a richer and warmer gold tone along with a higher intrinsic gold value. Traditionally, 14k has been considered the “sweet spot” for fine jewelry because it balances durability, beauty, warmth, and heirloom quality beautifully, and we still absolutely stand behind that.
14k solid gold will continue to be a cornerstone of our Special Occasion Jewelry because we deeply believe in the longevity, richness, and timelessness of that material. What surprised us while testing 10k was how beautiful it looked in person. The color still felt rich, the pieces had substance and permanence, and the jewelry retained the luxurious feeling we care so much about.
Most importantly, it opened a door for clients who wanted solid gold but needed a more approachable price point.
CMD has always existed somewhere between art jewelry and everyday wear, and our Everyday Collection remains a huge part of who we are. We still love and stand behind sterling silver and 14k gold-fill, especially because gold-fill offers longevity and quality far beyond traditional plated jewelry while allowing people to collect handcrafted pieces at more accessible price points.
At the same time, there is something undeniably different about solid gold when you wear it daily for years and years. Solid gold becomes part of your life in a different way. It becomes part of your body language, your routines, your memories, and your history. It can be repaired, resized, reconstructed, melted down, rebuilt, passed on, and lived in for generations.
Increasingly, we have clients telling us that they only wear solid gold now, that they want to begin collecting heirloom-quality jewelry, or that they love our 14k pieces but cannot quite justify the pricing yet. Many people are looking for a way to slowly transition from gold-fill into solid gold over time rather than making a massive leap all at once.
That is exactly where 10k comes in. We don't see it as a replacement for our Everyday Collection, nor as a downgrade from 14k. We see it as a bridge between the two. It creates a more gradual path into solid gold while still preserving the craftsmanship, permanence, and emotional connection that matter so much to us.
We also want to acknowledge something honestly: the sticker shock around solid gold right now is real.
A 14k solid gold square Rogue Ring currently sits around $3,898. The same ring produced in 10k would cost closer to $2,798, which is roughly 28% less. That is still absolutely an investment and not inexpensive, but for some clients, it suddenly shifts from feeling completely unattainable to potentially manageable.
The same thing happened recently with a diamond Zodiac Ring. In 14k, the price moved beyond what felt comfortable for the client. In 10k, the exact same concept became much more manageable while still remaining solid gold. She went for the 10k to complete her set!
That matters to us because we never want people to feel ashamed for having budgets. We want people to have options, and I want every dollar spent to feel comfortable.
Our Everyday Collection isn't changing. We'll continue creating in sterling silver and 14k gold-fill, materials I love for layering, collecting, experimenting, and building your jewelry wardrobe over time.
Our Special Occasion Jewelry isn't going anywhere either. What is changing is that select designs are now available in both 10k and 14k solid gold.
Rather than creating an entirely separate 10k collection or different versions of the same ring, we're bringing the choice directly into the designs you already know. When a design is available in both, you'll simply choose 10k or 14k solid gold from the material option dropdown, along with your preferred yellow, rose, or white gold.
Love the richer color and higher gold content of 14k? It's still there. Want the same CMD design in solid gold at a more approachable price? Now you have another option.
We're starting by offering 10k gold options for all of our current Special Occasion Band designs and will continue figuring out where 10k makes the most sense as we go. If there's a piece you're interested in that doesn't currently show a 10k option, send us a note and we'll let you know what's possible.
And while we've been busy rethinking some of the gold pieces you already know, I also wanted to make something completely new...
The Deep End Ring started with two things I've been thinking about a lot lately: Reconstruction and color.
Some of our recent Reconstruction projects have reminded me just how powerful a single incredible stone can be, especially when the design around it is strong enough to hold its own without competing for attention. At the same time, I've been completely obsessed with the deep, almost ocean-like colors that show up in natural stones. I wanted to design a statement ring that put that color front and center.
Enter the Deep End Ring. At the center is a 3-carat emerald-cut Natural London Blue Topaz, set east-west in a clean, architectural bezel. The stone sits against a substantial 9mm wide, approximately 1.5mm thick band in our signature square shape. It's bold and sculptural, but the simplicity of the setting leaves that deep blue stone to do most of the talking.
And this is where the Deep End becomes part of the bigger story we're telling with this launch. You can choose to go all silver with a sterling silver bezel or add a warm contrast with a yellow gold bezel in either 10k or 14k solid gold. That mixed-metal option makes it easy to wear the Deep End alongside the silver and gold already living in your collection, while giving you another place to decide where solid gold makes the most sense for you.
One unexpected bonus: the bezel you choose actually changes how the stone reads. Silver deepens it into something almost inky. Gold warms it into something a little more ethereal.
I love that we're introducing this ring at the same time as our expanded 10k options because the two ideas really belong together. This isn't about making every piece less expensive or replacing one material with another. It's about giving you more ways into the work.
That might mean choosing 10k instead of 14k, pairing sterling silver with a solid gold detail, or investing in 14k because that's the material you want to live with for decades. Or it might mean falling completely in love with a massive blue stone and diving headfirst into the Deep End.
Beyond our Everyday and Special Occasion Collections sits another growing part of CMD that has become deeply meaningful to us: Custom and Reconstruction jewelry.
Increasingly, we're realizing that some of the most meaningful jewelry doesn't begin with purchasing something entirely new. It begins with what is already sitting in your jewelry box. A broken chain, inherited stones, unworn wedding jewelry, scrap gold, or pieces carrying emotional history can become the foundation for something deeply personal and completely transformed.
Recycling metal for credit and reconstructing heirlooms has become one of the most fulfilling parts of my work because it allows people to create deeply personal jewelry while helping offset the very real realities of rising gold costs.
In a way, all of these things are connected. Adding 10k to Special Occasion, creating pieces like the Deep End Ring that play with stones and mixed metals in a new way, and finding new ways to transform the jewelry and materials you already own through Custom and Reconstruction work are all part of the same question we've been asking ourselves: How can we give you more ways to make CMD yours without compromising what makes CMD, CMD?
More than anything, this shift feels like CMD finally exhaling into exactly who we are. More intentional, more personal, more heirloom-oriented, and more committed to giving you real choices about where and how you invest, all while creating jewelry meant to be worn, lived in and loved for a very long time.
With a sparkle in my bluish eyes,
Colleen
© 2026 Colleen Mauer Designs. All rights reserved.
Comments will be approved before showing up.
I’ve been thinking a LOT about solid gold lately, especially the gap between our Everyday Jewelry and 14k Special Occasion designs. I’ve been convinced there’s something worth building in between, and we’ve been working behind the scenes to make it happen. Next week, I finally get to show you what’s [...]
You don't need heirloom jewelry, old gold or a family diamond to create something completely personal with CMD. See how we can source stones and precious metals, recycle eligible gold for credit and create a custom piece from scratch through the same distinctly CMD design process you [...]
I’ve never been one to wear just one ring, and over the years I’ve learned that sometimes one unexpected addition can completely change a stack. I’m sharing some of my favorite rings for adding shape, texture, sparkle and contrast, plus a little inspiration for your bracelet stack too. Whether you want to want to [...]
