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I love being a designer, but I especially love when my job involves creating jewelry to mark something meaningful. An engagement or wedding might be the obvious Special Occasion, but over the years I've made pieces for anniversaries, milestone birthdays, new chapters, big accomplishments and plenty of occasions that don't fit neatly into a category.
And sometimes the occasion is simply deciding you want a piece of jewelry you'll love wearing every day. I'm very much in favor of that, too.
What I love about Special Occasion jewelry is that the meaning doesn't have to come from anyone else's definition of what's worth celebrating. The jewelry becomes connected to a particular person, chapter or story because of what it means to you.
That's also why I've never thought Special Occasion jewelry should spend most of its life tucked away in a box. I want to make pieces that feel significant enough to mark the big things and wearable enough to become part of your everyday life afterward.
When I originally wrote this post in 2020, I had just introduced the Four Generations Stack, a design named for the amazing women in my own family. The set combined some of the elements that have always felt unmistakably CMD to me: substantial sterling silver, warm 14k gold, diamonds and a mix of bands meant to be stacked together.
What mattered most to me, though, was the idea behind it. I wanted to create something that could represent generations of women and eventually become part of another family's story. Jewelry has this incredible ability to collect meaning as it's worn, loved and eventually passed from one person to another.
That's become an even bigger part of the work we do at CMD today. Some clients come to me looking for a wedding or anniversary ring. Others want to create a completely custom piece, build a stack one ring at a time or Reconstruct jewelry they already own into something that represents who they are now.
If you know exactly what you want, wonderful. If you have absolutely no idea and just know you want it to feel like you, that's wonderful too. Those conversations are often where some of my favorite pieces begin.
You can explore our Special Occasion jewelry online, or book an appointment with me to start imagining something of your own. Appointments are available in person at The CMD Shop & Studio in Asbury Park or virtually from wherever you are.
Here's to making the big things wearable,
Colleen
© Colleen Mauer Designs. All rights reserved.
Published: October 21, 2020
Updated: August 19, 2026
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