The Item I Wear to Death: My Catbird Stacking Rings

In our biweekly series, editors share "the item they wear to death," whether it be a basic white tee or a super-trendy jumpsuit. Prepare yourself (and your credit card) for some guilt-free shopping.

Hi, my name is Jenny, and I lose things. When I completed graduate school, my parents gave me a diamond necklace, and then promptly took it back to keep in a safe "until you can take care of it." (I turn 30 next year and the verdict is that I'm still not there yet.) I lose wallets, keys, shoes, iPads. One time, I lost my own eyelashes. (A stovetop accident. It's not a good story.) I cannot be trusted with any object I don't affix to my body every single day, so jewelry of the "special occasion" variety is out of the question. After a quarter-century of losing pieces I couldn't keep on my person at all times, I found the solution: My beloved Catbird stacking rings.

The beauty of these rings? They go with everything. You can wear them every day. I wear between three and seven daily. They're delicate, subtle, and built to layer—you can wear six on a single finger and not feel weighed down. You can pair them with statement jewelry and a gown for a wedding, with ripped shorts and string bracelets for a festival, or on their own for the office. They never, ever fade or leave marks on your finger. And you can add to your collection anytime, like with this petite and affordable $44 gold chain ring, or this $238 hanging diamond ring as a treat-yourself birthday gift. (A note: Catbird makes its own jewelry and curates other women-led brands', so some of its pieces are from other brands, like Wwake.)

To illustrate just how much I love Catbird rings, here's a short story: A couple of years ago, I broke up with a boyfriend who had bought me a gorgeous emerald The Tiniest Ring. As I wandered around his apartment, sobbing, tossing dusty serums and tank tops in a trash bag, I decided to leave the ring behind as a symbol—he had gotten it for me during a happier time; it wasn't right to keep it. I couldn't look at it the same way, I decided. "You left your ring," he texted later. "Do you want me to mail it?" No, I told him, melodramatically. I could never take it back.

Flash-forward to a couple of months later, when I was feeling much better about the breakup and significantly sadder about the ring. We decided to go for a walk in Central Park, talk about what went wrong, build some bridges, figure out if we could be friends. "Before you leave," I texted hurriedly. "Could you bring my ring?"

"Yes," he replied, without commenting further, God bless him.

To this day, I still wear that ring. It wasn't ruined for me, after all. Quite the opposite: I love that ring. Not as a symbol of my independence or anything, but, um, just because I...like to look at it.

At any given time I'll have my eye on a new stackable ring. (Right now, it's the Three-Step White Diamond Triangle Ring. Hi, Mom. Christmas is coming, Mom.) Whenever something new to celebrate rolls around—a birthday! a promotion! a bonus!—the first thing I do is march into Catbird and treat myself to the ring I've had my eye on.

Some days, while sliding my rings onto my fingers and smiling dumbly at them, I thank my lucky stars I moved to America (I grew up in England). The sandwiches are better here. I've learned about something called "biscuits," which did not fit my definition of a "biscuit." Also: Catbird.

Ahead, I put together a list of the most gorgeous Catbird gold rings I could find. This was a tough task, obviously, and if you want to thank me by getting me one, my mailing address is—[Editor's note: redacted.]

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