I was never a jewelry person…and then I discovered Marla Aaron.
Until about 3 years ago, I basically wore my wedding rings and diamond studs – that’s it. I used to tell my husband how *lucky* he was that I didn’t like jewelry. It wasn’t my thing. At some point I came across Marla Aaron jewelry (I think it was thru @goodbyecroptop, if I remember correctly). And that’s when everything changed… (Consider yourself warned.)
Also please note — we do not receive any commission from Marla Aaron. We are simply responding to the many questions we get about our jewelry, and we want to help others who want to dip their toe in the Marla Aaron waters.
About Marla Aaron
First let me tell you a little about Marla Aaron. (I know all of this but in full transparency, I grabbed much of this from her Linkedin.)
Marla launched her jewelry collection in 2012 after spending nearly 25 years as a global communications executive. Like she seriously LEFT HER LUCRATIVE JOB to follow her passions. Because she believed in herself. I mean gosh, so inspiring right?!
Believing in yourself enough to take a risk and follow your dreams…I literally wish nothing more for my kids.
She has a “lock your Mom” project each Mother’s Day where she gifts a large number of heart locks to single Moms (people write in recommendations, and YES, you can recommend yourself). Did I mention she was a single Mom too? (Not anymore…now she’s very much happily married.)
Marla lives in NYC and that’s also where her jewelry is made by hand. Her showroom is in the heart of the city, although her pieces are sold in eclectic stores worldwide.
What I Love About the Jewelry
It’s not precious. It’s not overly fancy. It’s unique and bold. It has a streamlined, industrial look that she says is deeply rooted in the personal and emotional jewelry of the Victorian and Georgian eras. She is known for her locks and has a growing fan base that anxiously awaits her latest lock releases.
I wear my Marla jewelry every single day. I have simple go-to looks, but I also like to pile it on for a maximalist look. And when I do that, it’s rarely the exact same twice.
Rachel’s Pieces
People ask me all the time which pieces I have, my chain lengths etc. So here it is, the details!
My Locks
Small R Lock (yellow gold with rose gold closure) *custom order
Chubby Baby Lock (green gold)
Medium Original Lock (rose gold)
Baby Meander Lock (yellow gold)
Small Star Lock (yellow gold)
My Chains
14″ Biker Chain (blackened silver) – I am petitie, a 15″ works best for most
16″ Rolo Chain (yellow gold)
19″ Fine Curb Chain (yellow gold)
19″ Heavy Curb Chain (silver)
21″ Heavy Curb Chain (silver)
My Charms (Foundrae – not Marla Aaron)
Red Diamond Point 7 (We were married on the 7th, 7 is lucky and it also represents the 7 different types of love)
Black Diamond Point D (last name…that’s an easy one)
How do you decide??
The hardest part of buying Marla Aaron jewelry, by far, is deciding which pieces to get. My first purchase was the small star lock and chubby baby lock (that I wore linked together) on a fine curb chain. I debated the colors of gold for weeks, and ultimately landed on mixing yellow and green gold – which at the time I thought was a huge risk! Ha! Oh, how far I’ve come…
Trust me – don’t stress the metal colors. Go with the ones that speak to you – they ALL look amazing together. The contrast of metal colors is seriously beautiful. However, a monochrome look is pretty too!
From there – I just added the next piece and the next piece that stole my heart.
Engraving…
I wanted to mention that most of the pieces can also be engraved. The only one of mine that is engraved is my star lock. The closure is engraved – each segment has a different ‘S” word that my husband chose to describe me (sweet, stylish, sexy, sincere…).
My husband and I have been married for almost 20 years – he’s my best friend. But he’s admittedly not the most romantic. I love to pick out a piece for Christmas or our anniversary and ask him to choose the engraving (and watch his eyes get big). I mean sometimes we just have to ask for what we want, right? He also loves that this has taken the guesswork out of gifts.
A Note On Chains
If you want to layer your necklaces like I have done in the above photo, it is recommended that your chains drop from 1-3″. So in my case, I have a 14″, 16″, 19″ (actually two 19″), and a 21″ – they work so well together. And also remember that you can change the chain lengths by adding locks!
The other trick to layering chains is choosing different weights and textures. And I of course love to mix the metal colors.
How I Style My Jewelry
A quick note – many of my looks I learned from obsessing over Marla’s Instagram… So, definitely go give her a follow @marlaaaron for inspiration.
My Maximalist Looks
I still can’t believe I went from minimal jewelry (hello diamond studs) to this maximalist style so quickly. When I wear most or all of my Marla jewelry together – I literally just start with a chain and lock and add/mix until it suits my mood. It’s rarely exactly the same way twice.
And obviously you could wear any of these chains individually or layer just a few chains…I mean the options are truly endless.
All Linked Together
This is a go-to look for me that I discovered on Marla’s Instagram. Four locks linked together on my 14″ biker chain. I wear my locks this way at least a few times a week.
Go Long
Don’t underestimate the power of a longer chain. On the left, I’m wearing my 22″ heavy curb chain with my R lock for a simple look that makes a statement. And on the right, I am using my baby meander to clasp my 22″ heavy curb chain and wearing the remainder of my locks as charms (a trick I learned from Marla’s account).
Bracelet It!
And! I love to wear my 19″ heavy curb chain as a bracelet. Here I stacked it with another bracelet by House of Hitchcock. There is a formula to make sure this works – it’s something like measure your wrist, add the lock length plus a little more? Or something along those lines – the Marla Aaron team will be more helpful with that…I don’t want to steer you wrong. But I will say, I absolutely love that one of my necklaces doubles as a bracelet, so it’s definitely something to keep in mind.
A Simple Choker
More of a minimalist? I always love a simple lock on a short chain.
Rachel’s Wish List
I feel like each time I buy a piece I say – this is it! I’m done. And then I find myself coveting something else. It’s seriously addicting. The pieces on my wishlist…
Yep, you heard me correctly. I am dying for pearls – 15 inch, 6mm pearls with rose gold loops, to be exact. (I need to cover my bases in case my husband reads this, ha!) Marla says over and over again that “nothing lights up a woman’s face light pearls.” I think it’s sunk in.
I’d wear them just like I wear my chains – everyday. All the ways. Pearls don’t have to be stuffy.
DiMe means “tell me” in Spanish. Not just any “tell me” – an intimate, sexy one. The ring literally opens and the inside can be inscribed with whatever you want to say (or someone wants to say to you). The ring comes in a thin-ish size, medium, and chubby size.
Full disclosure – the chubby DiMe ring was going to be my Christmas gift but then my husband decided to reset my wedding ring for our 20th and well – it felt a bit much to receive two big jewelry gifts so close together. I adore this ring – in all the sizes.
It also comes stoned (diamonds, sapphires etc), engraved, or you can mix the metal colors. It’s stunningly beautiful and customizable.
My Final Thoughts
It may sound silly but jewelry has become part of me – I feel naked without it. It brings me so much joy – and according to Marla, that’s jewelry’s only job.
If you need help deciding or feel overwhelmed, contact the Marla Aaron team. They are truly fantastic and are willing to zoom with you. There is also a guide on their website that is extremely helpful.
My advice? Start with a chain and a lock…slowly collect and add to your story. It’s seriously fun. And don’t overthink it (like me)!
The Marla Aaron Addiction…
Tammy Caught It Too!
When Rachel and I first started working together, I asked her about her jewelry and she told me the entire story. She then proceeded to tell me she thought I should get a chain with a T so we could each have our letters… I think my exact response was “no way, I don’t like big jewelry”.
I thought it looked really pretty on her, but in no way did I think I could pull it off. Where she was once mostly a no jewelry girl, I was very much a delicate jewelry girl.
And then we went to Denver and she started putting her pretty pieces on me. I am certain my husband still curses the day she did that, ha!
I remember wearing one of the simple chains with the star and thinking, at the end of the night, what if I accidentally (wink, wink) forget to return this before we go back to San Diego?!
Tammy’s Pieces
Well of course I gave it back, but that was it for me…I was smitten. A few weeks later, on my birthday, my husband presented me with my first Marla Aaron necklace – a 16″ silver Rolo chain and Starlock.
The problem is these pieces are kind of like toy poodles…you can’t stop at just one (yep I love my dogs a lot, and now I love Marla Aaron jewelry too)!
So I decided to sell a bunch of stuff on Poshmark to fund my next chain. Rachel convinced me to go for the big boy — the 22″ heavy curb chain. I was skeptical (remember I used to only wear very delicate jewelry) but it is bold and beautiful and amazing. Then my husband surprised me with a custom T for our 22nd Anniversary. (OK Rachel, you were right…)
That’s my entire collection right there (the top and bottom), but I have an 18 inch necklace and charms from Gorjana that fit nicely in the middle.
So for me, my stacks are pretty simple at this point, but every time I see Rachel’s amazing layers, I start obsessing about what I want next. She laughs at me and how I insisted this would never be me.
I honestly didn’t realize how much I would love these pieces. Like Rachel, I wear something pretty much every day. And I almost always get asked about them because they truly are special and unique.
My husband now insists I’m “good” and no more jewelry for a while, but a girl can dream, can’t she?!
Tammy’s Wish List
I would love my next piece to be choker length (15″ for me) with a pretty stoned babylock. This is my delicate jewelry side coming out, but I would also layer it with all my other pieces. I’ve finally found necklaces I feel comfortable layering, something that always felt a bit awkward before. I think it’s the different weights of the chains that makes it easier and I’ve had zero issues with tangling.
Original locks | Square Link Chains
So even if you are someone who tends toward delicate jewelry, like I do, believe me, you can wear Marla Aaron jewelry. I say just look for the things that really speak to your heart.
And if you are like me and worry you might make the wrong choice, never fear, you can return any non-custom pieces within 15 days. Just be sure to read the Return Policy and then start dreaming!
Also check out How To Look Good In Loungewear.
2 thoughts on “Marla Aaron Jewelry : Our Pieces & Wish Lists”
Couldn’t agree with you more! I’m a total MA addict and couldn’t be happier! Thanks for putting my thoughts into words! X
THANK YOU for reading!!! We definitely have a MA addiction. We couldn’t love it more. xx