< Engagement Rings / Engagement Ring Styles
The Jewelry Collector’s Series: Meet Claire Khodara
Meet podcast host, recording artist, and founder Claire Khodara, whose love of jewelry and collector’s eye was passed down by her mother-in-law.
Published: December 19, 2025
Written by: Jill Newman
Claire Khodara credits her fabulous mother-in-law for inspiring her equally fabulous jewelry collection. It includes vintage and diamond pieces from heritage houses Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari and more.
“She was a princess, a Chanel model, and she’s an amazing woman who loves to share her jewelry,” says Khodara.
Meet the Experts
- Jill Newman is a jewelry authority, editor, and storyteller with over 25 years of experience, having reported from diamond mines, cutting workshops, and ateliers around the world. She serves as Editor-at-Large for the Natural Diamond Council, with additional bylines in The New York Times, Town & Country, Elle Décor, and Robb Report.
- Claire Khodara is a recording artist, podcast host, founder, and jewelry lover based in Los Angeles, California, where she lives with her husband and three—soon to be four—children.
A singer since childhood, Claire appeared on American Idol in 2010, which ignited her career. A few years later, she established her own talent agency, and today she also hosts the podcast You Good. She lives in Brentwood with her husband and three children, and is currently expecting her fourth.
Jewelry plays a meaningful role in life’s milestones, and here Claire shares how it connects her to loved ones and stories, along with her favorite pieces and the best jewelry advice she’s received from her mother-in-law.
Claire Khodara’s Jewelry Muse: Mother-in-Law Mara Khodara
Only Natural Diamonds: Who is your jewelry style icon?
Claire Khodara: My mother-in-law, Mara Khodara. She’s fabulous, fun, and chic, and a truly wonderful person. She has a beautiful collection of jewelry from her own aristocratic French family, from her first husband, Prince Ruspoli, and her husband of over 50 years, Jacques (my husband Greg’s father). Greg’s father loved to collect. Greg’s parents were of a different generation, where jewelry was part of their lifestyle.
It wasn’t meant to sit in a box, it was worn all the time, even at home, and to feel good and beautiful. They were friends with major Parisian houses and designers and had pieces made just for them. Today, my mother-in-law lives between France and New York and is still just as chic and glamorous.
OND: What was your mother-in-law’s best jewelry advice?
CK: I learned about fine jewelry through her eyes, and she always said, “Wear earrings because they light your cheekbones.”
OND: The first piece of jewelry you purchased for yourself?
CK: I actually haven’t purchased jewelry for myself. My mother-in-law and my husband have given me beautiful pieces, and her style is very much my style.
OND: Most recent jewelry gift?
CK: On Thanksgiving she gave me a gorgeous, huge Marina B brooch with diamonds, sapphires, and topaz. It’s completely over the top. I came down the stairs wearing it on it on a thick chain as a pendant, and it instantly grabbed everyone’s attention. I love it. It has a cool, retro feeling.
Claire Khodara’s Personal Jewelry Style
OND: How would you describe your jewelry style?
CK: Expressive and a little weird. I love retro style pieces and authenticity. I can’t wear what everybody else is wearing. I’m rebellious in that way. Jewelry is so intimate, and I like having jewelry that nobody else has. My mother and my mother-in-law always taught me that jewelry holds energy. I feel very fortunate to have so many meaningful, authentic pieces.
OND: First memorable piece of jewelry?
CK: My mother loved pearls and gave my sister (landscape designer Grace Fuller Marroquin) and me pearl necklaces when we were born. We both still have them. My mother was an artist—beautiful, statuesque and avant garde, and I loved her style. She also gave me a gold charm bracelet that belonged to her mother, with all sorts of meaningful family charms from Ireland, like her grandmother’s 10-year wedding anniversary charm and a little ruby birthstone.
OND: What’s your engagement ring story?
CK: My husband proposed with a classic Cartier Trinity ring that belonged to his mother and said, “You’re so particular, you should choose your own engagement ring.”
One of my dearest friends is jewelry designer Sabine Roemer. We met when I was studying at the Imperial College in London; she was the it-girl at the time and showed me the way. Naturally I went to Sabine. She helped me find a cushion-cut yellow diamond in London’s Hatton Garden, which she set on a simple yellow gold band with a star shape underneath. Ever since I was a little, I called myself a star rock. My parents would say, “Do you mean rock star?” But I was convinced it was star rock. That became my nickname.
Claire Khodara’s Important Pieces
OND: Any recent diamond gifts?
CK: For my 40th birthday, my husband Greg gave me an oval diamond ring with side baguettes. This is my dream ring. We created it with a local jeweler, who’s also a friend, here in Los Angeles.
OND: How does jewelry mark your milestones?
CK: When my first child, Winston, was born, my mother-in-law gave me a beautiful Van Cleef & Arpels ring with a yellow diamond center surrounded by diamonds. Her husband Jacques gave it to her when she gave birth to my husband. I call it my “Winston ring,” and it’s one of my most meaningful pieces.
OND: What’s your everyday jewelry?
CK: I wear my husband’s signet ring with his family’s coat of arms and the Cartier Trinity ring my husband proposed with. I never leave the house without earrings, any type of earrings. Today, I’m wearing Cartier gold hoops from the 80s. I really like classic clothes, a cashmere sweater, jeans, and Chanel ballet flats, and then I like to do it up with jewelry.
OND: Is there a dream piece that you would love to have?
CK: I would love chandelier diamond earrings, like the SABBA ones, and a diamond ball gown necklace. An antique diamond riviere choker length, nothing modern.
OND: Are you building a collection for your children?
CK: Absolutely. Both boys and girls will receive the same amount of love and jewelry. Everything will be passed down and stay within our family.
Claire Khodara on Being True to Herself
OND: You value authenticity. What does “the real thing” mean to you?
CK: I don’t want imitation stones. It’s like it’s comparing a work of art to a copy, which one draws you in and gives you the most intimate pleasure? For me, there’s no comparison to the real thing. That said, people should express themselves however they want. There’s no judgment.
OND: What draws you to Indian jewelry?
CK: We were raised in a meditation ashram, and the mother ashram is in India. So, I feel a connection to that spirit. Indian jewelry speaks to my heart. I love the big, expressive Maharajah look.
OND: Do you repurpose or restyle jewelry?
CK: Yes, when my mother recently passed away, my sister and I were given three topaz stones. We brought them to Munnu, who set them in simple gold bangles. I love repurposing inherited jewelry because I love having old things around me, like antiques, history, and stories. Walking into my living room with furniture from my brother-in-law, a rug from my mother, silver from my mother-in-law makes me feel wrapped in a cloak of protection and adornment.
