Michelle Monaghan Reveals What Ignited Her Love Affair with Diamonds
With an accomplished career spanning over two decades, actress Michelle Monaghan has had plenty of opportunities to get dolled up in diamonds on countless red carpets, though her affinity for natural diamond jewels began much earlier than that. Monaghan spent her childhood playing dress-up in her grandfather’s fine jewelry shop. He owned a jewelry store, Hammel […]
With an accomplished career spanning over two decades, actress Michelle Monaghan has had plenty of opportunities to get dolled up in diamonds on countless red carpets, though her affinity for natural diamond jewels began much earlier than that.
Monaghan spent her childhood playing dress-up in her grandfather’s fine jewelry shop. He owned a jewelry store, Hammel Jewelers, near where the actress grew up in Winthrop, Iowa. In her youth, she’d visit the shop every month and have a field day trying on all the diamonds. “I would try on all the diamonds I could,” Monaghan tells Only Natural Diamonds. “That was really fun for a young gal.”
He was even the one who pierced her ears for the first time. In a beautiful full-circle moment, Monaghan recalls taking her first paycheck back to his store to buy her first pair of diamond stud earrings, which still holds a sentimental significance for her now. “It’s been a very beautiful part of our family’s history,” she says. “I’m really proud of it. I still go in there today.”
Known for her roles in Mission: Impossible III, True Detective, Made of Honor with Patrick Dempsey, and The Best of Me alongside James Marsden, Monaghan shows no signs of slowing down. This year, the actress sank her teeth into her role as Detective Williams in the final film of director Ti West’s ‘X’ trilogy, MaXXXine, which boasted a star-studded cast including Mia Goth, Halsey, Lily Collins, Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Debicki and more. Now, she’s setting her sights on Thailand, starring in the upcoming third season of HBO’s hit satirical comedic anthology series, The White Lotus.
Each season, the fan-favorite show follows a new brigade of wealthy and complex characters enjoying their stay at the namesake fictional luxury resort. Likely to hit our screens in 2025, Monaghan will be joined by actors Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Leslie Bibb, and Natasha Rothwell.
Only Natural Diamonds caught up with the actress inside her immaculate Hollywood Hills home to uncover the alluring history behind her diamond collection.
With plenty of diamond-embellished style moments to come, there’s one that’s stuck with her the most. In 2017, Monaghan attended the Met Gala in a chainmail Paco Rabanne gown offset by a vintage Cartier diamond and silver-studded choker, styled by Karla Welch. “That remains my most special diamond moment,” she recalls. “Putting on this substantial, remarkable vintage diamond—it was a girl’s dream come true.”
That same year, the actress attended the famed Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty, wearing a sleek black Brandon Maxwell cutout gown with Jacob & Co. diamond drop earrings. In 2018, she attended the event in a vintage emerald and diamond Bulgari necklace. Monaghan declares, “Diamonds aren’t something I get tired of.”
As for her off-duty diamond style, Monaghan describes her personal jewelry collection as simple and elegant. Known to pair her diamonds with something edgy like a black leather jacket, the actress likes to, “balance the loveliness of the gems.” Her favorite diamond piece is a 20th anniversary gift from her husband — a baguette-encrusted wedding band, designed by friend and jeweler Anita Ko. “Anything designed by her will be of beautiful quality and craftsmanship and it will be made with love.” She especially loves to wear her diamond collection on a night out. “I’m a romantic in that way. If I’m sitting at a candlelit dinner with my husband, they shimmer and shine and make me feel beautiful.”
“For women, that love affair for anything sparkly happens at a young age,” Monaghan says. “It all starts in those memories.”
