Margot McKinney 18 Karat Gold South Sea Pearl and White Diamond Drop Earrings

Globally celebrated jewelry designer Margot McKinney is best known for her audacious statement pieces — rings, earrings and other accessories featuring a sophisticated blend of yellow sapphires, rubies and oversized South Sea pearls mined from her native Australia. She works from a place of warm reverence for nature, travel and a nostalgic connection to her mother who wore pearls all through Margot’s upbringing.

Back in 1884, when John McKinney and his family emigrated from Ireland to Australia, he began to establish the groundwork for what would propel his luxury goods business for years to come. Margot, the fourth generation, positioned the family name on the international stage. In 2006, she launched her eponymous brand in the United States, where her work appears at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. Her glamorous jewelry has found wearers in celebrities and a range of big names in popular culture, dazzling at the Oscars, the Cannes Film Festival and more.

Bold with unquestionable natural beauty, McKinney’s head-turning pieces are designed with some of the rarest pearls and gems on the planet. In 1990 she visited the Argyle diamond mine, which was named the first major diamond-mining operation in Australia and at one time produced 90% of the world’s pink diamond supply.

McKinney’s Star earrings are set with pink diamonds, while her Bow and Circle of Life earrings feature tourmalines. Her Constellation collection features opals and South Sea pearls, which are cultured pearls versus natural pearls. McKinney is enamored of pearls and the versatility of pearl jewelry. She has been meeting with an independent pearl farmer for years and believes that, for her collectors, the pearl’s journey from the oyster to the jeweler — the story that a piece can tell — is integral to the experience of owning and wearing Margot McKinney jewelry.

And as for a fifth generation, Andrew McKinney Welch — who has a graduate gemology degree from the Gemological Institute of America and has learned a great deal from his aunt Margot — is eager to carry on his family’s proud legacy for clients in Australia and elsewhere.

On 1stDibs, find Margot McKinney necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry today.