Margot McKinney.
Photo: Jonathan Zizzo
The Collectors: Margot McKinney
The fourth-generation Australian designer works with some of the finest gem cutters and miners to discover unusual and ultrarare pearls, opals, and other remarkable stones
It can take years to source the perfect assortment of gemstones to create one of Margot McKinney’s larger-than-life, bespoke jewelry pieces. The fourth-generation Australian designer is inspired by the beauty of the natural world, working with some of the finest gem cutters and miners to discover unusual and ultrarare gems, pearls, and opals that mimic the painterly colors of coral reefs, rainforests, and Australian deserts. “I find the colored-stone world so intriguing and beautiful,” she says. “I am never bored with what nature presents.”
McKinney's Coral Collier, featuring grand Australian South Sea baroque pearls. Photo: Tom Macdonald
McKinney's Lorikeet tourmaline pearl earrings. Photo: Tom Macdonald
Personal philosophy: “A good stone simply talks to you,” says McKinney, who has a special affinity for rare Australian black opals and South Sea baroque pearls. “That’s why when I see something incredible, I just say, ‘Yes, I want that.’ I know that someone else will also value it for its intrinsic beauty when set into a piece of jewelry.”
“I am never bored with what nature presents”
Margot McKinney
Treasure trove: “There was one piece I made with the most perfect suite of Paraíba tourmalines from a now-closed mine in Mozambique that I was not in a hurry to sell. But when a client saw it, her eyes lit up and it was just so glorious on her. That’s why I do what I do: to see the joy that it brings people.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Late Fall Issue under the headline “The Collectors.” Subscribe to the magazine.
Cover: Margot McKinney.
Photo: Jonathan Zizzo
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