The Gemstone Glossary

"Amethyst always reminds me of my mother and her beautiful broach." -Kiki

Kiki’s 1980s collections saw the introduction of amethyst as one of her core gemstones. Her first amethyst pieces included cabochon heart-shaped stud earrings set in 9ct yellow gold and a beaded amethyst necklace with an amethyst, diamond and pearl pendant.

"The pale blue of blue topaz is gentle, feminine, and suits every colouring." -Kiki

Kiki introduced blue topaz in the 90s, and this has become arguably her most popular gemstone. A soft sky-blue hue is her chosen colour, though topaz comes in countless colours and shades including white, yellow, pink, pale green and red.

"‘I always say this gemstone is liquid gold." -Kiki

The colour of summer, citrine is the yellow
variety of quartz and comes in shades ranging from pale yellow to a dark, golden syrup colour, the latter earning the trade name Madeira citrine due to its resemblance to the Portuguese dessert wine.

"Diamonds are the perfect way to add glamour to my everyday pieces, but I prefer them when they are brightening the coloured gemstone."

-Kiki

Diamonds are created by extreme heat and pressure that exists around a hundred miles beneath the earth’s surface and is the only gemstone which contains a single element: carbon.

Often used as a glittering halo to coloured gems in Kiki McDonough designs, these sparkling stones accentuate the beauty of other gemstones.

"Garnets are reminiscent of a sultry glass of claret, so why would you not like them!? It is the January birthstone and needs to be in a modern setting to keep an up-to-date look." - Kiki

The name ‘garnet’ originates from the Latin
term granatus, which means “pomegranate,” in
reference to the deep red colour this stone shares with the delicious fruit.

Whilst a deep red is the most commercially common hue of garnet, it can also be found in a wide variety of colours including the romantic purple-red of rhodolite garnet, the deep green of tsavorite garnet and the citrusy orange of spessartine (or mandarin) garnet.

"Green amethyst and purple amethyst is quite an unusual colour combination, but the soft green lights up the darker purple." -Kiki

In truth, green amethyst is not a naturally occurring stone. It is actually a variety of quartz that contains added iron and nickel, making it green in colour.

A more accurate term for it would be lime Citrine or, even more appropriately, Prasiolite. However, since the Prasiolites used in jewellery are artificially created by heating natural amethysts (similar to Citrines), they are categorized as green amethysts.

"I was one of the first people in the UK to use fire opal in my jewellery. The colour of this gemstone ranges from an orange colour to a deep red, and I think all hues are heaven." -Kiki

Named for their fiery orange-red hue, fire opals are gemstones that make a mark. Kiki first introduced fire opals in her 2014 collection ‘Playing with Fire’, and they have since become a favourite of the brand.

In true Kiki style, her first fire opal collection
paired this blazing stone with other coloured
gemstones such as blue topaz and pink
tourmaline, creating striking pieces that
promised to draw attention.

"I was one of the first people in the UK to use fire opal in my jewellery. The colour of this gemstone ranges from an orange colour to a deep red, and I think all hues are heaven." -Kiki

Named for their fiery orange-red hue, fire opals are gemstones that make a mark. Kiki first introduced fire opals in her 2014 collection ‘Playing with Fire’, and they have since become a favourite of the brand.

In true Kiki style, her first fire opal collection
paired this blazing stone with other coloured
gemstones such as blue topaz and pink
tourmaline, creating striking pieces that
promised to draw attention.

"My favourite shade of morganite is, of course, the beautiful, pale ballet pink." -Kiki

Discovered in Madagascar in the 1900s, the gemstone comes in a variety of pinks ranging from an almost colourless lilac pink to an intense salmon hue. Because of its pink colour, morganite is the gemstone of unconditional love and is said to strengthen the emotion and help heal previous hurt.

One of the most challenging gemstones to source, especially with a strong pink colour, morganite is popular In Kiki’s Special Editions collections.

"My favourite shade of morganite is, of course, the beautiful, pale ballet pink." -Kiki

Discovered in Madagascar in the 1900s, the gemstone comes in a variety of pinks ranging from an almost colourless lilac pink to an intense salmon hue. Because of its pink colour, morganite is the gemstone of unconditional love and is said to strengthen the emotion and help heal previous hurt.

One of the most challenging gemstones to source, especially with a strong pink colour, morganite is popular In Kiki’s Special Editions collections.

"My love of pearls has endured throughout my life. I particularly like the white/pink colour as I think they are the most flattering. However, I do think peals suit anyone and everyone; they are soft and feminine and never seem to go out of fashion." -Kiki

Greek mythology associated the iridescent white of pearls with love and marriage, believing they could bring harmony to relationships. Today, pearl jewellery is still extremely popular.

Often worn by brides and passed down by mothers and grandmothers for the special day, pearls have conventionally represented purity and innocence.

"My love of pearls has endured throughout my life. I particularly like the white/pink colour as I think they are the most flattering. However, I do think peals suit anyone and everyone; they are soft and feminine and never seem to go out of fashion." -Kiki

Greek mythology associated the iridescent white of pearls with love and marriage, believing they could bring harmony to relationships. Today, pearl jewellery is still extremely popular.

Often worn by brides and passed down by mothers and grandmothers for the special day, pearls have conventionally represented purity and innocence.

"Peridot was so difficult to sell in the ‘90s, but around 2008, jade became expensive and the Chinese market, who adore green, started buying peridot. After this, it became more and more popular and expensive." -Kiki

Favoured by Cleopatra, the famed queen of
Egypt, peridot is a captivating olive green and is a gemstone variety of the mineral olivine.

Peridot has been used by Kiki for decades as one of her core gems and she has claimed it as one of her favourite gemstones of all time, though it is now in the same league as morganite and fire opal in terms of its value.

"Peridot was so difficult to sell in the ‘90s, but around 2008, jade became expensive and the Chinese market, who adore green, started buying peridot. After this, it became more and more popular and expensive." -Kiki

Favoured by Cleopatra, the famed queen of
Egypt, peridot is a captivating olive green and is a gemstone variety of the mineral olivine.

Peridot has been used by Kiki for decades as one of her core gems and she has claimed it as one of her favourite gemstones of all time, though it is now in the same league as morganite and fire opal in terms of its value.

"The tanzanite mine was flooded for a while, so tanzanite became really difficult to get hold of. Tanzanites with a hint of purple are my favourite." -Kiki

A gemstone with a stunning blue-violet hue,
depending on the direction through which it is viewed, the indigo variety of zoisite will display either blue, reddish-purple or an undesirable green-toned yellow. This phenomenon is called pleochroism, and given there are 3 chromatic options, this type of pleochroism is called trichroism.

Tanzanite can be found in Kiki’s Special Edition pieces, and when paired with white gold and diamonds, it is a gemstone destined for the most special of occasions.

"The tanzanite mine was flooded for a while, so tanzanite became really difficult to get hold of. Tanzanites with a hint of purple are my favourite." -Kiki

A gemstone with a stunning blue-violet hue,
depending on the direction through which it is viewed, the indigo variety of zoisite will display either blue, reddish-purple or an undesirable green-toned yellow. This phenomenon is called pleochroism, and given there are 3 chromatic options, this type of pleochroism is called trichroism.

Tanzanite can be found in Kiki’s Special Edition pieces, and when paired with white gold and diamonds, it is a gemstone destined for the most special of occasions.

"I love the soft, lighter green colour of tourmaline. It is so
flattering and brightens up a person’s features." -Kiki

Tourmalines come in all colours of the rainbow, which is why they are so loved by jewellery designers.

Rubellite is the trade name given to dark pink and red tourmalines and can be found in a selection of Kiki’s designs. Kiki McDonough’s Special Editions collection boasts various shades of tourmaline including green, pink and blue.

"I love the soft, lighter green colour of tourmaline. It is so
flattering and brightens up a person’s features." -Kiki

Tourmalines come in all colours of the rainbow, which is why they are so loved by jewellery designers.

Rubellite is the trade name given to dark pink and red tourmalines and can be found in a selection of Kiki’s designs. Kiki McDonough’s Special Editions collection boasts various shades of tourmaline including green, pink and blue.