Kiki Timeline

Kiki’s father, Robin Axford, a fourth-generation jeweller of Harvey & Gore in Burlington Gardens off Bond Street, began his career in the family shop after the Second World War. He became a world expert in Georgian jewellery and English silver, and people used to come from all over the world to show him pieces and seek his opinion.

Kiki’s mother, on the other hand, was a strong-willed and stylish woman. Yvonne Axford, (or Mrs A, as she was known to Kiki’s employees) was French, and extremely pragmatic. She had worked at Galeries Lafayette in Paris and London organising fashion shows before the Second World War, and was always chic and elegantly put together, acutely aware of the fashion world and the prominent place it held in society.

The wonderful combination of both of Kikis parents makes her the great business and creative women that she is today.

Kiki McDonough the brand was founded in this year.

The beginning of Kiki’s eponymous brand came as quite a surprise to Kiki.

With a family background in antique jewellery and a father with his own shop, Kiki grew up around all sorts of wonderful creations, and she credits this as one of the reasons she is so comfortable around fine jewellery. Her friend, Nigel Milne, asked her to design
some modern jewellery to sell in his shop on Grafton Street, Mayfair, which led to Kiki's first concession.

Kiki’s first collection included a large, 80s heart-shaped crystal motif with gold bows and a single diamond, in earrings and pendants. These earrings are now featured in the modern jewellery collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum as an example of
pioneering modern jewellery.

For Kiki's first collections, she focused on heart, bow, and circle motifs, creating pieces in both 9 carat and 18 carat yellow gold. Her original stones of choice were very
different to the colourful gemstones associated with the brand today; rock
crystal, agate, haematite, lapis lazuli and black onyx.

This was a big year for Kiki McDonough, the brand was firmly put on the map when a necklace was featured on the second page of Vogue Magazine. This was the first ever piece of Kiki jewellery published anywhere.

The was the year that the first British royal wore Kiki McDonough. Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, wore an Onyx heart and bow earrings and a pearl and onyx crystal heart necklace. Not long after this first appearance, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, began to wear Kiki jewellery, and was photographed in a pair of Kiki earrings in 1990 on a state visit with First Lady, Barbara Bush.

Kiki fondly remembers the day Princess Diana visited her store in Elizabeth Street, how she was in the side kitchen making herself a cup of coffee before opening hours when a builder working at the shop next door informed Kiki that Princess Diana was tugging at the door handle.

The first Kiki McDonough shop was
opened on Elizabeth Street.

Kiki wanted her store to be open and welcoming, somewhere people felt comfortable entering for a browse.
"The business has always been the thing that has pulled me to a bigger store, and every time it has been nerve-wracking”, Kiki explains, and she tentatively followed the brand that had somehow become bigger than anything she had ever expected.

Kiki spent this year designing and launching her first pair of pearl earrings, this was the first of many pearl pieces to follow for the brand.

This was the decade that Kiki became quite the name in society - There is something to be said for dressing for the life you want to live, and Kiki’s life has been as colourful as her jewellery. Whilst working on growing her business, Kiki frequented the London social scene and became something of a socialite, often appearing in the glossy pages of Tatler magazine in her finest dress and Manolo heels with her second husband, Randle Siddeley.

Kiki remembers the 90s as “more adventurous than the 80s…people were a bit more receptive to colour”, so this was the perfect time to start experimenting with gemstones.

Many of Kiki's chosen colour combinations were inspired by ballet costumes. If certain colours can be put together in clothes for great effect, why not jewellery?

The original double ovals marked the beginning of Kiki’s innovative colour combinations, and she started mixing all kinds of gemstones that other designers weren’t even contemplating; the royal purple of amethyst with the golden orange of citrine, magenta pink rubellite with soft green amethyst, red fire opal with the summery grass green of peridot.

In this year Kiki’s very first design and creation, a pair of crystal heart earrings, were put on display in the Victoria & Albert Museum’s renowned modern jewellery collection.

Due to the wonderful and thrilling growth of the brand, the Kiki McDonough shop moved location to a larger premise on Walton Street.

In this year the brand started designing bespoke pieces for their wonderful clients. A bespoke design from Kiki McDonough is a combination of the client’s vision and the design team’s skill, creating something truly remarkable. In the years to come the bespoke creations would come to mark client's special moments.

In this year Kiki designed the iconic
Double Oval Earrings inspired by a blue and green tutu in the ballet 'Sleeping Beauty'. This specific colourway featuring the use of Peridot and Blue Topaz gemstones was the first to be designed by Kiki, with many more joyful and potentially unexpected colourways to follow.

The rhyme “blue and green should never be seen without a colour in between” was a code by which the jewellery world lived in the 80s and 90s, but Kiki set out to dispel the myth. The original double
ovals marked the beginning of Kiki’s innovative colour combinations, and she
started mixing all kinds of gemstones that other designers weren’t even
contemplating; the royal purple of amethyst with the golden orange of citrine, magenta pink rubellite with soft green amethyst, red fire opal with the summery grass green of peridot.

This was the infamous year that the
Kiki McDonough iconic brand colours light blue and purple were introduced on
the brands packaging. Kiki says she was inspired by a pair of Blue Topaz and
Amethyst earrings that she absolutely adored.

This year the Detachable Drops
collection was launched along with the Kiki Hoops. A revolutionary design that
continues to inspire, with the endless versatile possibility of interchangeable
pieces that can take you from day to night.

This year the brand moved to its new flagship location nestled just off Sloane Square, at 12 Symons Street. This remains the Kiki McDonough flagship store today.

This was the year that Kiki
designed the Grace collection which is still one of our most-loved and core
collections today (2025), with many more line extensions added over the years.
The collection is named after the newborn daughter of a girl who worked at the
shop.

HRH Catherine, The Princess of Wales, has been a great help in the evolution of the brand. It is no secret that British businesses have had an uplift in sales whenever the Princess wears their product, the aptly coined ‘Kate effect’ working its magic.

Whilst The Princess of Wales wasn’t the first royal to wear Kiki jewellery, she was the royal that coincided with the growth of online media. She subsequently became a modern trendsetter, with the British public and royal fans overseas waiting on tenterhooks to see what the young princess would wear to upcoming engagements. Kiki’s pieces are often seen complementing the princess’s modest smile at events, she has sported multiple-coloured gemstones set in both white and yellow gold over the years,
and it is a thrill for Kiki every time.

This year Kiki McDonough launched
the Florence Collection, this is still one of our most-loved collections to date, proving the timelessness of Kiki's designs. It
was inspired by Kiki's love for travelling and the time she spent in the beautiful and mesmerising city of Florence.

In this year Kiki McDonough
starting working with the Kings Trust previously known as the Princes Trust.

Kiki McDonough launched the Signatures collection this year. This collection consists of 'signature' designs created by Kiki over the years, encompassing truly timeless designs adored by her clients.

Following on from the success of Playing with Fire (2014), Kiki McDonough began a yearly Special Editions collection featuring exquisite designs created with rare gemstones of exceptional quality and cut.

Kiki McDonough also launched the mouthwatering Candy Collection this year.

This year the brand launched in the iconic and quintessentially British department store Fortnum & Mason, who we are proud to remain a partner of to this day.

This was the first year that Kiki McDonough took part in Chelsea In Bloom, the
floral art show that takes place in SW3 and coincides with RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The first window installation was a colourful archway based on the ‘Rio’ festival theme, featuring large floral replicas of Kiki McDonough's famous Double Oval earrings.

The Lauren Collection was launched this year, it was a collaborative collection with British ballet dancer Lauren Cuthbertson.

This year the Apollo collection was launched. The collection is named after the
mythological god of sun and light. The central motif of this collection features a glimmering circular gemstone encased in diamond-set rings and was designed to lighten up an outfit in the same way the sun can brighten a person’s mood. Apollo remains one of Kiki’s all-time favourite collections.

The brand launched the much-loved bridal Pearls this year. Kiki designed a carefully curated collection, with the hopes every stylish bride could find her perfect piece, ensuring she can mark one of life's most memorable moments wearing Kiki McDonough.

This was the year the Kiki McDonough brand campaign with Lauren Cuthbertson was shot and promoted worldwide, Lauren remains a long-term friend of the brand.

The brand launched with British ecommerce company Farfetch this year.

This year the breathtaking Kiki Tiara was released to the public. The Tiara combined Kiki's love of classic jewellery and elegant modern craftsmanship.

The one-of-a-kind piece was then featured in the prominent Power & Image: Royal & Aristocratic Tiara's exhibition at Sotheby’s, alongside The Spencer Tiara designed by Garrard and many exquisite tiaras from multiple eras dating back to the 1800's.

Kiki McDonough continues to expand this year by going into the Watches of
Switzerland Group after the soft launch in 2021.

Kiki McDonough the founder becomes a trustee for the NEBT.

Kiki designed The Kiki Suite to commemorate a new era, and the coronation of King Charles III. Kiki designed two dazzling pieces: a diamond sautoir necklace and a pair of diamond earrings.

The brand was commissioned this year to make brooches for Her Majesty The Queen for the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

The brand celebrated 20 years of Detachable Drops in the summer of this year. This was marked by throwing a fun and colourful party for clients located at the flagship shop on 12 Symons Street.