[citation needed] Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother purchased works by John Donald in the 1960s, having been introduced to him by Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon.
Born on 6 December, 1928 to a golfing father and a socially ambitious mother, John Donald attended art college as a compromise between sport and university.
A year later he entered five pieces in the seminal International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery 1890-1961, held at Goldsmiths' Hall, and by 1964 he could number Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother among his patrons.
Using simple materials such as gold rod and uncut crystal, he created expressive, abstract pieces free from the conventions of shape and style which had constrained earlier jewels.
It was some of the only gold the struggling jeweller could afford, but by cutting it into angled lengths or fusing tiny cross-sections, he was able to create dramatic geometric patterns.
Pouring molten gold into cold water, he discovered that it divided into small beads, some of which caught bubbles of air and cooled into hollow cups.
Framed by a protective basket of textured gold, gems are set at the end of tiny rods to form glittering openwork constellations.
He has modestly said that the method was developed as a way round his lack of conventional skills, however fixing the narrow rods into their tiny screw-holes requires a high level of technical expertise.
Continuing his experiments with immersing molten metal in water, the young jeweller discovered he could use this process to produce small flakes whose nugget-like surface gave the gold an almost organic appearance.
Instead his work contrasts the glow of uneven metal with highly polished sheens and dazzling gemstones, the shadows cast by his three dimensional forms adding an extra element of drama.
His work found favour with women of fashion as well as critics, and he was able to produce jewellery whose avant-garde design was matched only by the beauty of their precious materials.
By the middle of the decade both John Donald's business and his family were starting to outgrow his modest Bayswater workshop and premises above it, and he began searching for a new studio.
However he went ahead, and in 1968 opened a small but elegant gallery and workshop, delighting his landlords by bringing a working jeweller back to the Elizabethan 'Goldsmiths Row'.
The outlets enabled John Donald to bring his innovative designs to a wide audience of more ordinary clients as well as his grand patrons from the banking and aristocratic worlds.
John Donald travelled overseas right from the start of his career, building up his international profile by exhibiting and selling new work in Europe, America and Japan.
As a young student at the Royal College of Art he spent time looking at the Victoria and Albert Museum's extensive collection of 19th century jewels.
John Donald has designed official regalia since the outset of his career, producing his very first badge in 1956 whilst still a student at the Royal College of Art.
However John Donald's contribution to the world of precious metals was certainly far from over; he was still driven with a passion for making beautiful objects, and planned a very active 'semi-retirement' working on specially commissioned pieces.
This gradual distillation of ideas has enabled him to continue to innovate so that even now, when his early work is being sold as prestigious antiques, his jewellery displays an undeniable feeling of modernity.