The company started in 1979, when Michael Hill and his wife, Christine, opened their first store in the New Zealand town of Whangārei.

A unique retail jewellery formula that included dramatically different store designs, a product range devoted exclusively to jewellery and almost saturation levels of high impact advertising elevated the company to national prominence.

[6] Michael Hill now has a presence in five Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

[2] In September 2008, the company entered the United States market by acquiring 17 stores in Illinois and Missouri from Whitehall Jewelers.

[10] In April 2023, Michael Hill announced it would acquire Australian jewellery chain Bevilles and its 26 stores for A$45 million.